The Frozen Telescope

The Uncommoners #3

by Jennifer Bell, Karl James Mountford (Design)

After the thrilling events which concluded The Smoking Hourglass, Ivy, Seb and Valian think they've vanquished their enemies, and those of Lundinor, forever. It turns out their adventure was only just beginning . . . Ivy and Seb can't wait to join Valian for their first ever overseas uncommon adventure - they're meeting in Nubrook, the completely astonishing and totally-different-to-Ludinor trading market hidden underneath New York. But there's no time to enjoy looking round all the incredible sights - they're on a mission to find Valian's long-lost sister, Rosie.But it seems they're not the only ones looking for her. Once again the Dirge rear their terrifying heads, and it appears they're after not only Rosie, but another enormously powerful Great Uncommon Good object. But what do they want it for? And can Ivy, Seb and Valian stop them from finding it?

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Juvenile

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2018

About the author

Londoner Jennifer Bell began working in children’s books as a specialist bookseller at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, one of the world’s most famous bookstores. After having the privilege of listening to children talk about their favorite books for many years, she started writing a book of her own on her lunch breaks.

For other authors with the same name, see Jennifer^^Bell.

Reviews

[Dragana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sjajna završnica serijala. 😍
I definitivno najbolji deo. Ima mana, ali likovi su toliko divni da je sve ostalo nebitno.

[Marie the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and these charcters so much! Its magical and exciting and kind of refreshing!

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vraiment triste d'avoir terminer cette trilogie 🥺

[Evelyn Evertsen-Romp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deze serie werd maar beter en beter, het barst van fantasie, actie en vriendschap.
Gewoon hartstikke leuk leesvoer. Hopelijk wordt het vertaald!

[Galleane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Malheureusement ce dernier tome est un flop. Après un premier opus que j'avais adoré, le reste de la série n'aura pas eu le même effet avec moi. À vrai dire je n'ai jamais réussi à me mettre dans l'histoire de L'armée des spectres, je suis clairement restée extérieure tout du long.
Pas de chronique prévue dessus sur le blog.

[Bookwanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a good end to the uncommoners series. Normally I feel sad when one of my favourite book series ends, but instead I feel like it was a worthy end.

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! Finished this last night and loved it! Would’ve finished it sooner, but it’s been a crazy last few days. I loved this series w/my whole heart! This ending book was perfect! I love the story ending that every character got. I love the friendships in these books. I love reading about a bunch of friends going on adventures together & being their own separate family together. There were so many twists & turns, & I loved every minute. I loved the mystery aspect & adventures. Scratch still has my heart of course lol so cute. Even that blows my mind. Scratch & everything about Scratch-that the author came up with that shows such creativity & awesomeness lol of course another amazing cover by Karl James Mountford w/illustrations sprinkled throughout the book again as well😍😍 if you couldn’t tell I HIGHLY recommend this series. I’m excited to now read Wonderscape!!💜💜



Synopsis of 1st book in trilogy: Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems…

When their grandmother Sylvie is rushed to the hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what adventure lies in store. Soon their house is ransacked by unknown intruders, and a very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush.

Ivy and Seb make their escape only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, a secret underground city called Lundinor where ordinary objects have amazing powers. There are belts that enable the wearer to fly, yo-yos that turn into weapons, buttons with healing properties, and other enchanted objects capable of very unusual feats.

But the forces of evil are closing in fast, and when Ivy and Seb learn that their family is connected to one of the greatest uncommon treasures of all time, they must race to unearth the treasure and get to the bottom of a family secret . . . before it’s too late.

[HelloLasse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awwwwww!!!
Så kær og varm
men stadig dramatisk fortælling!


På en måde selvstænding historie og ligevel forsættelse :o
men det er stadig en del af en serie! såååå ;)

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sikke en fantastisk afslutning på en helt fantastisk serie. Det, der bedst kan beskrive, hvad jeg er synes, er at jeg virkelig ærger mig over at serien er slut. De sidste 100 sider prøvede jeg at bevare så længe som muligt, trods det var virkelig svært - den var så spændende, at jeg knap kunne lægge bogen fra mig. Helt igennem gennemført univers. Da første bind udkom fik vi, boghandlerne, at vide at dette ville være den nye Harry Potter. Jeg var så bange for at det var lidt for meget samme plot, samme karakterer og samme univers. Der er INTET, der minder om Harry Potter, ud over at det foregår i London og at de normale mennesker blivet kaldt murkere. Jeg er så glad for at hun skabte så gennemført et univers og hele historien bliver der bare bundet rigtig fin knude på i denne bog. Gør dig den tjeneste at læs den - mine varmeste anbefalinger.

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read- September 2020 for Becca's Bookopoly (Roll 15, Set in the Present), Bratz Readathon (Yasmin, Animal on the Cover), A Touch of Whimsy Readathon (Queen of Hearts Palace, Book You Think You Will Love), Mamma Mia Readathon (When All Is Said and Done, Final Book in a Series), MONSTERathon (The Beasts, Underhyped Book) and Sequel September
- I 100% think that the second book in this series is the best installment. I really enjoyed how this wrapped everything up but it felt quite rushed.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much. Everything about it is adorable, clever and intriguing. I’m so happy for Valian that Rosie is alive, and the plot twist was very well done. I love the recurring Dirge antagonism in these books, and I feel like this book shows Alexander’s true colours more. Ivy’s abilities were explored throughout this series, and the communication with one of the Great Uncommon Good was so amazing! I seriously recommend to 12 and unders reading this. It is so adorable!

[Femke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful heartwarming ending of the trilogy!

[Twogirlsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les Extraordinaires est une saga jeunesse que j'ai découvert l'année dernière et qui avait été une de mes plus belles découvertes. C'est avec une grande impatience que je me suis lancée dans le dernier tome de la saga. La quête des Grands Biens Extraordinaires est lancée ! Ivy, Seb et Valian doivent récupérer ces objets avant la Mormô qui en a besoin pour mener à bien ses plans machiavéliques. Les enfants doivent se rendre dans le broc-en-bourg de Nubrook à la recherche de la sœur de Valian, disparue il y a de nombreuses années.

C'est avec tristesse que j'ai lu ce dernier tome. J'avais tellement aimé les personnages, et l'univers que je n'avais pas envie de leur dire au revoir. Je ne vais pas vous mentir, L'Armée des spectres n'est pas mon tome préféré et cela pour plusieurs raisons. Je sais qu'il s'agit d'une saga jeunesse mais j'ai trouvé la fin un peu trop facile. Il m'a manqué une grande bataille et je pense que c'est dû au fait qu'il manque un réel antagoniste dans ce tome. Dans les deux tomes précédents, il y avait un méchant bien présent, ce qui n'est pas le cas ici. J'ai trouvé les méchants plus distants et c'est dommage pour un tome final. Quoiqu'il en soit, ce tome se démarque vraiment des précédents parce qu'il se passe en dehors de Londinor et de ce fait, il s'éloigne un peu de ce qui fait le charme de la saga dans les autres tomes. L'Armée des spectres reste tout de même une bonne conclusion à la saga et j'ai bien aimé l'épilogue.

Ce qui fait le charme de ce livre, c'est cet esprit de brocante car il base son univers sur le marché de Londinor où des objets magiques sont vendus. Après trois tome, je suis toujours aussi fan de cette brocante d'objets qui apporte une ambiance particulière. Ce que j'ai aimé dans ce tome, c'est de découvrir d'autres broc-en-bourgs comme Nubrook et ses dizaines de souterrains sous New York et Strassa, la ville du ciel au Tibet.

Quant aux personnages, ils sont toujours aussi plaisants à suivre. Ma préférence va pour Ivy, une petite fille qui s'affirme et prend sa place de meneuse par la force des événements. Elle gagne aussi en courage et en maturité. C'est également le cas pour Seb, le frère d'Ivy. Ce dernier s'affirme pour de bon et évolue aussi. Valian, l'ami de la fratrie est touchant de part sa relation avec sa sœur, Rosie. Cette dernière compte plus que tout pour lui et je comprends totalement ses motivations. J'ai bien aimé M. Rife qui est un original que j'ai aimé découvrir car il a le cœur sur la main.

Pour conclure, L'Armée des spectres est une bonne conclusion à la saga. J'ai bien aimé découvrir d'autres broc-en-bourgs à travers le monde, toujours avec cette ambiance de brocante que j'affectionne. Les personnages sont plaisants à suivre. Ce qui est dommage, c'est que la bataille finale est trop facile et il manque d'un vrai antagoniste.

Twogirlsandbooks

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

From a promising start, the Uncommoners trilogy came to a disappointing end with The Frozen Telescope. The last volume repeats the mistakes of the second book and does not really bring the characters or the plot forward. The heroic threesome of Seb, Ivy and Valian are searching for the last two, unknown artefacts known as the Great Uncommon Good, as well as attempting to solve the mystery of Valian's missing younger sister. The adventure takes them to new Undermarts in New York and Tibet before the final showdown with the evil Dirge back in Ludinor where it all began. At first I was fascinated and impressed by the colour and texture of the Uncommon world. I found the uncommon items interesting and unique. Nothing, however, progresses from the first book. Uncommon items are mounted upon each other until you can't possibly follow the plot in any reasonable way because whenever there is a new problem to face you can assume it will be solved by a previously unheard of uncommon object that performs just the right trick. Nothing in the plot seems sustainable. That isn't helped by a structure akin to Riordan's action-fests. We are never given time to settle, moving from chase to battle to hair-raising journey. The scenes are overly dynamic, making it had to get a real sense of what's going on or the build up of tension. Similarly, mysteries are spontaneously revealed as quickly as the next one appears. Like the Hobsnatch attire worn by the Uncommoners, nothing fits together. It's all a bit of a mess. At first it was a fun, intriguing mess. In the Frozen Telescope I was bored by it and, more importantly, didn't feel I had learned anything fresh about the main characters since the start of book one. Seb has a crush with a character he barely has any interaction with. They are followed by a dead babysitter called Curtis who has no identity or story of her own. I could exchange the members of the Dirge among themselves and wouldn't know the difference except for their uncommon weapons which give them weird super villain powers. I still give credit to the world itself. The writing remains snappy and the uncommon society is rich in details, sounds, smells and textures. But I felt so much more could have been done with the plot instead of these three repetitive, narratively similar action filled episodes.

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

THE FROZEN TELESCOPE is the final instalment in the Uncommoners series.

While retaining the whimsy and out-there imagination of the first too books, the vibe of this book is a little different. There is a mystery thread in this book (what are the villains doing?) but as it's much more obviously villain centric (rather than what does this symbol mean and how is it related to these happenings?), the book focuses less on the mystery. Instead, it's more of an adventure where Ivy, Seb, and Valian feel several steps behind the villains and desperately trying to catch up so they can defeat their enemies.

A lot happens in this final instalment, which is also the shortest entry. It's why I think the ending felt a little rushed and scattered as there wasn't quite enough time for all the action to play out before the next big moment, so it got a little compacted. It's still a lot of fun, but I wasn't entirely able to follow the sequence in the Himalayas as they seemed to go from location to location very fast, and a lot of people were mentioned in the lab fight.

It's a nice end of series, tying up the various loose threads in a satisfying way. We do see more of Ivy's abilities and the mystery around Valian's sister becomes very central to this book - they are going to the American Undermart to search for her. Allies and foes from the previous books return, as everyone rushes for the last of the Great Uncommon Goods.

I believe we are due another Jennifer Bell middle grade end of the year, as there were two (standalone) books sold in the WONDERSCAPE deal, so there's that to look forwards too!

[Emilie Awesome · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like a hassle to go through. Wasn't it for my need to finish the series, I'd stopped after book one.
My biggest issue with this book is the things that don't make sense. The idea is brilliant - the universe has a unique twist with the uncommon objects - it's got a good amount of humour - and the writing is pretty good. But the meaning, the making sense, is absolutely not present.
To me, what the characters do have to have a reason that makes sense. Is she an 11-year old making weird choices? Yes, I can accept that. Is he influenced by emotions? Makes sense. Does the old, wise protector - who've lived for centuries - make sense, when he gives a book to a young girl, a book which he knows people are killing for to get? No! There are so many things in this book, where I read it and think "But how is this true? How is this character acting like he is written?" And this is a killing point for my enjoyment of this book.
Even something as central as to why the uncommoners hide their world from the commoners, doesn't make sense. Because it's "dangerous"? There is no difference between commoners and uncommoners, only their knowledge - which is completely shareable, since Ivy and Seb easily is told how things work.
It really annoys me. I can see why the writer did it - to move the plot and story the way she wanted. But it's done in a bad way, and that really kills the joy for me. The book itself is well-written, and got a load of interesting characters (who sadly don't chit-chat), and the uniqueness of the items is also very intriguing. But I can't enjoy a book that doesn't make sense.

[Hannah Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I shouldn't have continued this series, but I just don't know what to read with the libraries closed. The characters have become very bland and the world building didn't develop well after the first book. The author can't quite decide if the uncommon world is made up of markets that pop up every few months or a full on alternate reality where people like valian live full lives. The first book worked because it was a Ludinor market-centric introduction to the secret society, but the evil villain is confusing and not very satisfying without a good understanding of the secret world. This third book is very mechanical, just the plot moving from one place to another, with no real character moments or stakes. I know it's for kids but I've read much better books for kids!

[Anna-Sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the trilogy of the Uncommoners - The original parts of the story, as well as those I found to be heavily influenced by Harry Potter (Muckers= Muggles, Soulparts=Horcruxes, and a trio of kids saving the world :)).
I wish the gallery of characters had been a bit more limited though; I was sometimes confused by all the many, many people Ivy and Seb met...who was important and who were merely adding colour to the story?
But in general: Entertaining and well-written!

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivy and Seb are more than willing to help Varian find his long lost sister Rosie, but time is running out as they begin to find clues revealing a connection between the missing girl and terrible power that will give the Dirge the power they need to tear apart the world. Bell brings this exciting and creative trilogy to a beautiful close with a steadily lovable cast and continued wonder in her many colourful settings. How will Ivy and her friends find Rosie before their enemies?

[Ana Maisuradze · Rating 5 out of 5]

წიგნს ეტყობა ჰარი პოტერის გავლენა, ისეთი დოზით არა, როგორც პერსი ჯექსონს, მაგრამ მაინც. მიუხედავად ამისა, ძალიან კარგია. სამ წიგნიანი სერიაა, რაც უფრო მოქნილს ხდის სერიას და იგივე პრობლემას არ გაუჩენს ბავშვებს, რასაც ჰარი პოტერის შემთხვევაში ვხვდებით (იწყებენ და 3-4 წიგნის შემდეგ არ/ვერ აგრძელებენ). სამივე წიგნი ერთნაირი სირთულისაა და ძალიან გემრიელად იკითხება. ავტორის ფანტაზია დასაფასებელია, რადგან ამდენ ჩვეულებრივ ნივთს უჩვეულო თვისება მოუძებნა. წიგნი ლამაზი ილუსტრაციებითაც გამოირჩევა.

[Giorgi Tsintsadze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I bought this book on the first day, i was really excited for it. I loved first 2 books even though they had their own flows. I think other than beautiful and interesting world Jennifer Bell has created, I was hooked by the mystery element in the series, and that is what the third book lacked.

[Stacey Lei · Rating 5 out of 5]

As per the two books before this one, this book was fantastic, the entire trio of books from this series was just marvellous and by far the best set of books I’ve read. The author writes so well and has such an amazing imagination! Really feel like I had been taken away to another world! Brilliant!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't mind this book, but I wish I had read it immediately after the first two as it took me a while to remember who was who. Some of the world-building and plot felt quite clunky. It was very hard to understand what was going on as the plotline got more and more complicated. It felt like the writer was trying to juggle ten different ideas at once, and none of them never really landed.

[André Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book of the trilogy, I feel sad already because it's always such a wonderful read, and this third book, was by far, my favorite, maybe because the side story of the other two books was the main story in this one. I honestly thought the missing girl would be like some evil being. Thank god I was wrong. Hope The Uncommoners will have another story soon.

[Christina Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first two books in this series, especially with trying to guess all the uncommon uses of ordinary objects. I liked this book too, but wish I had read it immediately after the first two as it took me a while to reconnect with the characters.

[Rebecca Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a satisfying end to a lovely series. I'll miss reading about Ivy, Seb, Judy, but especially Scratch. I was very happy with what the series end meant for Scratch. It's hard to find refreshing middle grade series like these sometimes. I'll miss the Uncommoners world.

[Lady Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one instead of listened to it, and that might have made all the difference. I was not as engaged in this book. I can't really tell if this is supposed to be the end or not. It ended in a way that there could be more books. However, I don't think I would read them.

[Michelle allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5