Long ago the Faerie Queen created portals between our world and hers, so that children could summon help from faeries whenever the need arose. But a wicked entity called the Shadow Knight is endeavoring to control the doors between the two worlds, and only evil can get through. It falls to two imaginative eleven-year-olds—Victoria Deveny, from 1890 Britain, and Elliot Good, from 1966 America—to thwart his plan.      The Faerie Queen dispatches the youths on separate quests to retrieve orbs of power that will ultimately defeat the Shadow Knight. Their bravery and friendship are tested as the children travel to fantastic realms and face life-threatening dangers—from dragons to flying pirate ships to a wicked sorceress queen—before they're reunited to confront the dreaded Shadow Knight. Grade 5–8—While visiting her uncle's estate, Victoria Deveny discovers a mysterious ring and a portal that transports her from Victorian England to New Hampshire in 1966. There, she meets Elliot Good, who has discovered a similar ring and gateway in a moldering mansion behind his home. Both rings are magic, of course, and soon Victoria and Elliot are sent on separate quests by the Faerie Queen to protect the rings from the dread Shadow Knight, who seeks to possess the means of traveling between worlds. What follows is a hodgepodge of evil sorceresses, Dickensian workhouses, flying pirate ships, dragons, and ballet, none of it particularly inventive or engaging. The writing is often stilted, and Elliot and Victoria never really emerge as fully developed characters. Instead, they come off as passive participants in their own story. With the tide of children's fantasy still riding high, libraries can skip this one.— Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Long ago, faeries crafted rings to open portals between their world and ours in times of need. Victoria, in 1890s England, finds one of these rings and ends up in America in 1966, where she meets Elliot, who has also found a ring. Both children soon flee to Faerieland, where they learn they must find orbs to defeat the Shadow Knight. Victoria is sent after the orb of ice in the Realm of Winter Knight, while Elliot is sent after the orb of fire in the evil Queen Ulricke’s realm. Victoria and Elliot are appealing, well-drawn characters, and many of the terrors they face on their separate journeys are imaginative. However, the evil menacing the world is vague, as are the workings of the rings and orbs, and the story feels overlong and cobbled together from fantasy conventions. There is no real payoff, either, as their ultimate confrontation with the Shadow Knight is relegated to an afterthought. Still, young readers may be captured enough by the characters and their dangerous encounters to enjoy their journey. Grades 5-8. --Krista Hutley "This intricately plotted fantasy has its roots in the conventions of fantasy writing for children . . . Give this to fans of Janet Taylor Lisle, J.K. Rowling and Franny Billingsley, or use it as an introduction to the classics of the genre." --Kirkus Reviews B. E. MAXWELL is captivated by British fantasy literature of the nineteenth century, as well as by the work of Victorian artists such as Arthur Rackham and Cicely Mary Barker. These influences inspired him to tell his daughter and his niece the story that would become The Faerie Door , his first novel for young readers. He lives in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. B. E. MAXWELL is captivated by British fantasy literature of the nineteenth century, as well as by the work of Victorian artists such as Arthur Rackham and Cicely Mary Barker. These influences inspired him to tell his daughter and his niece the story that would become The Faerie Door , his first novel for young readers. He lives in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Chapter 1Northumberland, England, 1890~Victoria Deveny was very cross. She stood beside her bags on the platform of the small railway station at Cotby, watching the Blue Comet Limited puff away into the distance, until the black smoke from the locomotive’s stack dissipated against the far-off treetops.Victoria scowled and twirled her parasol in annoyance. She tried fixing the porter with a contemptuous look, but her efforts were wasted. He continued to nap in his chair behind the ticket window, his green visor pulled down low over his eyes.Victoria folded her arms, sighed, and prodded one of her brown leather bags with her toe. After a bit she sighed once more and sat down on the wooden bench in the shade beneath a posted railway timetable. Uncle Dexter had probably forgotten all about her! How dare he! Her eyes narrowed menacingly. If he really had forgotten, he would regret it.Finally, she heard the rattle of an approaching carriage. Her uncle’s driver was very apologetic, thrice regretting his tardiness and twice begging her pardon. Victoria tossed her head and stepped disdainfully past him