Sunday, July 8, 2012

Review - Cynthia's Attic: The Magic Medallion


CYNTHIA’S ATTIC: THE MAGIC MEDALLION
Written by: MARY CUNNINGHAM
Published by:  Echelon Press Publishing
ISBN: 978-1590804605
Pages: 160
Pub Date: 2006


    Picking up shortly after first book in the series (set in 1964), Augusta Lee, or as everyone calls her - Gus, and her best-friend Cynthia (both twelve-year-old) are eager to return to Cynthia’s magical attic that took them back in time, where they resembled and was mistaken for their grandmothers. Once again they climb up to the cobweb invested attic and open the mysterious trunk that throws them back to the year 1914, where they hope to go to the circus with Gus’s great-grandfather, Charles, but their plans drastically change as their grandmothers, Clara and Bess, hide inside a crate that is in the back of the wagon. They might be able to fool Gus’s great-grandfather in believing they are their grandmothers, but their grandmothers will probably hear their voices from the crate causing an awkward situation that they would probably want to avoid.

    Gus and Cynthia return to the attic where they find two clown costumes left there. They slip the costumes on and are magical transported to the circus, where they are mistaken to be new clowns by Blackie, the evil hobo clown and circus leader. They befriend a girl about their age named Annie. She was left as a baby at the circus and was raised the by an acrobat named Lilly.

    The girls perform in a circus show; well they barely got through it as they had no idea how to be clowns. They try to find Gus’s great-grandfather and their grandmothers so they could try to hide in the wagon, but Blackie came looking for them, resulting in them hiding in the lions’ cage. The lions where peacefully asleep when the girls slipped inside the cage, and after awhile the girls were asleep too.

    While they were asleep, Blackie decided to move the circus a day early. With no access to attic, the Gus and Cynthia start to panic, but they soon find two allies - the fortune teller, Gabriella, and her father, Thomas. They soon learn about Thomas’s brother, Damon, who stole the families’ treasures, including a time-traveling medallion, and kidnapped Gabriella’s infant daughter years ago. Now the only chance for Gus and Cynthia to return to their time is to find the medallion.

    Cynthia’s Attic: The Magic Medallion is a fast-paced sequel that continues the time-traveling adventures of Gus and Cynthia. I have had this book for a few months, courtesy of the author, and I finally found time to read it between reviews. The two twelve-year-old characters are smart and adventurous, which most young readers can relate to. Since the book is set in 1964 there are no cell phones, video games, or computers to distract the girls from their imagination. I still haven’t figured why the attic is “magical” but maybe the author explains more about it in the other sequels. I read the book in one sitting and I think it is better than the first. I recommend it to readers of all ages.


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