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    Troubletwisters
    Troubletwisters
    Troubletwisters
    Audiobook8 hours

    Troubletwisters

    Written by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

    Narrated by Miriam Margolyes

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this audiobook

    Are you a troubletwister?

    Jaide and Jack Shield's lives are changing in a very, very strange way. The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they're around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house...from the inside. Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X—a relative they've never, ever met. At Grandma X's house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk. Jaide and Jack don't know the reason behind all this strangeness. They don't know that they're troubletwisters, and that they must defend the world against a dark, evil force. The time has come for them to discover the truth—and the powers that come with the truth. Are they ready?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 1, 2011
    ISBN9781455808540
    Author

    Garth Nix

    Garth Nix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and has been a full-time writer since 2001 but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s many books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, beginning with Sabriel and continuing to Goldenhand; the sci-fi novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; the Regency romance with magic Newt’s Emerald; and novels for children including The Ragwitch, the Seventh Tower series, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and Frogkisser!, which is now in development as a feature film with Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Garth has written numerous short stories, some of which are collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has also cowritten several children’s book series with Sean Williams, including TroubleTwisters and Have Sword, Will Travel. More than six million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into forty-two languages.

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    Reviews for Troubletwisters

    3.5/5

    13 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Jack and Jaide are rambunctious twelve-year-old twins whose father is rarely home. Then one day he returns in a bolt of lightning, and their house is destroyed. The twins go to stay with their mysterious grandmother, who talks to her cats and can make them forget things with hot cocoa. They're not sure they can trust Grandma X--but it seems that an equally mysterious, far more frightening magical force is after them, and she may be their only ally.

      Definitely the worst book Nix has ever written. I mean, it's fine, but it's nothing special. Ever single character needs more personality. I was annoyed that everyone kept the magical secrets from the twins' mom--even her husband keeps her in the dark! There's no real explanation for why, which makes me think the mom is kept ignorant of her family's skills and adventures simply because it's such an expected component of YA fantasy. Frustrating! And their adversary is called "The Evil"? That's the best they could come up with? I blame Nix's co-author, Sean Williams, who writes Star Wars tie-in novels.
    • 1/5
      It would have been ok except that every time there is a solution to avoid a fate worse than death, the heroines fail. Time after time, like 25 times in a row. I gave up listening mid chapter 22 because I'd had enough and it was no longer entertaining.
    • 3/5
      Fairly classic "kids inherit mystical powers" stuff. Like Diana Wynne Jones' "Black Maria", this book does a reasonable job of portraying mind-affecting enchantments that keep the children's suspicions at bay while strange things go on. There's also the obvious point that they have only limited ability to demand answers or question the weird behaviour of their relatives.On the downside, maybe I've simply read too many of these in my life, but the way adults in these stories can spend so long avoiding questions, or children don't even ask them, has started to drag on me. This is truer the weirder those things are, like the moving doors and the whole sequence with their father at the start. There is literally no way, even at 12, my mother would have got to drive me across country to an unknown and obviously suspicious relative in those circumstances, without some serious answers. At least Grandma X has magic as an excuse.The writing is a decent example of the genre, and creative in places - I liked the weirdness of the antagonist, though I'd have preferred it didn't stick to classically sinister critters as its tools. It reminded me of "The Dark Is Rising" in terms of the nebulous evil forces at work. However, that's for a slightly older audience and, if I must be honest, better.Again, it may be just overexposure (and being well outside the target market) but in many ways the book felt formulaic. A distant and mysterious father who turns out to be a wizard. The children deposited with a previously unknown relative as a convenient way to surround them with perceived and genuine weirdness. A drawn-out and completely implausible refusal of characters to address how weird everything is until long into the book. Parents impossible to contact so they no longer have any non-weird support. Talking animals (usually cats) who help guide them into the world of magic. Although the implementation is fine, they all felt predictable.Since the book is modern-day, there's also the increasing meta-question. Which is to say: anyone who's 12 nowadays should have read or watched any of a wide range of stories where *exactly this set of things* happens to children. It's not mysterious any more. They should recognise the tropes, and they might not believe in them, but they should certainly be raising them.Also, again, I appreciate it's narratively necessary, but how many 12-year-olds (even in 2012) would not contact, or even think about, a single friend in these circumstances? They mysteriously lack mobiles, but they do explicitly have the internet when things begin. They don't call anyone to report how weird it is. They don't get cross-examined about their house being demolished by excited friends. Nobody questions that, rather than stay with an obscure and apparently unpopular mother-in-law, they could just camp out at a friend's house and keep going to the same school, which is almost certainly what everyone would recommend.
    • 3/5
      Very simplistic. Nothing new here--including flat, stereotypical characters--which was disappointing from the author of Shade's Children and Sabriel (two of my top books). I might recommend it to kids who are desperate for another Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
    • 3/5
      A fast, easy read, entertaining enough. No meat to it, though.
    • 5/5
      Magic by Danielle SteelLove the idea and how the white night started. June, invite only, white clothes, food, tables, lights and where it's held and how everything is cleaned up spotless. Now 15,000 show up and there are multiple locations. Sounds so magical as the name depicts. John has attended every year and he gets to invite a few other couples. If they try to use the event he replaces them the following year. Valerie his wife helps also with the list.She's editor of Vogue in Paris. He's got the chance to move to China but it could cost his marriage and 3 kids.Gregorio and Barnadetta and he's always with other women. Since the white dinner night as he leaves her alone and hurries to his young girlfriend who's giving birth, son is lost and daughter very ill-too young to be born.She decides it's time for a divorce and to get him out of the family business.Chontelle is a writer of screenplays and a friend of John's and she's raised 3 kids who live around the world and that allows her to do what she wants. She does meet a new man, Saveau who has magic white lanterns the white dinner night and she's meet with him often.Things are confusing as the characters are all introduced-it gets a bit mixed up til you can associate who they are with what they do.Love white lantern/wish part the best. Love details and from all directions.Love how this spans one year and all the changes to all the characters.I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
    • 4/5
      Not one of Steel's best. It got rather too unrealistic at times.
    • 3/5
      What a disappointment! So lacking in all the imagination and world building that made the Keys to the Kingdom series so wonderful.
    • 5/5
      Imagine having thousands of people gathering in one place for dinner. The attire is white clothing and they bring white tablecloths and bring their food and utensils. This is known at The White Dinner.This story is set in Paris, France. Friends come together to have dinner together outside at a major landmark in their city. They meet new friends and visit with friends from their past.The author shares with us and lets us peer into the world of 4 couples. Some of them meet and decide to share their lives together while others may find out that their spouse is cheating on their marriage.I really enjoyed this book. Steel did a wonderful job taking us to India, Bejing, Shanghai and other countries and describing all their points of interest and landmarksSteel did a fabulous job with this book. Read it and see if you agree!! ENJOY
    • 4/5
      Troubletwisters is the start of a new series by Garth Nix and Sean Williams. When the book opens up we meet Jaide and Jack Shield, 12 year old twins eagerly awaiting the arrival of their father for their birthday. He is late (as usual). We get several hints that something strange is going to happen and we aren’t disappointed. Shortly after their father arrives the house gets blown up. This forces the family to move in with Grandma X, who the twins have never met. Their dad wasn't able to come and shortly after arriving their mother has to leave for 3 days for work. Grandma X is a strange old lady who takes them around town looking at odd landmarks. Even more weird stuff begins to happen, being attacked by swarms of bugs is just the beginning. Something bad is after the twins and they don't know who to trust, or who to turn to.I thought this was a very good read. Even though it is focused toward middle-school aged kids, I think it was written well enough that most adults who like fantasy will enjoy it as well. The story flowed well and it kept moving right along. I had a little trouble following some of the jumps in the decision making process of the twins a couple times and there is a lot of stuff left unexplained but it’s a lot of fun overall.