Pacey Packer Unicorn Tracker 2: Horn Slayer:

Pacey Packer: Unicorn Tracker #2

by J.C. Phillipps

The last time Pacey Packer was in Rundalyn, the world of unicorns, she sliced the horn off of Arkane, the Evil Apha Unicorn, and took away his power. KI-AHHHH! TAKE THAT BAD GUYS! Now the unicorns and other creatures under Arkane's rule call her . . . THE HORN SLAYER!

Pacey may be a LEGEND in the world of unicorns, but she didn't finish the job. The statue children in Rundalyn still need to be freed. And back in the human realm, she's still stuck walking dogs and babysitting her little sister-not to mention dealing with Slasher, the world's grumpiest stuffed unicorn. (Hmmph! Guess some people can't deal with being a sidekick!).

Rundalyn needs a hero though and it's up to Pacey to go back and finish what she started. With Slasher's help, can she use the power of the unicorn horn to rescue the statue kids and escape the fury of the Great (but seriously horn-less and now SERIOUSLY mad at her) Arkane?!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Adventure

224 pages, Library Binding

First published June 1, 2021

About the author

Julie (J. C.) Phillipps is a born and raised Ohio girl who lives in New England. If you have a very good ear, you can still catch a little Midwestern accent. Although she has learned to say "soda" instead of "pop" and "sneakers" instead of "tennis shoes," she still thinks of the tiny candy on top of cupcakes as "sprinkles." "Jimmies" is just weird.

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed was Julie's first picture book, released March 2009. Since then she has written and illustrated three more picture books: Wink the Ninja Who Wanted to Nap, Monkey Ono, and The Simples Love a Picnic.

Julie jumped genres and is now working on making graphic novels. Her first middle grade graphic novel, Pacey Packer Unicorn Tracker, comes out August 2020 with Random House Graphics.

To learn more, visit her webpage: www.jcphillipps.com or follow her on Instagram @JCPhillipps.




J.C. Phillipps's books on Goodreads

Wink! The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed

reviews: 25
ratings: 69 (avg rating 4.19)

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid follow-up, stand-alone adventure with a brief synopsis of book 1. Great for readers who like their unicorns with a little snarky attitude.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, some girls got access to unicorn land, where a bad unicorn turns children like them into statues, and the unicorn they went with is now a plushy toy unicorn, and they need to get back there, and use the unicorn horn they lopped off the baddy last time, with all its M-y-y-y Preci-i-o-o-u-u-s-s-s qualities, and free the children. Ish. That's the premise of this sequel, more or less – it can get a little too odd, and a little too fast-moving, to easily summarise. But I can see it also making for a welcome adventure for the right reader – this is a girly fantasy, sitting right on the fence where maintaining the nobility of unicorns is on one side and showing them up is on the other. Also balanced quite well is the tweeness of it all – travel by rainbows, etc – with the edgier stuff, and the influence the unicorn/wand thing might have comes across really well and with much clarity. Would that the rest was a bit more coherent, for then this would be a great series - "time for a little chaos" indeed.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pacey Packer feels the weight of leaving all those kids statues in Rundalyn. She needs to go back and finish what she started when she chopped off Arkane's horn. Slasher isn't so eager to go dashing back into Rundalyn, but when Pacey's dog sitting job goes charging up a rainbow with Mina tangled in the leash, she eagerly follows. In Rundalyn Pacey, Mina, and Slasher meet some new allies who have discovered something sinister in the horn's power. Can they free the kids without turning evil themselves?

I like the look at human rights issues through the fantasy lens. Pacey is passionate for the right reasons, but has some important lessons to learn about teamwork and learning when to listen. They are very important lessons for all of us, and you get good reminders while enjoying a fun fantasy adventure with unicorns and other fantasy creatures. There's a bit of a mystery introduced here with Slasher's origin story. Pacey interrupts and you get the feeling we didn't learn everything. There's also the mogs that Arkane has enslaved, and Pacey has a new reason to return to Rundalyn asap. Hand this to unicorn lovers, fantasy adventure fans, and kids who can never get enough graphic novels.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. There's some magical battles with intent to harm on the side of the bad guy, but things work out so everyone is mostly ok.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pacey is dogsitting at home when all of a sudden she, Slasher (the once beautiful unicorn now turned plushie unicorn), the dog, and her little sister Mina, are swept back into the fantasy world of Rundalyn. Now Pacey is back to where she had last defeated the evil unicorn Arkane (Slasher's brother), when she cut off his horn. That horn has magical powers and can be used to free other kids who had been turned into stone and whom Pacey had regrettably left behind. There's also more to the horn than they previously knew. It must be handled with care. Will they be able to save the petrified children and themselves from falling victim to the horn's evil power?

I enjoyed the fantastical adventure in this second book. There is the good guy vs. bad guy theme and the virtues of being a real hero displayed in Slasher that was good to see. Also, the horn was similar to the ring of Lord of the Rings, in it's power and ability to bring out greed and selfishness in you. The characters worked hard to preclude this kind of evil together through teamwork. Pacey, however, had to learn the harder way, as she overestimated her self and wasn't cautious, which was a good lesson to learn.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have not read Pacey Packer Unicorn Tracker one and two, well, you just have to. It is awesome! It's about a little girl Mina and her older sister Pacey. There's like, this unicorn make-believe (except it's real) unicorn world. Mina is about 5. (I don't know their ages but I'm guessing). Pacey's about 11 years old. Oh, and there's a third book coming out. I have no read that one. Oh, and Mina has a stuffed animal, Slasher, that is supposed to be a real unicorn. But his is evil. I don't know, but it's AWESOME!!! It's a comic book tho. It's still Awesome!!!! I give it ****** (6 stars!) Get it from your library!!! That was [me] talking about Pacey Packer.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although my kids don't seem to enjoy this series at all - both found it too weird - I'm okay with it. It's not the best series I've read, but there are some interesting parts to the story. Maybe a little too much happens so it would be good if things were a bit more streamlined. Could be what my kids didn't like about it.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as strong as the first entry in the series, it's still enjoyable. Pacey and the group of friends have to go back to Rundalyn and finish the job they started in the previous volume. Lots of weird stuff but it's fun and has a good sense of adventure.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Kip · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughters and I all loved this new Pacey adventure just as much as the first one! Fabulous story and adorable artwork!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first, but still good with new creatures and characters

[Jason Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun sequel to the first graphic novel! This sequel continues to build the mystical works and introduces new fun creatures.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

MPA ratings: G

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kait wanted there to be more problems, she says.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss 9 enjoyed reading this.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my kids and they enjoyed it -- especially my 8 year old.
Didn't read the first one but I believe we will try to read the entire series together.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic fantasy graphic novel. Great fun for grade schoolers.