The Apprentices

"Maile Meloy is one of my favorite adult writers, so I was thrilled in 2011 when she published The Apothecary, a book I could read with my daughters. Fourteen-year-old Janie and her friend Benjamin, the son of an apothecary, have to save the world from a nuclear bomb. It sounds far-fetched, but the story feels realistic in Meloy’s able hands. We couldn’t wait to see what would happen next to Janie and Benjamin in The Apprentices, published this year. The beginning is a little clunky, as Meloy tries to catch you up on what happened in the first book, but once again she gives us great characters, action, intrigue and history. (For ages 10 and up)"