School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Rebecca, Max, Theo, and Noah may be back home, but life hasn't been easy for them. The book opens with Rebecca in intensive care, suffering from an ailment contracted while in ElseWhere. Max has joined a bike gang, and Noah and Theo have spent the last nine months building a new hideout. This volume has less action than its predecessors and uses mystery and suspense to set up a new adventure. A silent hooded figure approaches Rebecca in the hospital and beckons her to follow, ultimately reuniting her with Noah and Theo. She convinces them to return to ElseWhere to find her a cure. There the friends are once again trapped when their portal unexpectedly closes. Meanwhile, Max is fast on their heels in his attempt to rejoin them. The story ends just as the action begins. There is no narration, and while the dialogue is sufficient, the beautifully drawn images, which vary greatly in perspective, are what move this story. When Rebecca hides on a train, readers view the scene from above and over the shoulder of the conductor as well as from the ground looking up at him as Rebecca does from her hiding spot. The cinematic storytelling, glossy pages, and vivid colors lend the mood of an epic adventure and provide an interesting contrast to the cartoon-style characters. Readers will delight in exploring the beautiful landscapes again and again, and the cliff-hanger ending will leave them wanting more.-Kim T. Ha, Elkridge Branch Library, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In this fourth series installment, Rebecca has contracted a terminal illness and needs to return to the magical world of Elsewhere. A ghostly figure brings her the strength go back, but is she being led into a trap? Though some plot elements aren't entirely convincing, the dramatically colored illustrations help build suspense. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
The Master of Shadows (2009) finished up the original trilogy of the French graphic-novel import Elsewhere Chronicles, but it left a few threads dangling. This book picks up nine months later and mostly lays out new expositional groundwork to get the four friends back into the threatened world on the other side of the Shadow Door. A new character, who may as well be an 80-year-old Indiana Jones, gets introduced in the very Tatooine-like landscape. Both elements promise to be crowd-pleasers, but readers will have to wait for the next chapter for the adventure to really get going.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist
