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Kingdoms and Empires #2
The Whispering Wars
From the award-winning Jaclyn Moriarty comes a spellbinding tale of unlikely friendship, unexpected magic and competitive athletics.
The town of Spindrift is frequented by all kinds of Shadow Mages and charlatans.
It's also home to the Orphanage School, where Finlay lives with Glim, Taya, and Eli. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee, Hamish, and Victor, Duke of Ainsley. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, the stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. Before long, the orphans and the boarding school kids are at each other's throats.
And then the Whispering Wars break out, and Spindrift is thrust onto the front lines. Children are being stolen; witches, sirens, and a deadly magical flu invade the town; and all attempts to fight back are met with defeat.
Finlay, Honey Bee, and their friends must join forces to outwit the encroaching forces of darkness, rescue the stolen children, and turn the tide of the war. But how can one bickering troupe outwit the insidious power of the Whisperers?
The town of Spindrift is frequented by all kinds of Shadow Mages and charlatans.
It's also home to the Orphanage School, where Finlay lives with Glim, Taya, and Eli. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee, Hamish, and Victor, Duke of Ainsley. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, the stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. Before long, the orphans and the boarding school kids are at each other's throats.
And then the Whispering Wars break out, and Spindrift is thrust onto the front lines. Children are being stolen; witches, sirens, and a deadly magical flu invade the town; and all attempts to fight back are met with defeat.
Finlay, Honey Bee, and their friends must join forces to outwit the encroaching forces of darkness, rescue the stolen children, and turn the tide of the war. But how can one bickering troupe outwit the insidious power of the Whisperers?
416 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2018
61 people are currently reading
1169 people want to read
About the author
Jaclyn Moriarty
37 books1,531 followersJaclyn Moriarty is an Australian writer of young adult literature.
She studied English at the University of Sydney, and law at Yale University and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a PhD.
She is the younger sister of Liane Moriarty. She was previously married to Canadian writer Colin McAdam, and has a son, Charlie. She currently lives in Sydney.
She studied English at the University of Sydney, and law at Yale University and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a PhD.
She is the younger sister of Liane Moriarty. She was previously married to Canadian writer Colin McAdam, and has a son, Charlie. She currently lives in Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
October 3, 2019
I love these books so much! Jaclyn Moriarty has this incredible way of writing, it's fun and easy to read but there's also so much going on. The plots are original and veer in unexpected directions, the characters are brilliant and engaging - this really is a brilliant book and a wonderful follow up to one my favourite books, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone.
Also, the illustrations by Kelly Canby are such a beautiful part of the book, I loved turning to a full page illustration and studying it for a while!
Also, the illustrations by Kelly Canby are such a beautiful part of the book, I loved turning to a full page illustration and studying it for a while!
March 11, 2023
This was a disappointment for me, the first that was so from all of Ms Moriarity's books I have read so far. Far too long, far too convoluted and in the end it just felt flat. Still worth 3 stars as she is so imaginative, but it got away from her this time. Sadly Bronte only had a cameo appearance, in coming back from the future. Not sure how the final two books of the series will pan out, hopefully much better than this one.
October 28, 2018
Update. I wrote about this at my blog, Trish Talks Texts, in the same review as Lenny's Book of Everything.
I find it difficult to explain how much I love this author's writing.
Her books are complicated, witty and never talk down to children.
Makes me want to go back to Bronte and re-read.
Loved this a lot.
I find it difficult to explain how much I love this author's writing.
Her books are complicated, witty and never talk down to children.
Makes me want to go back to Bronte and re-read.
Loved this a lot.
November 2, 2018
So magical and beautiful! I love all of Jaclyn Moriarty’s books and this one was no exception. I loved the way it was part of the world of the previous Kingdoms and Empires book and brought us some of the great characters from that book, while also telling a completely new story and introducing a wonderful cast of new characters. It also has so much of the author’s characteristic humour and I had so many laugh out loud moments while reading it.
May 27, 2024
Such a sweet and charming book
March 23, 2020
This is a Kingdoms & Empires novel. You will want to read Bronte’s adventure first, because you’ll like this one better if you do. Moriarty covers her bases, but when a key figure reappears and you’re wondering: what?! having read the other book, at least you will also experience: oh!! (maybe rub your hands together). Too, there are mentions, people…just read the other book first.
Jaclyn Moriarty will return with a second installment of Kingdom and Empires with the Whispering Wars we hear about in the first novel. It will be a scary time with enough of the whimsy and the fantastical for a reader to explore how wartime looks. Moriarty will also aid the reader by writing some very capable and determined young characters. She’ll give us two protagonists to start, but this will be a group effort—once she manages to gets everyone to cooperate.
From the very beginning we get the tension of two sides working both together and against one another. The adventure is recorded via alternating chapters between the perspectives of Finlay and Honey Bee. They have a story to tell, and a need to argue with—I mean, frequently address each other. You will learn later how this shared recording comes to be as the narratives catch up the action. Moriarty is kinda clever. But in the meantime, they are rivals: Finlay and the Orphanage and Honey Bee and Brathelthwaite Boarding School.
Finlay will open the adventure with a time to watch out for, when he, like many other children in the Empires & Kingdoms will vanish. In the meantime, we are to be introduced to his and the other orphans life in the Orphanage and another much anticipated day: the Spindrift Tournament. Alternately, Honey Bee will provide insight as to what her life looks like at Brathelwaite and introduce us to her cohort. Moriarty will again give us a lot of characters, but fortunately, the feel very much individual. Paired with illustrations, you’ll find them very easy to track in short order. And don’t worry, you won’t like all of them—all the way through, anyway.
We’ll arrive at the Spindrift Tournament where Moriarty will turn the burner up on the plot. A competition is soured and an orphan goes missing. And both the Whispering Wars and the War between small gangs of children begin in earnest. Finlay and Honey Bee will explain their reasonings with every escalating act of retribution. As for the War, you’ll have to attend to what Finlay and Honey Bee see and hear from the adults where and when they encounter them.
You need to pay attention the action happening at the periphery, in the adult world; but also admire the patterns played out between the children. There is an echo in the ways in which each side’s actions escalate, how easy it can be to get caught up; to write a narrative of one side that doesn’t consider the others’—and maybe they can’t know it. Too, there is dissention in the ranks and whether that matters or not in the ability to stop or change a course of action.
Just when the warring between the two schools becomes tiresome (in the novel and with the characters), two new figures and two new mysteries arrive. The strangers call the two groups to work together toward a mutually beneficial end. Their mission will launch us into Part 2 (of the 3 Part novel).
Part 2 brings us round to the event the opening of the book promises us. It was quite the journey to get the back story. Usually the device inspires an anticipation of an event, but it was too easy to get caught up in petty and dangerous antics to remember that a child was taken and another will be—and the protagonist no less. Intentional? Even so, we have the events of that day, leading up to that significant event…and it is awful. Moriarty has turned up the burner. Fear and anger builds in its suspicious nature and a population is ordered to be interred, “thrown in cages.”
The darkness that had already begun to gather, stolen children, serious illness, wartime deaths…it darkens. The children and the world itself have warned us they are capable of going to some drastic measures in which to succeed in their plans. With the children, it both terrifying and comforting.
The children will do something courageous, which means they do something terribly dangerous. And honestly, Moriarty makes no guarantees. I was surprised and impressed at how fraught Moriarty makes their situation.
We’ve learned by this point that the Parts of the novel are a break in the recording of the story. By the end of Part 1, we know why Finlay and Honey Bee have been elected to record the story of how they arrived where they are. We understand it’s import. Part 2 gives the record an additional reason: a desire for a way to get their story told. And indeed, the Whispering Wars offers unusual wartime perspectives: this is the recording of children, and they capture the stories (however peripheral) of unheard populations, including the voices of a future generation—and I mean this quite literally.
Part 3 is a plausible break in the narrative and we’ll again get filled in on what has happened. The novel will slow then race, wait, then become nail-biting. I was quick with the page turns here. And just when we can settle in to breathe and sip tea, we learn that the story hasn’t fully concluded. It’s the tightening of focus, we relax our gaze and begin to take in what has been going on in the periphery, where we haven’t been drawn to look and frankly, haven’t had time to. Remember how I’d written of the first Empires & Kingdoms novel:
It’s a pleasure watching all the pieces fit into place. [Moriarty] rewards the reader for paying attention, and because the clues seem obvious and [the protagonist] so quick to reflect on them, you may assume there’ll be little room for surprises.
Moriarty does it again. The mysteries will be solved, some you’d forgotten and some didn’t realize were mysteries needing solved. The one at the heart of the two stranger’s daring is the one revelation that will invite you to research the release date of Book 3. Man, I adore those two characters… And I hope in 3, we’ll learn the trajectory of a few more of this book’s characters.
The Whispering Wars is a different kind of companion novel; an odd sort of prequel that involves time-travel. But it must certainly be a bridge book back toward a future adventure involving the discovery made at the picnic… Moriarty is most imaginative and unbound by convention. This is the world she’s built and she knows how to have an adventure; willfully and open to anything. I love it.
Moriarty also writes, in The Whispering Wars, a story that feels all too relevant. She brings a complex occurrence into the realms of children with scenarios and characters with which young readers can identify. While not insulting them by limiting their skills of observation where the greater (adult) world is concerned. Moriarty offers levity and kindness where she can, but she doesn’t flinch from the darkness a war (among other things) brings with it, even if the story involves magic and fanciful creatures.
I’m looking forward to the next installment and the date when I sit down and read the whole series through. Between the characters, the clever imagination of Moriarty’s world, and the craftswomanship, Kingdoms & Empires is a place worth re-exploring at length.
Jaclyn Moriarty will return with a second installment of Kingdom and Empires with the Whispering Wars we hear about in the first novel. It will be a scary time with enough of the whimsy and the fantastical for a reader to explore how wartime looks. Moriarty will also aid the reader by writing some very capable and determined young characters. She’ll give us two protagonists to start, but this will be a group effort—once she manages to gets everyone to cooperate.
From the very beginning we get the tension of two sides working both together and against one another. The adventure is recorded via alternating chapters between the perspectives of Finlay and Honey Bee. They have a story to tell, and a need to argue with—I mean, frequently address each other. You will learn later how this shared recording comes to be as the narratives catch up the action. Moriarty is kinda clever. But in the meantime, they are rivals: Finlay and the Orphanage and Honey Bee and Brathelthwaite Boarding School.
Finlay will open the adventure with a time to watch out for, when he, like many other children in the Empires & Kingdoms will vanish. In the meantime, we are to be introduced to his and the other orphans life in the Orphanage and another much anticipated day: the Spindrift Tournament. Alternately, Honey Bee will provide insight as to what her life looks like at Brathelwaite and introduce us to her cohort. Moriarty will again give us a lot of characters, but fortunately, the feel very much individual. Paired with illustrations, you’ll find them very easy to track in short order. And don’t worry, you won’t like all of them—all the way through, anyway.
We’ll arrive at the Spindrift Tournament where Moriarty will turn the burner up on the plot. A competition is soured and an orphan goes missing. And both the Whispering Wars and the War between small gangs of children begin in earnest. Finlay and Honey Bee will explain their reasonings with every escalating act of retribution. As for the War, you’ll have to attend to what Finlay and Honey Bee see and hear from the adults where and when they encounter them.
You need to pay attention the action happening at the periphery, in the adult world; but also admire the patterns played out between the children. There is an echo in the ways in which each side’s actions escalate, how easy it can be to get caught up; to write a narrative of one side that doesn’t consider the others’—and maybe they can’t know it. Too, there is dissention in the ranks and whether that matters or not in the ability to stop or change a course of action.
Just when the warring between the two schools becomes tiresome (in the novel and with the characters), two new figures and two new mysteries arrive. The strangers call the two groups to work together toward a mutually beneficial end. Their mission will launch us into Part 2 (of the 3 Part novel).
Part 2 brings us round to the event the opening of the book promises us. It was quite the journey to get the back story. Usually the device inspires an anticipation of an event, but it was too easy to get caught up in petty and dangerous antics to remember that a child was taken and another will be—and the protagonist no less. Intentional? Even so, we have the events of that day, leading up to that significant event…and it is awful. Moriarty has turned up the burner. Fear and anger builds in its suspicious nature and a population is ordered to be interred, “thrown in cages.”
The darkness that had already begun to gather, stolen children, serious illness, wartime deaths…it darkens. The children and the world itself have warned us they are capable of going to some drastic measures in which to succeed in their plans. With the children, it both terrifying and comforting.
The children will do something courageous, which means they do something terribly dangerous. And honestly, Moriarty makes no guarantees. I was surprised and impressed at how fraught Moriarty makes their situation.
We’ve learned by this point that the Parts of the novel are a break in the recording of the story. By the end of Part 1, we know why Finlay and Honey Bee have been elected to record the story of how they arrived where they are. We understand it’s import. Part 2 gives the record an additional reason: a desire for a way to get their story told. And indeed, the Whispering Wars offers unusual wartime perspectives: this is the recording of children, and they capture the stories (however peripheral) of unheard populations, including the voices of a future generation—and I mean this quite literally.
Part 3 is a plausible break in the narrative and we’ll again get filled in on what has happened. The novel will slow then race, wait, then become nail-biting. I was quick with the page turns here. And just when we can settle in to breathe and sip tea, we learn that the story hasn’t fully concluded. It’s the tightening of focus, we relax our gaze and begin to take in what has been going on in the periphery, where we haven’t been drawn to look and frankly, haven’t had time to. Remember how I’d written of the first Empires & Kingdoms novel:
It’s a pleasure watching all the pieces fit into place. [Moriarty] rewards the reader for paying attention, and because the clues seem obvious and [the protagonist] so quick to reflect on them, you may assume there’ll be little room for surprises.
Moriarty does it again. The mysteries will be solved, some you’d forgotten and some didn’t realize were mysteries needing solved. The one at the heart of the two stranger’s daring is the one revelation that will invite you to research the release date of Book 3. Man, I adore those two characters… And I hope in 3, we’ll learn the trajectory of a few more of this book’s characters.
The Whispering Wars is a different kind of companion novel; an odd sort of prequel that involves time-travel. But it must certainly be a bridge book back toward a future adventure involving the discovery made at the picnic… Moriarty is most imaginative and unbound by convention. This is the world she’s built and she knows how to have an adventure; willfully and open to anything. I love it.
Moriarty also writes, in The Whispering Wars, a story that feels all too relevant. She brings a complex occurrence into the realms of children with scenarios and characters with which young readers can identify. While not insulting them by limiting their skills of observation where the greater (adult) world is concerned. Moriarty offers levity and kindness where she can, but she doesn’t flinch from the darkness a war (among other things) brings with it, even if the story involves magic and fanciful creatures.
I’m looking forward to the next installment and the date when I sit down and read the whole series through. Between the characters, the clever imagination of Moriarty’s world, and the craftswomanship, Kingdoms & Empires is a place worth re-exploring at length.
August 4, 2022
5 stars for the wonderful narration of Edward Killingback, Sarah Ovens, and Imogen Wilde! This was so fun on audio—I don’t know if I would have enjoyed it quite as much in print form, but I know I still would have liked it.
It’s written in alternating POV chapters, with the main characters —Finlay and Honey Bee—telling the story, commenting on what the other just wrote, and addressing the reader and each other directly. As a reader, you’ll have to forgive Finlay for calling you a “daft git” once in a while. He also uses “crabapple” as a substitute for “crap,” in its various expressions, as in “what a load of crabapple.”
The chapters are meant to be a kind of diary the characters are using to record an account of their adventures as soon as they happen (there’s a time travel element to why they’re doing this). I loved both these narrators and the way they depicted Finlay and Honey Bee and the other characters as Honey Bee and Finlay wrote about them. Honey Bee’s imitation of Hamish’s ditzy, chatterbox ways was so funny, and I adored the accent. Finlay’s shy friend Glim steps in for a few chapters, and the soft voice and accent the narrator used to depict her was lovely. Brontë and Alejandro from book 1 showed up too, much to my surprise and delight.
Moriarty’s frisky, inventive writing style is just my kind of thing, and the bickering narrators who gradually become friends filled my work commute with laughter. There were a few serious, dark turns that took me by surprise. I guess it shouldn’t have. It’s set during a war, so obviously it couldn’t all be tomfoolery and giggles.
I enjoyed this as much as the first, and I’m really looking forward to book 3!
It’s written in alternating POV chapters, with the main characters —Finlay and Honey Bee—telling the story, commenting on what the other just wrote, and addressing the reader and each other directly. As a reader, you’ll have to forgive Finlay for calling you a “daft git” once in a while. He also uses “crabapple” as a substitute for “crap,” in its various expressions, as in “what a load of crabapple.”
The chapters are meant to be a kind of diary the characters are using to record an account of their adventures as soon as they happen (there’s a time travel element to why they’re doing this). I loved both these narrators and the way they depicted Finlay and Honey Bee and the other characters as Honey Bee and Finlay wrote about them. Honey Bee’s imitation of Hamish’s ditzy, chatterbox ways was so funny, and I adored the accent. Finlay’s shy friend Glim steps in for a few chapters, and the soft voice and accent the narrator used to depict her was lovely. Brontë and Alejandro from book 1 showed up too, much to my surprise and delight.
Moriarty’s frisky, inventive writing style is just my kind of thing, and the bickering narrators who gradually become friends filled my work commute with laughter. There were a few serious, dark turns that took me by surprise. I guess it shouldn’t have. It’s set during a war, so obviously it couldn’t all be tomfoolery and giggles.
I enjoyed this as much as the first, and I’m really looking forward to book 3!
December 27, 2018
Seventeen children have disappeared from Spindrift, thousands of children across the Kingdoms and Empires. The town of Spindrift resides within the Kingdom of Gusts, Gales, Squalls and Violent Storms, each year children within the Kingdom participating in the Spindrift Tournament for prestige, including the children of the Orphanage, reigning defenders of the tournament. Brathelthwaite Boarding School are competing in the tournament, the privileged students and conceited headmaster believe victory is foregone conclusion but when the tournament is challenged, the orphanage and Brathelthwaite Boarding School declare warfare.
Almost eleven year old Finlay is a resident of the Spindrift Orphanage, abandoned as a small child along with best friend and resident storyteller Glim. Twins Eli and Taya washed up upon the Spindrift shore and joined the fray at the Orphanage under the their caregiver Lili Daisy. The children are educated and cared for, although Honey Bee of the Brathelthwaite Boarding School will advise you differently. She'll tell you those unfortunate children are nothing but trouble.
If you ask Finlay, he'll tell you about those entitled children at the Boarding School, sitting on their breeches eating pastries and drinking tea but the Brathelthwaite Boarding School isn't as delightful as Finlay believes. Under the watchful eye of her uncle, the students at the Boarding School adhere to very stern guidelines, anything less could be deserving of a whipping.
When the Orphanage goes up against the Boarding School, revenge ensues until another child disappears. The Whispering Kingdom declares warfare, brandishing Mages, Gnomes and Whisperers in an attempt to destroy the Kingdom of Gusts, Gales, Squalls and Violent Storms. In The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars, our alternating narrators Finlay and Honey Bee are documenting the circumstances surrounding the Whispering Wars, child abductions, a rampant illness and the destruction of Spindrift by the use of illegal shadow magic.
The children must put their differences aside and work together to find the missing children by becoming missing children themselves. The underlying themes of socioeconomics, concentration camps, abduction and child labour are woven throughout the narrative, a wonderful point of discussion for middle grade children. Jaclyn Moriarty sprinkles a delightful whimsicality throughout the narration, creating enchanting characters that are wonderfully illustrated. A born storyteller and a phenomenal read for the young and young at heart.
Almost eleven year old Finlay is a resident of the Spindrift Orphanage, abandoned as a small child along with best friend and resident storyteller Glim. Twins Eli and Taya washed up upon the Spindrift shore and joined the fray at the Orphanage under the their caregiver Lili Daisy. The children are educated and cared for, although Honey Bee of the Brathelthwaite Boarding School will advise you differently. She'll tell you those unfortunate children are nothing but trouble.
If you ask Finlay, he'll tell you about those entitled children at the Boarding School, sitting on their breeches eating pastries and drinking tea but the Brathelthwaite Boarding School isn't as delightful as Finlay believes. Under the watchful eye of her uncle, the students at the Boarding School adhere to very stern guidelines, anything less could be deserving of a whipping.
When the Orphanage goes up against the Boarding School, revenge ensues until another child disappears. The Whispering Kingdom declares warfare, brandishing Mages, Gnomes and Whisperers in an attempt to destroy the Kingdom of Gusts, Gales, Squalls and Violent Storms. In The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars, our alternating narrators Finlay and Honey Bee are documenting the circumstances surrounding the Whispering Wars, child abductions, a rampant illness and the destruction of Spindrift by the use of illegal shadow magic.
The children must put their differences aside and work together to find the missing children by becoming missing children themselves. The underlying themes of socioeconomics, concentration camps, abduction and child labour are woven throughout the narrative, a wonderful point of discussion for middle grade children. Jaclyn Moriarty sprinkles a delightful whimsicality throughout the narration, creating enchanting characters that are wonderfully illustrated. A born storyteller and a phenomenal read for the young and young at heart.
March 15, 2023
Jaclyn Moriarty delivers again with another whimsical adventure set in the world of Kingdoms and Empires. While it could be enjoyed as a standalone novel, this is best read after finishing its predecessor due to a smattering of cameos and events that featured in the first book.
Set at the beginning of the Whispering Wars in the town of Spindrift, the story alternates between two protagonists, Finlay and Honey Bee. These children are from two rival schools – the Orphanage School (Finlay) and Brathelthwaite Boarding School (Honey Bee) and all out war begins between them at the shocking conclusion of the Spindrift Tournament.
Strange things start happening in Spindrift and the greater world of Kingdoms and Empires [K&E], which include children vanishing and a terrible flu that is infecting townspeople and princes alike. When it is discovered that the Whispering Kingdom is responsible for all the terrible events that occur, war is soon declared. The K&E Forces move into town as lots of important people say it’s in a “very strategic location for both sides”. Brathelthwaite Boarding School soon hosts secret intelligence personnel who can be found mysteriously chanting and making odd suggestions about toenails and full moons. The novelty of war quickly wears off and the children find themselves putting aside their war of pranks and socioeconomic disparities to join forces and rescue the stolen children.
Like all of Jacyln’s previous novels the writing is lyrical, quirky and keeps the reader completely engaged. The banter between Finlay and Honey Bee plays out in a delightful conversational style and both of these characters are just full of gusto and life.
While adventurous and fun this story does touch on more profound topics of war, prejudice and fear, and it shows how this trifecta can often bring out the worst in people. Due to the fantastical setting, lighthearted prose and chocolate shop owning witches this is a wonderful introduction for middle grade children to get a small taste in complex global issues of race, refugees and ethics.
This novel was simply delicious and I devoured it, the same way Finlay devours twisty-pastries-with-melting-chocolate-inside for breakfast. This may be a children’s book however it is one that can be enjoyed by grownups as well, making this an excellent choice for reading out loud to the kids. The hard part for adults and children alike will be not sneaking in extra chapters before the next bedtime!
Set at the beginning of the Whispering Wars in the town of Spindrift, the story alternates between two protagonists, Finlay and Honey Bee. These children are from two rival schools – the Orphanage School (Finlay) and Brathelthwaite Boarding School (Honey Bee) and all out war begins between them at the shocking conclusion of the Spindrift Tournament.
Strange things start happening in Spindrift and the greater world of Kingdoms and Empires [K&E], which include children vanishing and a terrible flu that is infecting townspeople and princes alike. When it is discovered that the Whispering Kingdom is responsible for all the terrible events that occur, war is soon declared. The K&E Forces move into town as lots of important people say it’s in a “very strategic location for both sides”. Brathelthwaite Boarding School soon hosts secret intelligence personnel who can be found mysteriously chanting and making odd suggestions about toenails and full moons. The novelty of war quickly wears off and the children find themselves putting aside their war of pranks and socioeconomic disparities to join forces and rescue the stolen children.
Like all of Jacyln’s previous novels the writing is lyrical, quirky and keeps the reader completely engaged. The banter between Finlay and Honey Bee plays out in a delightful conversational style and both of these characters are just full of gusto and life.
While adventurous and fun this story does touch on more profound topics of war, prejudice and fear, and it shows how this trifecta can often bring out the worst in people. Due to the fantastical setting, lighthearted prose and chocolate shop owning witches this is a wonderful introduction for middle grade children to get a small taste in complex global issues of race, refugees and ethics.
This novel was simply delicious and I devoured it, the same way Finlay devours twisty-pastries-with-melting-chocolate-inside for breakfast. This may be a children’s book however it is one that can be enjoyed by grownups as well, making this an excellent choice for reading out loud to the kids. The hard part for adults and children alike will be not sneaking in extra chapters before the next bedtime!
May 7, 2022
4,5 stars
Criminally underrated! This is one of the best middle-grade books I ever read! Please, pick it up! The plot, worldbuilding, characters, and relationships are all fantastic! It's just so so good!! And the way it's told is simply fantastic! Basically: the story takes place in a fantasy world but with the technological advances of the early 20th century, and there's a war, and you follow two children who hate each other and alternatively write the chapters (and since they hate each other - and read the chapters written by the other - they're always fighting and correcting what the other just wrote). I don't do it justice but the result is simply fantastic (and there is a very good reason why this book is written this way!) Please read it!
Criminally underrated! This is one of the best middle-grade books I ever read! Please, pick it up! The plot, worldbuilding, characters, and relationships are all fantastic! It's just so so good!! And the way it's told is simply fantastic! Basically: the story takes place in a fantasy world but with the technological advances of the early 20th century, and there's a war, and you follow two children who hate each other and alternatively write the chapters (and since they hate each other - and read the chapters written by the other - they're always fighting and correcting what the other just wrote). I don't do it justice but the result is simply fantastic (and there is a very good reason why this book is written this way!) Please read it!
November 9, 2023
it was okay...I liked it. not as good as #1 tho
September 16, 2022
A delightfully wholesome and imaginative adventure that'll serve well as your monthly dose of fantastical magic-centric literary fun.
With the change of narrators complementing each other so well, it's hard not to love!
With the change of narrators complementing each other so well, it's hard not to love!
December 31, 2019
Slightly alarming and thoroughly delightful, with a side of serious, pretending to be light. Love Moriarty, and love the crazy kingdoms she has created.
Read
December 7, 2023This has been my walking & odd jobs listen for the last few days. I knew it was a children’s book but I chose it somewhat at random on Libby (I think I was looking up a narrator who I’d enjoyed on another book) and I’ve only just checked and seen it’s book two in a series.
If you’re into children’s stories with magic and alternative kingdoms and realities then this is quite a good romp. There are three narrators representing the voice of the three different children writing this ‘history’. Some of the other characters, it’s quite a large ensemble, are a bit caricature in the way common in children’s stories, used to add colour and humour. The magic and structure of the world the story is set in is revealed slowly with the plot of the story, and all comes together as you suspect it might with a few twists and adventures along the way.
If you’re into children’s stories with magic and alternative kingdoms and realities then this is quite a good romp. There are three narrators representing the voice of the three different children writing this ‘history’. Some of the other characters, it’s quite a large ensemble, are a bit caricature in the way common in children’s stories, used to add colour and humour. The magic and structure of the world the story is set in is revealed slowly with the plot of the story, and all comes together as you suspect it might with a few twists and adventures along the way.
August 12, 2020
Although less charming that it's prequel, still a quirky and enjoyable escape from the dreary everyday existence in 2020.
I love the social commentary that is written between the lines that really creates the opportunity to develop critical thinking and a social conscience. Kids fiction sometimes does this in such an allegorical way and it doesn't feel like political values being shoved down your throat. More covert than Suess' Lorax, Moriarty feeds the minds of questioners and adventurers.
I will likely read her other books, although they are not connected to this series.
I love the social commentary that is written between the lines that really creates the opportunity to develop critical thinking and a social conscience. Kids fiction sometimes does this in such an allegorical way and it doesn't feel like political values being shoved down your throat. More covert than Suess' Lorax, Moriarty feeds the minds of questioners and adventurers.
I will likely read her other books, although they are not connected to this series.
August 23, 2021
amei amei amei, para surpresa de ninguém. eu enrolei taaaaanto com essa história porque a narrativa do Finlay e da Honey Bee é muito boa ;_______; como sempre, emocionada que jaclyn consegue entregar tudo tudo tudo que meu coração e minha ALMA clamam. levemente tentada a ler bronte de novo, só para ver se consigo captar REFERÊNCIAS. talvez mais pra frente eu leira tudo de novo de uma vez, igual eu fiz com the naturals.
June 7, 2024
This book was fantastic - I loved the narration and the conversation between the different narrators. The story was amazing and interesting, and the character development was also so palpable and heart warming. Things were a little rushed at the end but I think that might have been part of the charm of the story…? I’m not sure though because I do feel like the beginning was quite long but that’s okay. I still loved it :)
July 5, 2021
THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL. I love Finlay and Honey-Bee and I would read an entire series about them. I am absolutely loving these companion novels and cannot wait to read the third book. This was as whimsical and chaotic as the first book and I am just in love.
July 20, 2024
I'm struggling to rate this book. On one hand the story was funny and inventive. On the other, it was substantially too long. Over 400 pages for middle grade felt like a daunting task. It really didn't need to be this long and rambled endlessly.
December 25, 2018
Entirely brilliant book. Borrowed it from the library for my son and he insisted I read it afterwards. Very glad I did. Thinking that I must read more children's literature this year.
June 17, 2019
4.5 stars. Enjoyed this just as much as nevermoor. This one is a bit more accessible to younger students though I think.
October 2, 2019
really good book,do not want to give to much away but you should totally read it!!!!!!
August 29, 2024
Really love this series!
January 21, 2025
The Whispering Wars, published in 2019, is the 2nd book in Jaclyn Moriarity's tales of the Kingdoms and Empires. The series is aimed at middle-grade readers and up. The books are full of heroism and humor, and I give them a hearty recommendation. This book is a sequel to The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, although the action in this book takes place a generation earlier than that book. I would definitely recommend reading Bronte's adventure first. Some events in this book will make much more sense if you have done so.
Moriarty's fantasy world is a bit different than most. Rather than the more usual medieval setting, we find ourselves in a world with technology approximately equivalent to that of early 20th century earth. There are railroads, and even some automobiles, but many folk still ride in carriages. People send telegrams but have no telephones. There are radios and newspapers, but no televisions. Geopolitically, the world is a collection of small monarchies, some with only a few hundred citizens. However, all of the people seem to share a common language.
There is dark magic here - called Shadow Magic. There are also some practitioners of bright magic, which can bind the shadow magic or bring about healing from illness and injury. Most of the people who have the ability to use dark magic have very little desire to use it to harm their neighbors. They are generally nice people. However, in this book, one group of Shadow Mages has come under the domination of an evil king. The Whisperers have the ability to speak thoughts into other people's minds. They can use this to influence you to do something you might not otherwise do. But, if you are experienced, you can usually recognize a Whisper and shake it off. The evil king has learned that threads of ancient Shadow Magic can be found in mines within his kingdom. Wearing wristbands made of this thread, the Whisperers become extraordinarily powerful, and unable to be resisted. Mining the thread is difficult, so the Whispering king forces his people to use their Whispering ability to kidnap children for work in the mines.
The narrators and heroes of this book, Finlay and Honey Bee, along with Glim, Eli, Taya, Hamish, and Victor come up with a plan, of sorts, to try to rescue the kidnapped children, though they mostly make things up as they go along. Surprisingly, we also discover a lot more about Bronte and her friend from the first book, Alejandro. Finlay and Honey Bee write alternating (mostly) chapters of the book, with a little help from Glim. Their back-and-forth snark at each other is a great source of humor and comic relief.
Things do get a little dark in this book. Not only is there the issue of kidnapped children who are forced into slave labor, but we learn that a few children have died in the mines. Some adults are killed in the war, as well. There are good people who are rounded up and put in a holding camp for a short time, just because of what parentage they had. These things will cause the reader of any age some discomfort, as they should. That discomfort should provide some encouragement for us to seek to correct such injustices, as the children in this book do.
I give the book five stars. I purchased it in eBook format and read it on my Kindle Fire.
Moriarty's fantasy world is a bit different than most. Rather than the more usual medieval setting, we find ourselves in a world with technology approximately equivalent to that of early 20th century earth. There are railroads, and even some automobiles, but many folk still ride in carriages. People send telegrams but have no telephones. There are radios and newspapers, but no televisions. Geopolitically, the world is a collection of small monarchies, some with only a few hundred citizens. However, all of the people seem to share a common language.
There is dark magic here - called Shadow Magic. There are also some practitioners of bright magic, which can bind the shadow magic or bring about healing from illness and injury. Most of the people who have the ability to use dark magic have very little desire to use it to harm their neighbors. They are generally nice people. However, in this book, one group of Shadow Mages has come under the domination of an evil king. The Whisperers have the ability to speak thoughts into other people's minds. They can use this to influence you to do something you might not otherwise do. But, if you are experienced, you can usually recognize a Whisper and shake it off. The evil king has learned that threads of ancient Shadow Magic can be found in mines within his kingdom. Wearing wristbands made of this thread, the Whisperers become extraordinarily powerful, and unable to be resisted. Mining the thread is difficult, so the Whispering king forces his people to use their Whispering ability to kidnap children for work in the mines.
The narrators and heroes of this book, Finlay and Honey Bee, along with Glim, Eli, Taya, Hamish, and Victor come up with a plan, of sorts, to try to rescue the kidnapped children, though they mostly make things up as they go along. Surprisingly, we also discover a lot more about Bronte and her friend from the first book, Alejandro. Finlay and Honey Bee write alternating (mostly) chapters of the book, with a little help from Glim. Their back-and-forth snark at each other is a great source of humor and comic relief.
Things do get a little dark in this book. Not only is there the issue of kidnapped children who are forced into slave labor, but we learn that a few children have died in the mines. Some adults are killed in the war, as well. There are good people who are rounded up and put in a holding camp for a short time, just because of what parentage they had. These things will cause the reader of any age some discomfort, as they should. That discomfort should provide some encouragement for us to seek to correct such injustices, as the children in this book do.
I give the book five stars. I purchased it in eBook format and read it on my Kindle Fire.
April 8, 2020
This was too long and too heavy-handed. I was looking for a fun, light fantasy, but this wasn't it. It had a promising beginning, but it faded for me quickly. I did like the magic in this story. It was interesting to see how it worked. I also like that characters from the previous book appear in this story, though I haven't read that one. It took a long time for them to show up and connect the two books. I didn't like the characters, though, from either story.
January 10, 2022
As it is the second week of 2022, I am officially almost done with reviewing all my 2021 books.
With Jaclyn Moriarty's books, it's either insta-love or torpid indifference. Unfortunately, this falls in the latter category. I couldn't care for the characters or the deus-ex-machina features. Totally skippable.
With Jaclyn Moriarty's books, it's either insta-love or torpid indifference. Unfortunately, this falls in the latter category. I couldn't care for the characters or the deus-ex-machina features. Totally skippable.
June 10, 2022
Enjoyable but could have been 100-150 pages shorter.... the whispering wars didn't really start to the middle of the book. The second half is better than the first half but you have to persevere to get to it. Will continue with the series.
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