A Tale of Two Castles (Compact Disc)
Summer 2011 Kids' Next List
“Fourteen-year-old Elodie leaves the family farm to gain an apprenticeship in the bustling city of Two Castles. Her parents tell her to apprentice to a weaver, but she wants to act. But by the end of her first day, she has been robbed by a cat, run into a shape-shifting ogre, and becomes an apprentice -- to a dragon! Levine turns fantasy conventions upside down in this surprising, charming, and fun tale, and, like Elodie, the reader finds that good and evil are sometimes not easy to tell apart, and that both friends and enemies can come in every shape and size.”
— Jocelyn Koehler, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI
Newbery Honor author of Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine weaves a spellbinding tale about a clever heroine, a dragon detective, and a shape-shifting ogre.
Newly arrived in the town of Two Castles, Elodie unexpectedly becomes the assistant to a brilliant dragon named Meenore--and together, they begin to solve mysteries.
Their most important case concerns the town's shape-shifting ogre, Count Jonty Um, who believes someone is plotting against him. Elodie must disguise herself to discover the source of the threat amid a cast of characters that includes a greedy king, a giddy princess, and a handsome cat trainer.
Readers who loved Ella Enchanted and Fairest will delight in this tale of a spirited heroine who finds friendship where she least expects it and discovers that goodness comes in all shapes and sizes.