Children's Book Review

The Candy Shop War
by Brandon Mull
ISBN-10: 159038783X
Review by Heather Froeschl


Never take candy from a stranger! Brandon Mull, New York Times bestselling author of “Fablehaven,” likes to use the messages we all hear as kids, like, “Drink your milk,” and this traditional warning to stay away from strangers bearing sweets. The similarities to anything you’ve heard before stop there. “The Candy Shop War” is something completely new and different, and I might add, something fantastic and full of action.

Brandon Mull has created a whole new world where special candy can make kids float, shoot electric shocks from their fingers, and even enter the land of wonder through the looking glass…but it isn’t anything wonderful in there! Nate is new to the neighborhood, having just moved in, and the friends he makes in the first days will become the truest sort he can hope for. They will come to rely on each other in ways they never could have imagined. The kids start doing after school chores for the owner of a new candy shop in return for special treats. Here’s where that warning comes in to never take candy from people you don’t know. The chores turn into assignments, which turn out to be quite dangerous and progressively wrong. The temptation might seem sweet but Nate and his friend Trevor decide to hang in there for other reasons. There is a mystery to be solved, and it turns out that there is a rival candy seller who has an interest in what is discovered. A great legend comes into play, and while talking dogs and horses are very cool, what is going on is becoming terribly bad. It’s up to Nate and his friends to put a stop to it, if they aren’t eaten by giant black widow spiders, or turned to bones and dust first.

This middle grade reader is fantastically full of adventure and fun of a completely different sort. While there is magic and wonder involved, it isn’t like anything published in recent history. The underlying messages are well thought out, while the characters steal the show. Kids aged 8-12 will see themselves as Nate figures out what to do to save the day, and even as he bounces from rooftop to rooftop. Who wouldn’t love to give their teacher fudge in order to make her forget about assigning homework? The writing is, as always, a pleasure to partake of. Brandon Mull is a gifted author who knows how to reach out to his readers even when giving them those important reminders to drink milk and not take candy from strangers. I will anxiously await even more published work from this author, and Shadow Mountain.