When the Curtain Rises - Softcover

Dunstan Muller, Rachel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551436159 ISBN 13: 9781551436159

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2007

Synopsis

Chloe McBride has some reservations about accepting her elderly great-aunts' invitation to spend part of the summer with them in Little Venice, but her initial reluctance is outweighed by her curiosity about the mysterious key that came with her aunts' note. She's also anxious to put the humiliating memory of a disastrous piano recital as far behind her as possible. Chloe's great-aunts tell her the legend of her great-grandfather, Dante Magnus, an ambitious magician who vanished without a trace almost a century earlier, and Chloe begins to search for clues to his disappearance. When her investigations eventually lead her to a mysterious rosewood box, which has been hidden for almost a hundred years, Chloe's belief in the power of magic forces her to confront her own fears and ambitions.

About this title

About the Author

Rachel Dunstan Muller has spent most of her life on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She is the mother of five and the author of three other novels for children.

From the Back Cover

The stage beneath her began to turn, and then suddenly it was not a stage, but a carousel populated by wolves and wild dogs and other dark beasts. They were fixed in place on the carousel, and yet somehow they were alive, roaring and howling as the carousel spun faster and faster through the darkness. The bench she'd been sitting on had become a vicious hound. It yapped and growled as she clung to its black fur in terror.Chloe McBride has some reservations about spending the summer with her elderly great-aunts, but her initial reluctance is outweighed by her curiosity concerning the tiny key that was sent with her aunts' invitation. She's also anxious to put the memory of a disastrous piano recital as far behind her as possible.Convinced that the key was sent as a challenge to solve a family mystery, Chloe begins searching for clues. When her investigations eventually lead her to a mysterious rosewood box, Chloe must confront her deepest fears and ambitions.

From the Inside Flap

magic, mystery, stage fright, ambition

Reviews

Grade 6–8—To escape the memory of her recent attack of stage fright during a piano recital, Chloe visits her father's great aunts, Bess and Kitty, in Little Venice, Ontario. The trip prompts her interest in magician Dante Magnus, their father. He disappeared when his daughters were young, and no one has seen or heard from him since. This mystery intrigues Chloe, as does the house he built, which is full of secret rooms and is rumored to be haunted. As she searches through the secrets of the past, the budding musician stumbles upon a danger that could affect her future—the same one Dante discovered just before he disappeared. The story begins abruptly, as if an introductory chapter is missing. There is little character development and it is difficult to care about Chloe. Nyssa, a girl she meets in Little Venice, is equally vague, and readers may be startled when she is referred to as a friend, since the two girls talk little and share even less. The only really developed character is that of the long-missing relative. As Dante's unfinished memoir unfolds, his ambition becomes understandable and his story, engaging. But just as the plot becomes interesting, it ends, with all loose ends neatly tied up. Muller's tale of family secrets and magical intrigue will leave readers confused and disappointed.—Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The stage beneath her began to turn, and then suddenly it was not a stage, but a carousel populated by wolves and wild dogs and other dark beasts. They were fixed in place on the carousel, and yet somehow they were alive, roaring and howling as the carousel spun faster and faster through the darkness. The bench she'd been sitting on had become a vicious hound. It yapped and growled as she clung to its black fur in terror.

Edition details

• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551436159
• ISBN 13: 9781551436159
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144