The Curse of the Chocolate Phoenix by Kate Saunders

To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty.

Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. It’s official: more magical chocolate equals even more perceptive and magical fun for all. Readers will appreciate the fast pace and droll humor, and Anglophiles will enjoy the nods to noteworthy episodes of British history-not to mention the visions, “time stiches,” and insights into “how lonely life can be for magic types like us.” Clearly, Saunders has honed her deft and breezy comic style while affectionately channeling mild echoes of Harry Potter and The Hobbit. Silver Biggins is the eternally 11-year-old vampire assigned to be their bodyguard, whose cover is to shadow Lily like a best friend, a happy eventuality for the lonely girl. Demerara and Spike, the friendly neighborhood immortal talking cat and rat, respectively, are part of the adventures.

Lily, Oz, and Oz’s best friend, Caydon, are recruited by the Secret Ministry of the Unexplained to stop the malevolent Alba and her criminal organization, D33, from misusing a golden phoenix fashioned from illegal time-traveling chocolate once made by their ancestor Isadore Spoffard. Magical 11-year-old twins Lily and Oz Spoffard must stop an evil witch from the malicious use of time-traveling chocolate and talking animals in this sequel to The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop (2013).

The Curse of the Chocolate Phoenix by Kate Saunders