Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Mandala artwork by Ben Guterson. With his parents away on a research trip, Zander Olinga is spending five weeks with his grandmother at the Number Nine Plaza, the wondrous department store she owns in the Eastern European-esque city of Novatrosk. The building possesses wish-fulfillment departments to tempt any young shopper -- nineteen floors of pet stores, magic shops, bakeries, reading rooms, art museums, and ice cream parlors, with a giant Ferris wheel on the roof. Zander would enjoy it all immensely but for the looming threat of Darkbloom, an evil spirit who invades the minds of the weak, once conjured by his great-great-great uncle Vladimir. A magical plate bearing a sandstone mandala that gave the Nine its exceptional ability to enchant has been missing for ninety-nine years, and Zander hopes to recover it before Darkbloom's minions can use it to destroy the Nine. If the plot is a little MacGuffinish, the setting and mystery are constructed with great skill, with Zander and his friend Natasha dodging acts of sabotage that have plagued the department store and seeking out a series of nonsensical inscriptions that Uncle Vladimir left behind. Readers will enjoy trying to puzzle out the cypher coded in the inscriptions and will cheer Zander's attempts to conquer his acrophobia, a bit of personal development that comes into play at the climax. Despite the ongoing threats and danger, the story has built-in guardrails that keep the action from getting too intense, giving younger readers the security to wallow in the sparkling fantasy Guterson invents, of a store more magical than Santa's workshop, without fear. Final interior art not seen.

Kirkus Reviews (Thu Dec 28 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Coded clues put two young sleuths on the trail of a magic mandala hidden somewhere in a huge, bustling department store.Hardly has meek young Zander Olinga arrived for a visit with Zina Winebee, his grandmother and owner-manager of the Number Nine Plaza, than he learns of a threat to the continued existence of the renowned emporium. The danger is linked to Darkbloom, a rumored evil spirit set on reversing the good-fortune charm left by Nepali monks at the store's founding. The stone tablet bearing the magical mandala vanished 90 years ago, and finding its hiding place becomes a race pitting Zander and intrepid new ally Natasha Novikov against unknown saboteurs whose minds have been taken over by Darkbloom. The keys to the tablet's location are a series of ingenious word and number clues left by Zander's great-granduncle Vladimir, and Guterson provides enough hints along the way for savvy readers to decode them. What he doesn't do is give either his leads or the many-faceted store (which, over the course of the story, is explored from the Ferris wheel on its roof to the bakery in the cellar) any more depth or distinctive traits than he gives Nepali religious practice. Darkbloom remains a shadowy bugaboo, its actual nature and motivations unexplained and its fate left anticlimactically unresolved. Zander's father is from Cameroon, and his mother reads white; names cue some diversity in the supporting cast. Final art not seen. (This review has been updated for factual accuracy.)A whodunit that doesn't live up to its intriguing premise. (Mystery. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Deep in the heart of the Russian city of Novatrosk lies Number Nine Plaza, a shopping destination brimming with a plethora of things to see and do. For the first time in years, 11-year-old Zander Olinga—who lives in Pittsburgh and whose father is from Cameroon—travels to Russia to spend the summer with his grandmother, the current owner of the Nine. He quickly befriends white-cued Natasha Novikov, also 11, who works for his grandmother, and the pair bonds immediately over their shared love of sports and mutual appreciation for each other’s curious differences (Zander is afraid of heights and Natasha can juggle marbles). All is not perfect in the magical building, however; strange occurrences, old legends, and the arrival of a possibly demonic entity named Darkbloom put the Nine’s reputation—and very existence—at risk. Juxtaposing Zander’s sophisticated voice with Natasha’s effervescent—and occasionally reckless—ways, Guterson (Winterhouse) dives headlong into adventure, employing flights of fancy and imagination and humorous situations to instantly charm readers. A large, multiethnic cast of secondary adult characters balances the tweens’ youthful exuberance with caring, patient instruction, while Kister (Baby Unicorns) brings the grandiose setting to life, imbuing it with a wonder reminiscent of department stores of yesteryear. Ages 9–12. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Literary. (Jan.)

School Library Journal (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 4–6— Zander Olinga is off to spend the next five weeks of summer at his grandmother's world-famous department store, The Number Nine Plaza, while his parents are on a research trip in Kamchatka, Russia. Within hours of Zander's arrival, The Nine is abuzz with news about strange and dangerous things happening. The electricity is on the fritz, and an employee is attacked. Zander's grandmother, Zina, tells him the story about a magical mandala that was gifted to the first Winebee matriarch by Nepali monks. However, the mandala was stolen 90 years ago and hidden in The Nine. Zina suspects the mandala is being hunted by Darkbloom, an evil spirit who wishes harm on The Nine. Zander, with the help of a new friend, Natasha Novikov, goes on a search for the mandala using clues left by his great-granduncle, Vladimir. The Nine is a fantastical place full of shops and activities that will surely tickle readers' imaginations. However, Zander's exploration of the plaza often competes with the mystery of the missing mandala. VERDICT A promising novel with attention-grabbing elements and a high-stakes hunt for a magical object, that unfortunately gets lost in heavily detailed descriptions, a large cast of side characters, and an inconsistent time line.— Maria Martin