Mathieu Mariolle

In this volume we finally find out exactly who Damiano and Ines really are and what the truth is behind Alta Donna. Nola is still the girl we got to know in the first book, a little bit loopy, fun and not as honest with her parents as she should be. Damiano and Ines are ignoring Nola since the incident that ended the previous book, but Nola can't stay away. She needs to know what's going on.

In this one Nola made me a little bit nuts at times and I was very glad that Damiano finally told her show more the truth b/c she was definitely making me a little crazy. Although there did come a point where I was like "why do you even bother trying to keep secrets."

I was a little bit sad that we didn't get to know Pumpkin and Killian better. I also wondered if Nola's mom being a little bit absentee was a function of Alta Donna since it plaid into the story so well.

I will say in it's favor that I never would have figured out who Ines and Damiano really were. That was a great surprise and I was pretty happy with it. I wouldn't have come up with the explanation of how the town worked either. It's been a while since a book surprised me like that.

Not my favorite volume of the story but not my least favorite either. Illustrations were still pretty awesome. show less

Nola lives a seaside town that is the epitome of perfection. Too bad it's the most boring thing ever. When the school librarian has an accident, Nola gets sucked in b/c she is sure the two new kids Damiano and Ines have something to do with it. She tries to follow them around but ends up making friends with them. She is still very aware that they are hiding a secret though because there is waaay more to the two of them then meets the eye.

Nola is adorable but her age was a little tough to show more figure out. Some illustrations and actions make her come across as very young and others put her straight in the teenager camp. I loved her best friend Pumpkin and I'm hoping she will play a bigger part in future stories. There were definitely a lot of unanswered questions in this volume and the end was teeny bit cliff hangery.

I love the art style. Alta Donna is just as beautiful as it's supposed to be. The bright colors and anime happy drawing style definitely serve as a reminder about how idyllic the setting is and keep the mystery from becoming to heavy handed. How Nola is drawn fits her personality perfectly. show less

Nola lives a seaside town that is the epitome of perfection. Too bad it's the most boring thing ever. When the school librarian has an accident, Nola gets sucked in b/c she is sure the two new kids Damiano and Ines have something to do with it. She tries to follow them around but ends up making friends with them. She is still very aware that they are hiding a secret though because there is waaay more to the two of them then meets the eye.

Nola is adorable but her age was a little tough to show more figure out. Some illustrations and actions make her come across as very young and others put her straight in the teenager camp. I loved her best friend Pumpkin and I'm hoping she will play a bigger part in future stories. There were definitely a lot of unanswered questions in this volume and the end was teeny bit cliff hangery.

I love the art style. Alta Donna is just as beautiful as it's supposed to be. The bright colors and anime happy drawing style definitely serve as a reminder about how idyllic the setting is and keep the mystery from becoming to heavy handed. How Nola is drawn fits her personality perfectly. show less

Nola is bored, bored, bored of life on Alta Donna with her workaholic mother, absent father, and the boring, mean kids at school. Then one day she helps out a strange boy in her class, Damiano, and meets his even stranger sister Ines. They may be weird, but they're certainly exciting! Finally, things are happening on Alta Donna. Nola is getting exactly what she wished for...and she's not sure she likes it.

This story reminded me irresistibly of the movie The Cat Returns. Nola has a lot of show more similarities to Cat's main character - she's a dreamer, doesn't really fit in, and alternately sees life as a constant bystander or gets controlled by other people and her own emotions. There's not a lot of action in this first story, other than lots of chase scenes with no real objective. The mystery of Damiano and Ines is never solved, only more complicated by the end of the story.

There's an unmistakable foreign air to the story from the cotton candy hues of the art to the odd little touches of clothing, architecture, and more that clearly tell the reader this story is set in a different world. I did find the characters a little difficult to tell apart with the similar facial and hair structures and pastel coloring. The story was interesting, but didn't really start to move until close to the end. At which time it ended.

Verdict: Middle grade readers with the patience to work through the beginning of the story will be intrigued by the obvious fantasy/adventure set up. Readers who started off expected a typical school drama may be disappointed as the story rather abruptly shifts from reality (albeit a strange one) to fantasy. Buy at least the first three if you decide to add this one to your collection. I'll wait and see how well it circulates in neighboring libraries.

ISBN: 978-0-7613-6502-0; Published August 2010; Borrowed from the library. show less