Pacey Packer

May 15, 2020
A girl goes on an unexpected journey to save her little sister in this series opener. Pacey Packer daydreams of being the "brave and powerful" Lady Pacey, vanquishing foes and "bringing peace and justice to the world all by herself." Tasked with babysitting her younger sister, Mina, adventure-loving Pacey refuses to play tea party with Mina and her plush unicorn. But when she tries to relent, Pacey walks in on Mina being ferried out the window by a real live unicorn! Equally shockingly, Mina's unicorn toy is actually Slasher, a real unicorn who has been transfigured into the body of a plushie and can talk. Pacey follows them, but just as they arrive in the unicorn land of Rundalyn, Pacey and Slasher are separated from Mina. With snarky Slasher as her guide, Pacey uses her sense of adventure to brave carnivorous plants, oversized fauna, and other dangers to reach Mina. When Slasher and Pacey arrive at the Alpha unicorn's castle, a Mr. Tumnus-esque betrayal by Slasher reveals the cruel, haughty Alpha's plan to turn Pacey and her sister into stone statues. It's up to Pacey and her sister to save themselves, combining their styles of imaginative play. Two-color illustrations (a dull grape purple with black and white) lack the magic and energy that the story really needs, flattening the already two-dimensional style and lacking a clear intentionality. Pacey and Mina both have pale skin and straight, black hair. For settings where the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series has ravenous fans. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 6, 2020

GR 2-5-In her daydreams, Pacey Packer is a brave and powerful knight, wielding the Sword of Destiny against evil monsters. In reality, she is stuck babysitting her whiny sister, Mina. But when Mina is spirited away across a rainbow bridge on the back of a unicorn, Pacey's protective instinct kicks in. She grabs onto Mina's beloved (and apparently sentient) stuffed unicorn, Slasher, but when Slasher loses his grip, Mina appears to be lost. Pacey is lost in the magical land of Rundalyn accompanied only by Slasher, who is in fact a Rundalyn native. Can Pacey find Mina and get her home without being eaten by carnivorous plants, impaled on poisonous thorns, or turned to stone? Is Pacey the hero she thinks she is? Can she trust Slasher? There's more here than meets the eye- the humorous art style and snarky dialogue belie a surprising amount of character development and intrigue. Phillips combines the premise and reverse-fairyland setting of Suzanne Collins's Gregor the Overlander with the sarcasm and simplified cartoon style of Family Guy (Slasher is a dead ringer for Brian the dog) for an appealing series starter. VERDICT Action and imaginative peril propel this girl-powered story of bad unicorns in a magic land. Readers will look forward to more smart mouth heroics from Pacey and Slasher.-Paula Willey, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.