The Candy Shop War - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
What if there were a place where you could get magical candy? Moon rocks that made you feel weightless. Jawbreakers that made you unbreakable. Or candy that gave animals temporary human intelligence and communication skills. (Imagine what your pet would say!) Four young friends, Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon, are befriended by Belinda White, the owner of a new candy shop on Main Street. However, the gray-haired, grandmotherly Mrs. White is not an ordinary candy maker. Her confections have magical side effects. Purposefully, she invites the kids on a special mission to retrieve a hidden talisman under Mt. Diablo Elementary School. However, Mrs. White is not the only magician in town in search of the ancient artifact rumored to be a fountain of youth. She is aware that Mr. Stott, the not-so-ordinary ice cream truck driver, has a few tricks of his own.

Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

A sweet idea, but with a few sour drops in the mix October 29, 2007
17 out of 21 found this review helpful

World domination has a sweet tooth in Brandon Mull's latest fantasy adventure, about four kids who discover that too much candy can be REALLY bad for your health.

After a rather exciting prologue, the book slows to a moderate pace, with the new kid in town having to prove himself in order to join three other kids in their club. He does this by performing an impetuous* act which establishes him not only as a club member, but as a firm enemy of the inevitable gang of neighborhood bullies.

The next phase of the story revolves around the owner of a new sweet shop, who makes original confectionary in various forms, ranging from magical to addictive. Mrs. White, owner of the aforementioned shop, soon has the kids doing odd jobs in exchange for treats, but as the jobs get odder and odder, they begin to think there may be more tricks than treats in her bag.

Before long, the kids are breaking and entering, operating voodoo dolls, shape shifting, defying gravity and robbing graves, until an encounter with another magical sweet maker and a meeting with a stranger shifts their respective perspectives** somewhat. By the time you wrap your brain around all of that, Mull throws in a few space-time continuum mind teasers, takes you through the looking glass and then channels Ponce de Leon and the Holy Grail a la Indiana Jones.***

The sour drop I mentioned in the title of this review hit me early in the book, where the author on several occasions gratuitously* describes minor characters by their skin color, and then when the children magically change their appearances, he takes pains to mention not only that they change race, but also unnecessarily gives them a few stereotypical* traits in case you missed the previous race reference. The book would have felt no pain from the surgical removal of these references.

As imaginative and innovative as Fablehaven and its sequel Rise of the Evening Star, Candy Shop sometimes gets carried away with its cleverness, at times overdosing the reader with too much of a good thing. Notwithstanding* the aforementioned problems, however, the unique story line and interesting characters and character development makes for good reading if you don't mind the occasional inedible bit.

* big word
** two big rhyming words
*** I watch a lot of movies, don't I?

Amanda Richards, October 30, 2007

5 out of 5 stars

something fantastic and full of action September 11, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Never take candy from a stranger! Brandon Mull, New York Times bestselling author of "Fablehaven," likes to use the messages we all hear as kids, like, "Drink your milk," and this traditional warning to stay away from strangers bearing sweets. The similarities to anything you've heard before stop there. "The Candy Shop War" is something completely new and different, and I might add, something fantastic and full of action.

Brandon Mull has created a whole new world where special candy can make kids float, shoot electric shocks from their fingers, and even enter the land of wonder through the looking glass...but it isn't anything wonderful in there! Nate is new to the neighborhood, having just moved in, and the friends he makes in the first days will become the truest sort he can hope for. They will come to rely on each other in ways they never could have imagined. The kids start doing after school chores for the owner of a new candy shop in return for special treats. Here's where that warning comes in to never take candy from people you don't know. The chores turn into assignments, which turn out to be quite dangerous and progressively wrong. The temptation might seem sweet but Nate and his friend Trevor decide to hang in there for other reasons. There is a mystery to be solved, and it turns out that there is a rival candy seller who has an interest in what is discovered. A great legend comes into play, and while talking dogs and horses are very cool, what is going on is becoming terribly bad. It's up to Nate and his friends to put a stop to it, if they aren't eaten by giant black widow spiders, or turned to bones and dust first.

This middle grade reader is fantastically full of adventure and fun of a completely different sort. While there is magic and wonder involved, it isn't like anything published in recent history. The underlying messages are well thought out, while the characters steal the show. Kids aged 8-12 will see themselves as Nate figures out what to do to save the day, and even as he bounces from rooftop to rooftop. Who wouldn't love to give their teacher fudge in order to make her forget about assigning homework? The writing is, as always, a pleasure to partake of. Brandon Mull is a gifted author who knows how to reach out to his readers even when giving them those important reminders to drink milk and not take candy from strangers. I will anxiously await even more published work from this author, and Shadow Mountain.

5 out of 5 stars

Refreshing Imagery September 12, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Bradon Mull is a refreshing addition to literature, his book is new and exciting. I bought this for my daughter after reading both "Fablehaven" books (which are wonderful) and she loved it. Just good clean fun for the whole family my husband and myself have read them as well as my 15 year old. Everyone is waiting for the next one. He creates likeable characters with interesting personalities and great bad guys. The twists in turns in the plot are well developed. His adventures are every childs fantasy9 that of my were extra creative too). Give them a try you won't be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars

Another hit! September 20, 2007
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

My students (I really am a school librarian)love Brandon Mull's books as much as I do and I'm thrilled to know that a Utah author is making it big. If you haven't discovered him, I promise you won't be disappointed! The action is lively right from the beginning, the characters are well-written and engaging and Mull doesn't talk down to his readers. You can't go wrong.
One note: How did all the editors of this new book miss a glaring error? It says (page 38) that Jefferson and Madison died on the same day, July 4th. Jefferson and ADAMS died on the same day, July 4th, 1826, and Monroe, not Madison, died five years later on July 4th.

3 out of 5 stars

Another exciting read from Brandon Mull October 9, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Brandon Mull continues his tradtion of page-turning excitement found in his Fablehaven series with The Candy Shop War. Although the first half of the book wasn't quite as entertaining as his other books, Brandon manages to really hit this one out of the park with a compelling ending.

Brandon is clearly establishing himself as a must-read author. Enjoy!

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