Betty Hicks (Children's Literature)
Is Natalie an ordinary twelve-year-old with a pet spider named Itsy, or is she a Spellmage and the spider is her familiar? Does Hawk, a shuffling old man, morph into a tall and shimmering kidnapper? The questions will draw readers immediately into this daring tale of danger and fantasy. The details of the secondary world of Earthaven emerge slowly, tantalizing readers with spells and illusions and plenty of intriguing terminology. Treemages, organazoomers, magehounds and casters abound in a mysterious plot that pits new age technology against Old World enchantment. This plotline would have worked more effectively, however, if it had been revealed sooner. Readers understand Natalie's real world problems with her stepfamily, but confusion about the Spellmage plot makes the story less involving than its imaginative details deserve. Also, the strength of the two female characters, Jo and Natalie, is so superior to the weak male characters, Merlin and Tim, that it compromises the believability of all four. Still, fans of adventure will enjoy the fantastic images and action as Natalie and her companions fight to save an ancient world and learn a lot about themselves in the process. 2001 (orig. 2000), Scholastic, $15.95. Ages 10 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 17))
More an idea person than a storyteller, Roberts fails to do justice to a promising premise and cast in this tale of magic and parallel worlds. A bit of litter with an eye-catching shimmer ensnares young Natalie in the schemes of Hawk, a cruel "spellmage" planning to invade the enchanted realm of Earthaven from which he has been exiled, and to infect the huge, intelligent "soultrees" there with a vaguely defined biochemical poison. Roberts trots in a fine array of unicorns, spells, and quarrelsome mages, but she shows no great regard for logical consistency, whether it be a character using a crude word one time for no good reason or layers of complicated rules of magic that require repeated readings to comprehend. With the help of several new allies, including her punk stepbrother and a telepathic white wolf with a Scots accent, Natalie battles the evil mage in a series of ineptly staged confrontations (an army of hundreds that is so close that Natalie can see a "glint of triumph" in the eyes of its rear rank, is driven back by a dozen archers, for instance) that foil Hawk in a way that closes his gate to Earthhaven but leaves one for sequels wide open. The main characters (except for Hawk, who is entirely villainous) do show signs of complexity, but that adds only dashes of flavor to this bland fantasy. 2001, Chicken House/Scholastic, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 11 to 13. © 2001 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2002 (Vol. 55, No. 6))
While dumping her alcoholic dad’s beer bottles into the recycling bin, Natalie is approached by a strange man who claims that she has magical powers, that the shiny wrapper she picked up is really a recycled spell, and that she is just who he needs to complete his Spellclave (a sort of magicians’ coven). Being a bright girl, she flees, but when she sneaks out of her house for an early morning walk she meets that same man again, and he kidnaps her. After being drugged and imprisoned, Natalie escapes by pretending to go along with the plans of her captor, Lord Hawk, a Spellmage who needs her help to attack the magical, parallel world of Earthaven. The battle between Hawk’s Spellclave and Earthaven’s mages spans both the human and mage worlds and involves Natalie’s stepbrother, her best friend, the magical spirit of her dead mother, and her new familiar, T’Anaquin, a magehound. Despite a promising opening, the plot quickly becomes overcrowded and the momentum lags. Both individual characters and parallel world are shallowly constructed, and the internal logic of the conflict never asserts itself. Still, the book is replete with popular fantasy elements (unicorns, kid magicians, etc.), and younger readers may find that a sojourn in the woodsy realm of Earthaven is an easy detour from less accessible fantasy. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2002, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2001, Chicken House/Scholastic, 250p, $15.95. Grades 5-7.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2002)
Kidnapped by a Spellmage named Hawk, twelve-year-old Natalie joins forces with Hawk’s son in an attempt to foil the mage’s evil plan. In the process, she discovers her own magical heritage and helps save the realm of Earthaven. The plot falters partway through, but the fantasy’s unique elements and interesting characters help the story maintain momentum. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2001, Scholastic, 250pp, $15.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Billy Jack Rankin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 14, No. 3))
Hawk knows that Natalie is special. He kidnaps her to use her magical powers to help him invade Earthaven, a magical land of unicorns, talking trees, and magicians. He wants the spells that are stored there so he can use them in his world. He also wants revenge for being banished from Earthaven many years earlier. Natalie escapes from Hawk and decides that she must warn the inhabitants of Earthaven. She has help from her friends, her stepbrother, and her drunken father. She also gets an unexpected ally, Hawk's son Merlin. This is an entertaining fantasy. It has plenty of excitement in the story line that will keep the interest of the reader. It would be a good addition to a fantasy collection for young readers. Fiction. Grades 6-12. 2001, Chicken House, 250p, $15.95. Ages 11 to 18.

Jan Chapman (VOYA, December 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 5))
One ordinary day, twelve-year-old Natalie discovers a strange candy wrapper in a supermarket parking lot. Shortly thereafter, she encounters two menacing strangers who demand that she return the discarded wrapper immediately, claiming that it is a magic spell of great power. One of the strangers, the nefarious Hawk, leader of a villainous gang of sorcerers called Casters, senses that Natalie has great untapped powers of sorcery. He kidnaps her and takes her to his lair in Unicorn Wood. Hawk plans to make Natalie the thirteenth member of his Spellclave and force her to participate in a plan to take over the opposing Council of Earthaven, a world of sorcery and magic that exists alongside the natural world. As she is drawn into this unfamiliar world, Natalie learns that her own mother lost her life attempting to battle the villainous Hawk. Now Natalie somehow must tap her powers to save Earthaven from sure extinction. A bumbling Caster named Merlin, unicorns, and an epic battle between Hawk and the Council of Oq add to the fun in this engaging fantasy. British author Roberts has devised a plot that should sound quite familiar to the myriad fans of Harry Potter. Fantasy lovers of middle school to high school age will devour this book, although the plot and characters are not as riveting and compelling as those in J. K. Rowling's tour de force. Nevertheless the novel is sure to be a hit with fans of fantasy and is a highly recommended purchase for school and public libraries. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2000, Scholastic, 256p, $15.95. Ages 11 to 18.