The Candy Shop War

As far as I'm concerned this is a "new classic". By the author of the Fablehaven series (and a couple of other great series as well!), I think this is one of Mull's best books. It's so entertaining, the characters are fantastic, and the story is interesting and compelling. I already own this and have bought this one (and maybe one or two others?) as gifts because it's just such a great read.

What a fun story!Magic candy that gives you super powers? Good guys vs. bad guys....with enough misdirection to keep you guessing if you're actually cheering for the right side? Treasure hunting? Learning to handle bullies? Learing to appreciate your parents? Having best friends? Making hard decisions? Ending up the hero? Sound good? Then read The Candy Shop War!It was fun reading Fablehaven and seeing how Brandon Mull got better as an author with each new book. The Candy Shop War was published before the Fablehaven series was finished, and the writing fits in with those middle books of that series. One thing that I thought was weird in Fablehaven--Brandon Mull always wanted to tell you when someone was naked . . . always innocently, of course. But it always felt like a strange and pointless thing to point out. In The Candy Shop War, everyone keeps their clothes on, but this time there is a weird focus on race in the first half of the book. I kept thinking there would be a point to saying there was a black girl doing this or a latino boy doing that . . . but a point never developed. Nothing racist at all, it just felt like and odd and unnecessary way to describe people.Anyway, I don't want that to be the tone of my thoughts. The book was great! The four friends as main characters were excellent, and I loved how they stuck up for each other. I'll be recommending The Candy Shop War to my kids, and I recommend it to you and your as well!

Even as an adult, it's easy to slip into the joy and suspense of a mystical adventure involving kids. Great real world subplots mesh pretty well with the magical side of things. I think character development went pretty well too (spoiler alert). It's one of the most prominent deeper points I noticed about the story.Trevor and Summer didn't change much, as they didn't need to, but Pigeon and Nate got the lion's share of development I think. Pigeon, initially overcautious and subdued (likely mostly because of his overprotective mother), became brave and daring and a big asset towards solving the main problems in the story.Nate started off as kind of a jerk with a loser attitude (he refers to Pigeon way too quickly as a wuss after knowing the kid for like five minutes, he always has to grumble when Pigeon says something intelligent, he teases Pigeon too much about being friendly with their teacher, he gets bent out of shape and uptight at Summer's willingness to demonstrate the initiation challenge and takes a very sexist viewpoint toward it...come on, he may be ten, but that's no excuse). He kind of starts the story as an unlikable, almost mini-bully himself, or someone showing the signs of becoming one later, thinking certain people don't fit in or are lesser for stupid reasons. However, he changes these attitudes over the course of the story as the narrative heats up, and his friendships become close as he strives to help everyone. Basically, the story forces the kids to grow up really quickly as they face life and death situations, and overcome their initial flaws.As the second book alludes to a potential third installment, I'm eagerly awaiting that.

What child doesn't dream about magical candy? Candy that allows you to jump higher than a roof top, candy that disguises your appearance, candy that allows you to run without getting tired, candy that lets you crawl inside mirrors or lets you live inside a doll, candy that lets you speak with animals or candy that allows you to convince others to do what you want them to, or magical candy that you can use to pull funny pranks on the school bullies - these are just some of the magical candies that 10 year old Nate Sutter and his friends Pigeon, Summer, and Trevor are secretly offered by the nice lady who owns the new candy shop in town. In exchange for the magical treats, the shop owner Ms. White asks the children to carry out secret missions for her that at first seem pretty harmless and kind of fun, but as the tasks become more shady and dangerous, the kids begin to suspect that the shop owner may not be a very nice person after all and the things she is asking them to do may not be right. Soon, the children find themselves in way over their heads as they try to undo the terrible chain of events that they have unknowingly helped set into motion and try to save the town from evil.This is an adventurous tale that I believe kids and adults alike will enjoy tremendously. The fun that the children in the story have with the magical candy will have your imagination soaring and leave you dreaming of all the fun things you could do if you had some of that candy, too. However, the story also teaches the kids a lesson that magic, just like anything else, can stop being fun if it is used for the wrong reasons.While I thought that The Candy Shop War was a very enjoyable book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, The Arcade Catastrophe, to me it wasn't quite as captivating or compelling as Mull's Fablehaven series. But I highly recommend this book to everyone. A very fun read!

Super livre de l'auteur à succès Brandon Mull. Si vous avez aimé Fablehaven, vous aimerez ces aventures!Super book from Brandon Mull. If you liked Falbehaven, this new serie is for you!

Great book

Great series. Perhaps my favourite book in the series

This was an awesome book! Loved the suspense and the magic candy! I would definitely recommend this book to people who love mystery books.

We loved this book! So fun to read with my kids!!