Finding Gossamyr

Reviews

No one ever trusts their math teacher, which is why kids need to read this comic before their teachers can recommend it, because it's a math book that actually is fun. For maximum effect with readers, tell them the premise of the book is: Math can kill you. On the world of Gossamyr, math is a form of combat and a vehicle for magic. A little boy named Denny ends up in Gossamyr with his sister when he completes a theorem. He's suddenly in a parallel world with flying boats and blue oxlions. Younger readers will want oxlions of their own, to keep as pets. Hard-core fantasy readers may be frustrated with all the clichs. There's an honorable warrior, and there are outsiders trapped in a world that only they can save. But the characters cease to be clichs as soon as they start to speak. Denny can measure pieces of wood by sight, to the millimeter, and when his sister tells him, "It's okay if they're not exact," he says, "No, it's not." Ellerton's glossy, luminous panels have an airbrushed look that gives both world and characters depth and warmth. This book won't make math any less troublesome, but it might keep students interested in the subject matter. (And if it doesn't, they'll have something to think about during the lecture on equilateral triangles.) KIRKUSREVIEWS

Math is literally magic in Gossamyr, an enchanted world 10-year-old Denny and his 22-year-old sister/caretaker, Jenna, enter after he finds the answer to an unsolvable and mystical equation. As a savant who cant not solve a math problem, Denny is worth a lot to the inhabitants of Gossamyr, some of whom plot to use his power to open more portals and conquer new worlds. After falling under the protection of Azune DTal, a former slave and steadfast protector of Gossamyr, and Eloric Boothe, a gallant adventurer of the desert-dwelling Sandgrieve people, Denny and Jenna find themselves at the center of a struggle for freedom with consequences that go beyond Gossamyr. Employing the polished visuals and nonstop pace of todays CG movies, Rodriguez and Ellerton deliver a smooth and satisfying adventure that draws readers into a fully realized world without dense exposition (instead, a useful postscript details elements of Gossamyrs history and language). Now that this intriguing world has been found, readers will be ready to explore it and see what other stories it has to offer. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY