In the final book in best-selling Apothecary series, Janie and Benjamin are once again in 1955 America, but the tranquility that invokes is hardly their reality. Benjamin's father is gone, perhaps forever, to the After-Room, and Benjamin is willing to go to deadly lengths to reach him; the nuclear threat still is not resolved; and in a companion plot, the duo's friend Jin Lo has washed up on an isolated island inhabited by an American spy. Meloy gets the chance to introduce some interesting new characters, including Ned the spy and a tortured magician, and the action continues apace. Fans should be happy with the ending, which ties things up neatly and leaves just the tiniest, welcome opening for more books about Janie and Benjamin.

Gr 5-9 In this trilogy finale, the remaining conspirators push aside sadness to fight nuclear proliferation using the magical Pharmacopeia book. It's 1955, and Benjamin and Janie drown in alternating tides of grief and confusion. Benjamin's new acquaintance Doyle claims Benjamin can contact his dead father in a liminal place called the After-room, but Janie worries deeply about Doyle and this kind of magic. Even as they head to Rome for more adventures, their old friend Jin Lo tracks down the missing nuclear weapon in the China seas, needing the magical help only they can provide. In the final novel, their work requires greater sacrifice and dedication of purpose. Events move at a whirlwind pace. Alternating chapters from events in the United States and China keep the dramatic tension tight even as the book's tone is painted by grief and the losses suffered in The Apprentices (Penguin, 2013). The nuclear weapon hunt, while crucial, seems less epic than Benjamin's and Janie's prior quests. Their use of magic is more practiced and less wondrous. Nonetheless, secondary characters like Doyle and Jin Lo's friend Ned are gems, and everyone's wanderings somehow collapse back in as neatly as a Chinese fan. For Benjamin and Janie, life holds great meaning. Readers will find much to contemplate in their journey. Pair this with Maggie Stiefvater's "The Raven Cycle" books (Scholastic) for fantasy above the common order. VERDICT A cerebral fantasy with enough action to keep readers on their toes. Purchase to complete the trilogy. Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT

The Apothecary series is fairly popular, considering it is an unusual combination of ingredients: espionage thriller, cold war historical fiction, mild romance, and urban fantasy. Young alchemists Benjamin Burrows and Janie Scott are partners in potion-making, but Benjamin has become closed off and obsessed ever since the death of his father. Using one of their concoctions, Benjamin can communicate with the spirit of his father, but the process is extremely dangerous. Meanwhile, a distraught naval commander who has lost his son plans to use a stolen nuclear artillery shell to start a war with China. Can Benjamin, Janie, and their allies once again use alchemy to save the world?Meloy ends her trilogy on a satisfying note and manages an authorial sort of alchemy just short of being as miraculous as that performed by her protagonists: creating realistic historical fiction that gives an authentic cold war feel, along with potions that can turn one into a bird. For middle-grade fans of the first two books, this is a sure thing, but this series finale is definitely not a stand-alone book.Sean Rapacki.