Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Carnival Quest (Candy Shop War, 3)
Carnival Quest is a fun fantasy novel in which plucky children explore an evil-infused carnival to save the world from its creepy embrace." ―Foreword Reviews
The long-awaited finale of the best-selling series!
The Blue Falcons is a secret kid's club that fights against a family of villainous magicians. Using an impressive arsenal of magical candy, Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon defeated Belinda White, a sinister candy shop owner who almost seized control of their town, and her brother, Jonas White, a maniacal arcade operator who tried to turn the planet into his personal puppet.
Now, the Blue Falcons believe they must battle the third sibling―Camilla, who has brought the Dreams and Screams International Carnival to their town of Colson, California.
Rumors are spreading about the new carnival. Those who visit feel compelled to return. Some who enter the labyrinthine Fun House disappear for days. And the Big Top is said to bewitch audience members.
The Blue Falcons think they know who is responsible and are ready to fight, but the carnival blocks any outside magic. Without their favorite enchanted treats, how can the kids save their town?
When weird dreams start to plague everyone who has visited the carnival, the worlds of magic and reality collide. With the help of a new magical enforcer, the Blue Falcons will need to learn to use the magic of the carnival against itself, including a host of new magical carnival candies, and tap into the power of their own dreams to battle their greatest adversary yet.
The long-awaited finale of the best-selling series!
The Blue Falcons is a secret kid's club that fights against a family of villainous magicians. Using an impressive arsenal of magical candy, Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon defeated Belinda White, a sinister candy shop owner who almost seized control of their town, and her brother, Jonas White, a maniacal arcade operator who tried to turn the planet into his personal puppet.
Now, the Blue Falcons believe they must battle the third sibling―Camilla, who has brought the Dreams and Screams International Carnival to their town of Colson, California.
Rumors are spreading about the new carnival. Those who visit feel compelled to return. Some who enter the labyrinthine Fun House disappear for days. And the Big Top is said to bewitch audience members.
The Blue Falcons think they know who is responsible and are ready to fight, but the carnival blocks any outside magic. Without their favorite enchanted treats, how can the kids save their town?
When weird dreams start to plague everyone who has visited the carnival, the worlds of magic and reality collide. With the help of a new magical enforcer, the Blue Falcons will need to learn to use the magic of the carnival against itself, including a host of new magical carnival candies, and tap into the power of their own dreams to battle their greatest adversary yet.
Editorial Reviews
"Exciting. Nate is an excellent hero. He's courageous and a quick thinker, and his outsider status keeps him grounded and approachable. The carnival is a wondrous place featuring special tickets and carnie coins that unlock its hidden levels and depths. Nate and his friends hope to gather enough of both to gain entrance to the off-limits sections of the park and find out its real secrets. Against Nate's group stands the Swindler, a huckster who claims to be able to win any game of chance that a contestant suggests, from guessing numbers to board games. He entices people with the promise of the best prizes. Facing him, Nate and his friends struggle to discern what's a dream and what's reality. Carnival Quest is a fun fantasy novel in which plucky children explore an evil-infused carnival to save the world from its creepy embrace." ―Foreword Reviews "Magical minions of various (and sometimes gross) abilities, Mull trots his twist-laden plot forward to a well set-up climax. He dishes up a crowd-pleaser as delicious―if not so weird―as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." ―Kirkus, from book 1
"A delectable fantasy adventure where magical candies give four friends super powers to save their town." --―Foreword Reviews, from book 1
"Magical minions of various (and sometimes gross) abilities, Mull trots his twist-laden plot forward to a well set-up climax. He dishes up a crowd-pleaser as delicious―if not so weird―as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." --―Kirkus, from book 1
"A delectable fantasy adventure where magical candies give four friends super powers to save their town." --―Foreword Reviews, from book 1
"Magical minions of various (and sometimes gross) abilities, Mull trots his twist-laden plot forward to a well set-up climax. He dishes up a crowd-pleaser as delicious―if not so weird―as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." --―Kirkus, from book 1
Readers Top Reviews
Riellareads
The final book in The Candy Shop War series, Carnival Quest is an exciting adventure for young readers! I read the first book when it first came out and so was really excited to have the chance to read this book. Carnival Quest picks up after Arcade Catastrophe, but I think that it could be read with enjoyment as a standalone, though definitely it is more clear with context. The Blue Falcons is a secret club of kids that fights against a family of villainous magicians. With magical candy, they have defeated Belinda White with her candy shop and Jonas White and his arcade. Now the mysterious Dreams and Screams International Carnival has come to their town and it seems the last sibling Camilla is the one who brought it. The rumors of the carnival’s compelling powers and bewitching attractions grow and the Blue Falcons are ready to fight. However, the carnival blocks any outside magic and as weird dreams begin to plague those who have attended the carnival it seems the worlds of magic and reality have combined. It was fun to see the gang again! Nate, Trevor, Summer and Pidgeon are all back! Though this book is in 3rd-person, we follow more of one character or another through most of the book. They are all interesting narrators and fun characters. The adventure and story moves along quickly. The mix of mystery, action, magic, and adventure is super engaging. I was so intrigued and invested in discovering the secrets of the carnival. It moved along pretty quickly as expected with an fantasy-adventure story. I enjoyed the imaginative world. It was creative and fantastical. This book features some more frightening elements, but is suitable for MG readers. It focuses on friendship, belief, and the power of our choices and intentions. It is a fun fantasy-adventure that I think young readers will love! I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, I was not required to write a positive review.
AdrienneRiellarea
When I saw this book was available for review, I decided to request it, even though I hadn't read the other books in the series, because my nine-year-old son had read them--and I figured he'd think I was cool if one of the books I reviewed was one he was interested in! Haha, I really did request it because of my son's interest in this series, and he really was impressed that I got to read an advanced copy of the third book--he excitedly told his friends at school about it. (I DID read the other two books before I started this one, although I don't think it would have been entirely necessary to understand and enjoy this one.) For me as a reader, this is probably a 3-star book: the plot and setting are well-developed and very detailed; the characters are relatively flat (I'm a character-driven reader so that was a bit of let-down for me) and the language/writing style is all right. It's great that there's a carnival map at the beginning of the book to help readers see where everything is. There aren't as many new magic candies in this book, which was something I really enjoyed about the previous books. (The ones in this book also didn't seem as appealing--clown lips? YUCK!) So, as an adult reader of a middle grade book, this book is good; as a parent, this is definitely a book I'd give to my kids. And for the intended audience (at least my son), this book is a hit. For my son, this is a 5-star book. This is his review: "I liked how it's exciting and they have to use their brains to figure out what's happening and how to solve the problems. I liked how the carnival expanded and that there lots of hidden things about it. I like the names of the characters, and I think Nate is funny. I like that they can use magic to turn into different things and have different powers. I like the stuff about dreams. I like that there's a bunch of different characters, and it's really interesting." So, he really enjoyed it and has started asking when Brandon Mull's next signing event is so he can see him and get his books signed! So, with it getting 3 stars from me and 5 stars from him, we'll average at 4 stars. I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
