Unlucky Charms: The Second Magical Adventure About Fairies and Goblins for Kids (Ages 8-12)

The Cold Cereal Saga #2

by Adam Rex

For fans of Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson & the Olympians comes the second book in Adam Rex's acclaimed Cold Cereal Saga, about three kids who must save the world from the diabolical schemes of an evil breakfast company.

Scottish Play Doe and his friends may have escaped from the clutches of the evil Nimue, but they're not out of the woods just yet.

The Goodco Cereal Company's quest to take over the world is quickly gaining it has already started to sell cereals containing the magical chemical Intellijuice and, what's worse, has kidnapped one of the world's most important public figures, the Queen of England, and replaced her with goblin impersonators.

When Scott and the others learn that Goodco is holding the real queen captive in a magical other-England, they decide to pass through a rift in the time-space continuum and rescue her—and hopefully convince the faeries to stop the invasion that will bring about the end of the world as they know it.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, Humor, Childrens, Juvenile, Mystery

405 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Arizona, and meet his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one).

Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don't mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone's name until he's heard it at least three times. He likes animals, spacemen, Mexican food, Ethiopian food, monsters, puppets, comic books, 19th century art, skeletons, bugs, and robots.

Garlic and crosses are useless against Adam. Sunlight has been shown to be at least moderately effective. A silver bullet does the trick. Pretty much any bullet, really.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

...What I'm getting at - obviously - is that Adam Rex does. I don't know what is similar in our backgrounds or genetics or whatever, but his imagination travels paths that seem enticing and familiar to me - as if they are paths that I glimpsed once from a passing car and wished I had the time to detour into. His humor makes me laugh out loud on trains and in bars.

I interviewed my son Milo about Unlucky Charms on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/201...

[Amy Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second books of a trilogy are often described as having "middle-book syndrome." I rarely agree with the assessment, but this one definitely had it if any book does -- following a few too many characters and a few too many plot threads, with very little of it getting either properly re-introduced or properly resolved. Still, make no mistake. I absolutely loved the first book, I enjoyed the second, and I am 100% on board for Book 3.

[BAYA Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

World domination through breakfast cereal additives is fairly implausible. But that is practically the most believable aspect of this silly, though occasionally endearing, second book in a promised trilogy. The first book cast corporate America and the Masons as the villains. Here we find that they were mere puppets to the more nefarious plot hatched by an evil fairy queen. And quite a plot it is. This being a sequel, Rex wastes no time reintroducing the characters or redefining the conflict. The first pages open with an action sequence that propels the reader directly into another action sequence with entirely different characters in a different setting. Things happen constantly in this book with only a loose attempt to explain motives.

The cast of characters is large and often indistinct. It is easy to confuse the kids, though the leprechaun and shaved Sasquatch tend to stand out. As various quests branch out from the central storyline, the plot line becomes increasingly muddled. The conclusion is entirely inconclusive, simply leading us to the place where the third book in the trilogy will begin.

Adam Rex is a master of the ridiculous, layering clever wordplay, plot twists, fantastical elements, absurd situations, preposterous characters, and puns in a farce that is overly stuffed and lacking in heart or a cohesive plot. Readers who prefer humor above all else find this book fun and charming.

[mandyfujita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read "Cold Cereal", which is the first book of this saga about 1 year ago. So when I saw the "Unlucky Charms" was the second book, I immediately borrowed it. I kind of forgot what happened in the first book so I was kind of mixed up as to who the characters where and how they were related. I think that Adam Rex assumed a lot in his writing that the readers remembered or even read the first book.

The main character, Scott Doe and his sister Polly were fed a milk product that is supposed to make you smart. Nimue which is a fairy runs a cereal company called Goodco. She wants to take over the world by making children her soldiers in her army. In this book, the Queen of England is suspected of being kidnapped by these heroines and replaced by goblins. Its up to Scott and the gang to save the queen and hopefully clear up the reputation of their father, John who is seen punching the queen in the face.

There was only one part that I laughed out loud. There is a fight scene with hairy men and John. Its hilarious. That was all I liked about the book. It didn't seem like anything was happening that I cared about.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than the first -- it was able to roll off the momentum of the first book, and avoid some of the pacing trouble that occurred with setting up a story that has so many diverse storylines converging into one. I laughed more often with this one too. There's still a little too much going on -- there are often 4-5 separate adventures going on in unison -- but it was easier to keep track of this time.

[Reah N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of the first book will enjoy this sequel. This book has the same quirky, sarcastic style as the first in the series, Cold Cereal. There are exciting adventures, clever quips, and lots of danger.

The plot breaks up into many smaller plots, when Scott’s group splits into four. We follow each group on their own individual journeys.
And, it felt sort of chaotic. Yes, these stories are all related in theory, since they're working towards the same goal and all that. But the same time, I’m still not sure what actually happened. They had exciting adventures, they came close to death, they worked to save the world, etc. But other than some very minor discoveries and advances, they’re still in the same place they were in at the end of Cold Cereal. Only, now each group is standed in a separate location and needs to find their way back.

The book fell somewhat flat for me, personally. YA fan of Cold Cereal will probably enjoy this continuation. Otherwise...

Similar recommendations:
Just One Wish
The Candy Shop War
The Princess Curse
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Content:
Religion: The Hebrew Bible is mentioned and the scene where Gileadites defeated Ephraimites in battle and had people say shibboleth to find the surviving Ephraimites.
Nimue is said to leave Arthur’s fate “to the gods”.
Merle time travels twenty eight billion years into the future, so far into the future that earth is dead and gone and started again.

Violence:
There is fighting with swords and arrows, killing, and cruel curses put on people. There are goblins that can grow a skin to impersonate any person they want. They keep all their old skins in the closet.
There’s one picture of a man who keeps his head in a cage.

Romance:
There is a picture of mermaids with hair covering the top half of their bodies. John flirts with them to get magical caps to go underwater with.
When Polly plays, she makes her dolls Prince Fi and Barbie kiss.
There are a few mentions of illegitimate children as part of King Artur’s story. Igraine spends the night with Uther, because she thinks he’s her husband. Though, in this version of the story it never happened, and Merlin only tells Uther that it happened. And, Arthur sneaks out with Morgan le Fay and they have an illegitimate son.

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still reading.... So many pop culture references that have me chuckling. Not sure if younguns will get a lot of these. Had totally forgotten the story of Uther's tricking of Igraine resulting in the birth of Arthur. This story gives a rather different, screwball time-travelly look at the whole Arthurian legend, but I suspect a lot of the references may fly right over the heads of many (most?) 4th and 5th graders--unless they are fairy tale and Arthurian legend buffs. Lots of concurrent storylines, lots of shifting from one to the other, lots of chuckles, and a few head-scratching moments as I got tangled between present/past/future and who was who--even so, I want to see where this all ends up.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The middle book of a trilogy. Every bit as good as the first book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much King Arthur mythos is in this one. So funny, so imaginative. Adam Rex rules middle-grade fiction. Loved it, grabbed the last book from the library immediately.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this one scared my son more than the first. He still wants to know what happens next, but isn't as excited as he was at the beginning of the book.

[Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh and funny. A well built world with relatable characters.

[Tobinsfavorite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this faster than the first one and liked it better than the first one.

[Kathy]

Unlucky Charms

By Adam Rex

The book Unlucky Charms is the second book of the Cold Cereal Saga, which is about an evil cereal company called Goodco that puts magical items in their cereal that does stuff to the consumers such as making people smarter but these products have nasty side effects on people such as dizzy spells, nausea, etc.



The main characters in this book are Scottish Play Doe (Aka. Scott), Poly Ester Doe, Erno, Emily,Biggs, Merle Lin, Harvey, Mick, Prince Fi and John Doe. There are quite a lot of main characters as you can see! But the biggest main character is Scott.

In this book Goodco kidnaps the queen of England and hides her in a place called Pretanica, which is a second Earth but only has Ireland and is magical. The people from Pretanica are also planning an attack on Earth because they blame them for their ever shrinking world. Also there is one more problem Prince Fi is searching for his brothers, Fee, Fo, and Denzil so they need to find them too.

The Queen problem is solved first as they bring the Queen Back home, the invasion problem is also partially solved but both these rescue missions are stuck in Pretanica. Meanwhile the people outside Pretanica are Harvey, Biggs, Prince Fi, Poly, Erno, and Emily. Fi, Poly,and Harvey are on their quest for the lost brothers Fo, Fee, and Denzil they sneak into the Goodco factory in the town where they are staying where they find the brothers in a gerbil cage. They then sneak out safely and drive away while Erno solves a clue that his adopted father gave to him. The book then ends.

I like this book and would definitely recommend it to people my age on a scale of 1 to 5 I would rate it a 4. I like it because I read the 1st book of this series and loved it then I heard about the second book and I wanted to read. I also feel there is just the right amount of humor and fantasy to keep me interested instead of me throwing the book across the room in disgust. I think you should read this book!

[Maren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, the last book I read I wrote a pretty scathing review because it was totally "implausible."

Um. This book is about a cold cereal company trying to take over the world. Well, the cereal company is just a front for the evil fairies who crossed over into this world from theirs and want to destroy everyone. Because they think that humans stole their fairy magic. But it wasn't really them, it was just an accident. Or misunderstanding. Because of the time traveling.

So, I'm not going to try to pass this off as plausible, because obviously it isn't. But the story is clever, hilarious, and exciting. And I found the plot development (if not the elements) and character interactions very plausible, for example, Polly and Fi's little spat, and how they resolve it. Never mind that she is a changeling and he is a four inch pixie...

I thought that this book moved a little slower than the first. There was a lot of storytelling that was interesting and relevant, but seemed to slow down the action. But still a lot of fun.

[Rachel Sharpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

One: I read this entire book aloud to my husband over a nine-hour car trip. I have no voice, but we read all 380-some pages. (Did I say we? I mean me.)

Two: He liked it! He really liked the humor of the book, even more so than I did. He's an English major, so he caught a lot of the references that Rex uses.

Three: There's way too much going on here! I had to pause every chapter and ask if he remembered what characters were doing what and where. Granted, he was distracted by driving, but there are a lot of characters in all sorts of different places.

Four: I don't even know how to recommend this to a child. I don't think they'd get the humor or the references. It works as a read aloud because of the humor, but then... it's almost 400 pages. That's a strain on your vocal cords (believe me).

Conclusion: I appreciate books that make my husband laugh, but I'm just not sure that a third grader or even a sixth grader would enjoy this, and unfortunately, that's the target audience. So meh.

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS SO WEIRD, I LOVE IT.

I loved the audiobook of Cold Cereal but apparently the rest of the trilogy hasn't been recorded, so I read the print copy. Which was cool too, because it has illustrations! (Illustrations of awesome black pixies with Afros!) Also one of the discs of the audiobook was jacked up so reading this made me realize that I had missed some fairly significant plot twists, but I felt like I was able to get up to speed pretty quickly.

I think these books would make fun family read-alouds because there are a lot of references that will probably fly over a lot of kids' heads, such as the introduction of Sir Richard Starkey of the Quarrymen, as a character. But I also think they're fun enough that kids will dig them even if they don't get everything. (And then maybe one day when they're older they'll realize, oh, I read Beatles RPF fanfiction when I was a kid, weird.)

[Tania Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this second book in the Cold Cereal Saga very much. Rex's oddball sense of humour and excellent sense of human relationships come though beautifully. I also liked the way the book played around with Arthurian, Shakespearean and Celtic lore. Sadly, this book did not make quite the impact on me that that first one did. I recommend EVERYONE go out and read Cold Cereal, but I wouldn't recommend this one as highly. This book lacked the political messages, the profound yet still humourous commentaries on advertising, the sheer "this is the most original book I've ever read" punch of the first book, but it's still a fun read with some great characters in it. And if you want a more fawning review, take a look at my review of the first book - I gush about it in a way that's a little sycophantic.

[Summer B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to see this on my library shelf, because I had flown through Cold Cereal on a whim last year.

This one has all the quirk and charm of the first book, but in my opinion, the plot is lacking. It still pulls you through the book, but towards the end I found myself asking what any of the characters had actually accomplished this time around. When I realized that there was no way he would be able to tie up all the loose ends and this book was going to end without doing so, I was annoyed.

It's still remarkably inventive, which in the fantasy world of tired tropes is a huge accomplishment, but it lacked the cohesiveness as a stand-alone book of the first one. Also, you would not be able to read this without having read the first, as it just kind of picks up where Cold Cereal left off.

Overall, it was still a fun read, but I wouldn't choose it on it's own merits.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young friend was reading Cold cereal and wanted discuss it so I picked it up, reread it and then discovered that there was a sequel - book two in a trilogy. I am glad I reread book 1 because book 2 just jumps right into the story.

A full cast of characters continues the fight against the evil cereal company Goodco. But there is more at stake than eliminating Milk-7 or Intellijuice from our diets. The company nurse is really an evil fairy who wants to open the portal to her old world and bring in more magical creatures and, of course, take over the world. It is a speedy romp through danger, chases, and hunts for portals, but it keeps you interested. Although sometimes you have to stop and think as it jumps abruptly between characters following different story lines. If Dan Brown can do, why not Adam Rex. And the illustrations are amazing. Fun and funny. What kid wouldn't like this.

[Sarah Briel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to Adam Rex's Cold Cereal is just as insane, amazing, and crazy as the first. I loved it from the action packed page one to the last word of the final chapter. The entire book is a page turner of crazy awesomeness and cliffhangers.

We get introduced to more characters, and other characters backstories are revealed (in the most entertaining, and non-boring way possible). We get to travel across the world and through time (at least in the backstories, if nothing else ;) ). We get to experience drama and action in basically every stinking scene in the entire book. And everything is filled with adventure, and craziness more than you could ever expect.

I totally recommend this series to anyone who can read doesn't mind a little craziness, and enjoys amazing action and random fantasy, and anything to do with evil cereal companies.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott, short for Scottish Play Doe, his father John Doe, stage name Reggie Dwight, his sister and friends, which consist of a leprechaun, a pooka, a pixie prince, time traveler Merle Lynn, and a fire-breathing finch fight valiantly against the forces of the Good and Harmless Freeman of America, agents of the evil Goodco Cereal Company, and the equally evil Queen Nimue to prevent a hostile fairy takeover of the earth using rifts in the time-space continuum and children brainwashed from eating Puftees™ or Peanut Butter Clobbers™ for breakfast.

The action picks right up where Cold Cereal leaves off, so it could be hard for a reader to keep up with the plot if they have not read the first book in the series. That said, this is more action-packed, very funny fantasy fiction from Rex.

[Alice Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of fun and funny things happening in Unlucky Charms, but there is also just a little too much going on. There are references to events from Cold Cereal throughout, but not a comprehensive overview to set up the book and the characters. Consequently there were too many voices speaking at once, alluding to past events that are too loosely tied into this book. The adventures are fun and fast-paced, but sometimes lacked certain details like what happened to certain characters or even what happened to a character's train of thought. The multiple cliff-hanger endings leaves a fizzle before any climax, so you feel like you've only read half a book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel suffers from being the middle of a trilogy more than any other book I have read. It starts in the middle of things with no review or introduction to the characters and ends abruptly, as if the author had reached his quota of page numbers. Yes, Adam Rex is quirky and hilarious. There were puns or random asides that made me snort. But the shape of the story itself is entirely lacking. Too many threads, characters coming and going, bits of information withheld from the reader, elements of Arthurian legend over explained. Even the first book had more focus.

Smekday was one of my favorite books ever. My hope for every one of his novels since then continues to be smashed.

[Naomi Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear that Adam Rex will never have another The True Meaning of Smekday--one of the most fantastic books I have ever read--but his books do continue to amuse nonetheless. It's been a while since I read the first book in this series, so I may have forgotten some important details, but there did seem to be some confusing plot elements floating around. But the story is interesting, I enjoyed the King Arthur-era flashbacks, and there was more than one laugh-out-loud moment, at least one aimed especially at grown-ups. I await book 3, but even more a hope for another stroke of genius like Smekday.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, the series has a movie star, a pooka, a leprechaun, a unicat, an evil cereal company that is trying to take over the world. It has Merlin, Nimue, Titania, and a mechanical owl. It features two sets of siblings that have to stop the evil cereal company and figure out a way to bring magic back into our world without getting everyone killed or enslaved.

It's funny, crazy, unlikely, and sometimes heart-wrenching. Oh, and occasionally it's gross.

Yes, it's good. Very, very good.

For the rest of the "Books that Deserve Longer Reviews" review, check here, on Bookwyrme's Lair.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The humor keeps coming in this second part of the story of Scottish Play "Scott" Doe, his sister, their rediscovered dad, a couple of best friends/not-really-sibling, & an extremely improbable cast of real-life mythological creatures being sent to our world, captured, & exploited by the Goodco Cereal Company for obviously nefarious, if not currently known, reasons. Rex's illustrations really make the story come alive, & things are set up for the next installment to be a real fantasy-adventure humdinger.

[Ulrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recieved this book in a giveaway from Goodreads I had forgotten I had entered (my bad). It was really entertaining, and I do wish all of the art inside was there. I think the pictures would've really contributed to this reading, but nonetheless, I really liked it. It was an uplifting story with an interesting idea. I wish I read the first book! Usually I can predict exactly what happens in a book, but not in this one. It's unexpected and now I want to read the next one!

[Kim Heimbuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Avery, age 9
The Goodco Cereal Company wants to take over the world and it so far is doing pretty well. They are now selling cereal with a magical touch to make it magically delicious. The queen is kidnapped and replaced with goblins that look like her, and time is ticking. Can Scottish Play Doe save the Queen, get the fairies to help, and save the world? Let’s hope so.
Full review can be found at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The follow-up to Cold Cereal. Scott Doe and his friends are back. This time they travel to the United Kingdom in order to save the Queen of England. Rex blends: Alice in Wonderland, the Time Machine and the legond of King Arthur. He also uses a familar name of a drummer and his early band. Still funny and entertaining, Rex leaves the ending open, so I believe that there is another book coming soon.

[Jeff Raymond]

I tried Cold Cereal and, frankly, didn't like it too much. It had a lot of good ideas bogged down in a pretty dense setting, and wasn't especially kid-friendly, I felt. Unlucky Charms continues in that vein, and it just didn't work for me even a little bit. I think Adam Rex is great, but this series doesn't work for me at all.

[Terry]

The story is action-packed. While I enjoyed reading Unlucky Charms. Sometimes, you can pick up a book at book two and still enjoy it. It was clear that this would have been more understandable and enjoyable if I had read Cold Cereal first.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.