The Queen and the Nobody Boy: Hodies Journey (in Five Parts All about Bad Choices) by Barbara Else

The Queen and the Nobody Boy: Hodies Journey (in Five Parts All about Bad Choices) Reviews

• 
  Kathleen Dixon

  This book is a lovely old-fashioned children's adventure story, with lots of twists and turns, very clear goodies and baddies with just a couple of are-they-or-aren't-they types, a little bit of sadness, plenty of humour, and it all turns out right at the end.
  
  The Queen is a 12-year-old in the land of Fontania - a land where magic keeps all the little things going nicely but so subtly that you don't need to believe in it. She should be coming in to her magical powers soon. The Nobody Boy does the odd jobs around the castle in exchange for a shack to sleep in and scraps from the kitchen. His father disappeared a couple of years ago, leaving only his deceased mother's possessions which Hodie (for that's his name) looks after.
  
  Then the unpleasant Emperor of Um'Binnia - with his even more unpleasant sidekick General Gree'sle and his large, loud daughter (the Emperor's, that is), Lu'nedda - suddenly comes to visit. Everybody is relieved because the rumours had been the Um'Binnia was thinking of invading them - but how could they be thinking that if they were making a friendly visit. Not everybody is relieved.
  
  And there the adventure begins.
  
  I could just imagine myself as child reading this book and loving it. Some of the chapters are so short that when my mother would say, "Just one chapter and then turn off the light" I would be perfectly justified in reading three or more chapters because "they're very, very short, Mum" and I'd have the right pages to show her. Of course, not all the chapters are that short ....
  
  The language and descriptions are perfectly geared to the age group this story will appeal to, without challenging but with plenty of plays on words. The little bit of magic is just enough to pique the interest, and the characters of the title are clearly defined as they hurtle through this adventure, learning about themselves and how the world works as they go. A good, fun read.
• 
  Charlotte

  This review is also posted on
  Thoughts and Pens Blog.
  
  This book is another random pick of mine from NetGalley. The cover is so vibrant and charming that I immediately fell in love with it, hence, the immediate request. The summary was even more exciting, a rags to riches story? Sign me up for that!
  The Queen and the Nobody Boy narrates the story of Queen Sibilla and Hodie, the Palace’s odd job boy and how their lives turned upside down after making choices that seem to lead to unfortunate events. Tired of being unpaid and poorly fed at Queen Sibilla’s palace, Hodie finally decided that life would be easier if he just look for his fortune somewhere else. However, when he was about to flee, the young Queen Sibilla decided to accompany him as she was also frustrated from the pressures the Palace had burdened her with. And together, the two children left the Kingdom of Fontania and set off on a perilous journey towards Um’Binnia, another Kingdom determined to destroy Fontania and claim all the magic that it holds.
  
  I understand that this book is already the second book of the Tales of Fontania and though I’ve heard about The Travelling Restaurant, I haven’t got the opportunity to read it. I don’t think it matters though since TQNB has its own story to tell.
  
  The first chapters of the book were somewhat relaxed and there were a lot of moments that were spent on Hodie contemplating about how sorry his life has become. I admit that it bore me in a way because as a children’s book, it should have started with more force to attract the short-attention span of children. I understand that the first chapters were used to set the stage for the story to unfold but again, I would have been glad if it was shortened a little bit. The story started to pick up speed when the two children journeyed to the kingdom of Um’Binnia. And this is where the fun part for crazy adventures melded with an astonishing steampunk had started to unfurl.
  
  The wind trains sounded like a more-than-wild roller coaster ride. And while we are having the best moment of our lives riding the wind trains, outrageous and lovable characters started to surface. Murgott, who was seemingly a background character in the first chapters, was revealed to be important. And by golly, he might be a pirate and struck me as a rogue but his deepest nature is funny, loyal and brave. And there’s Princessa Lu’nedda, the vain and spoiled brat daughter of Emperor Prowdd’on of Um’Binnia, who was able to prove that she is the worthy Empress of Um’Binnia by being feisty, daring, intelligent and compassionate. What about Prowdd’on? Well, this book wouldn’t have been fun without this stuck up Um’Binnian Emperor. I am prepared to bet my five fingers that Barbara’s inspiration for his character was the Emperor’s new clothes.
  
  While the above characters made a positive impression on me, I am still deciding on what to make of our hero and heroine. There are times that Hodie and Sibilla annoys me with their brattiness and immaturity especially the latter who seemed really flat throughout the whole story except for the few moments wherein she was really candid and simply cute. Hodie, however, is alright and he would have been really great if Barbara had made a significant development on his character as the story progressed.
  
  TQNB’s plot was charming, not too complicated but not plain either, a good choice for young readers. And the way Barbara painted the picture of Um’Binnia is sufficiently creative for the readers to ride the next train to that kingdom. The search for the Ties, being one of the central points of the story, also made a welcoming feeling for the adventurous of hearts. In the midst of all these, there were elements of drama, surprises, and a budding romance (can you believe that? xD) that were thrown into the picture that makes TQNB appealing even to the hesitant children’s book readers.
  
  There are however things that TQNB lacked. One is that the war at the end of the book wasn’t clearly elaborated, like it was just haphazardly inserted into the whole story. I would have loved to witness a good fight with Sibilla and Hodie doing amazing exploits of bravery. And then, there’s the cliffhanger between what happened to Lu’nedda and Murgott. And third is that, Hodie’s future is only implied. I mean come on, lots of pages have been wasted with him pondering on how he was such a Nobody boy that he sort of deserved a way, way better ending than saying “Your Majesty, I will be honored.”
  
  On a general note, TQNB is a splendid tale of two frustrated children who went into an adventure weaved with magic and steampunk and emerged as heroes. An excellent read for everyone especially the young ones who are still searching for themselves under the sun.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the free copy!
• 
  Andréa

  I really wanted to like The Queen and the Nobody Boy -- the cover is great and the premise intriguing. And, for the most part, I did enjoy it. But I also found it unusually slow, for a children's book, for me to get through, and I often felt as though I were missing something, like background information or other explanations. The Queen and the Nobody Boy is described as a stand-alone companion to
  The Traveling Restaurant: Jasper's Voyage in Three Parts, but I do wonder if perhaps reading The Traveling Restaurant first, which I did not, would help with understanding The Queen and the Nobody Boy.
  
  Although the book is technically a fantasy, I would recommend it more to children who are interested in adventures or mysteries. The concept of magic is a central plot point, but the actual action of the book doesn't involve all that much magic or other fantasy elements. It does, however, involve quite a lot of adventure (flying through the air on a train, escaping from an enemy city, distracting giant poisonous toads) and mystery (Where are Hodie's parents? Will the Queen develop magical abilities? Where are the missing treasures?).
  
  Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley.
• 
  Megan

  This is the second book in the Tales of Fontania, with
  The Travelling Restaurant: Jasper’s Voyage in Three Parts, being the first. The Queen and the Nobody Boy continues with the irreverent humour of The Travelling Restaurant, and expands our knowledge of Fontania into Um’Binnia, an underground city threatening war against Fontania. The greedy and awful Emporer Prowdd’on, is trying to capture the Golden Dragon-Eagle, who is necessary to the passing on of magic to young Queen Sibilla, 12 years old and not quite magical yet.
  
  This story is Hodie’s story. Hodie is the ‘nobody boy’ who has no parents and is an unpaid odd-job boy at the palace. He becomes disgruntled with life at the palace, not surprisingly, and makes the decision to move on:
  
  ‘Hodie’s eyes turned watery. he was utterly sick of the Grand Palace and all its gossip. “Oo, babies not sleeping safe? We need stronger magic.” “Oo, Fontania needs a royal family that pays more attention to its magical abilities.” “Oo, what can the king be doing in his workshop? I hope it’s magical experiments.”
  
  Magic! he scoffed to himself. How could magic exist in a world where a boy’s father was here one day but gone the next without a word? How could it exist in a world where a boy didn’t know a thing about his mother? Well, he’d learned to live without parents, and he didn’t need the Grand Palace either – especially if the palace didn’t need him. It was high time he left here. He would go south.’
  
  Only, as he is leaving, he hears footsteps behind him. ‘Hodie didn’t want company and strode faster. The boy caught up, puffing. “Boy!” said the boy. “I knew I’d catch you!” Hodie’s mouth dropped open. It was the Queen.”
  
  Sibilla is fed-up with everybody watching and waiting for her magic to appear, and has decided she will leave with Hodie, whether he likes it or not. Along with Murgott, the pirate chef from the Travelling Restaurant, who has become Corporal Murgott in this book, Hodie and Sibilla travel to Um’Binnia, overcoming danger along the way, and discovering new strengths. Sibilla is also forced to consider a few home truths about how her subjects view royalty.
  
  ‘Sibilla kept both hands on her cap. “How would democ-ra-what improve the Emporer?”
  
  Hodie put his hands over his eyes. Any moment she would give herself away. They’d all be in trouble.
  
  “Democracy,” muttered the ogre, “is even better than having lazy King and little girl Queen.”
  
  Murgott drew in a sharp breath and glanced at Sibilla. The ogre continued. “Democracy is when people spend time arguing about what is best, not just say Hoorah for Emporer to his face and heaven-save-us-all-especially-ogres behind his back.”
  
  The story is told with a very present authorial voice – almost a ‘story telling’, with authorial asides such as,
  
  ‘Hodie also heard that the King and Queen’s mother, Lady Helen, actually said the Royal Swear Word. (It’s in very tiny letters at the end of the book. Nobody must see you look at it.)’
  
  For my own part, I wonder if the tongue-in-cheek humour throughout detracts from the wonderful fantasy and fantastical inventions and settings in the book. The reason that fantasy worlds can work is because they become utterly believable, in a suspend-disbelief kind of way. The author’s presence in the story reminds you that she is making it all up, and the irreverent tone undermines her world a little. This is different to the asides, for example, of Bartimaeus in the Jonathon Stroud series, where the teller of the story is a character from the story, and therefore his irreverence is entirely convincing. But, this is just a pondering…
  
  This book is great fun, and appropriate for children from about 8 years and up. While it is not necessary to have read ‘The Travelling Restaurant’ to enjoy this story, it does help you to understand the characters of Jasper, Sibilla and Murgott a little more.
  
  Nominated for the Junior Fiction Section of this year’s NZ Post Children’s book awards.
  
  Links to
  Teacher Resources and an
  interview with Barbara Else, the author.
  
• 
  Sharon Tyler

  The Queen and the Nobody Boy; A Tale of Fontania by Barbara Else is a children's fantasy novel for the middle grade set. Hodie is barely surviving as the unpaid odd-job boy at the Grand Palace in the Kingdom of Fontania. When a obnoxious group of foreign dignitaries leave under unusual circumstances Hodie decided it is time for him to head out and make a new life for himself. The young Queen, 12-year-old Sibilla, is fed up too. Sick of gossip about her lack of magical ability, she decides to run away with Hodie, whether he likes it or not. She decides to go with him, insisting he go north to get his mother's bag back from the Emperor of Um'Binnia. The story is one of adventure, finding magic in unexpected places, and truth in even stranger places. Greed, rebellion, and secrets abound in this wonderful adventure.
  
  It was only in looking for a cover photo that I discovered that The Queen and the Nobody Boy was the second book in a series. I have not read the first book, but do not feel like I missed out on anything in this particular story because of that lack. From what I have seen, the first book seems to detail more of Jasper's story (Sibilla's big brother) rather than the story directly relating to the events in this installment. The Traveling Restaurant: Jasper's Voyage in Three Parts, is the first book in this series. I plan on reading it as soon as possible, simply because I enjoyed this story and would like to explore the world a bit more. The world building and characters were unique, sometimes feeling a little familiar on the surface but rising above the standard fare to be quirky fun.
  
  The Queen and the Nobody Boy has fast paced adventure, crazy inventions with a steam punk feel, and a touch of magic. I really enjoyed the tongue in cheek humor and found the story both exciting and fun to read. Hodie, the practical 'nobody boy' and the good natured but sometimes unprepared little queen Sibilla, balance each other nicely. The Princessa, Emperor, and other secondary characters vary between being a little flat and being so well fleshed out that I want to read much more about them in the future. I particularly want to know more about Murgott, the soldier that writes bad poetry and was once a pirate.
  
  I would recommend The Queen and the Nobody Boy to readers that enjoy fantasy, coming of age stories, quest adventures, and any of the above that also strike a chord of feeling fresh and new. Fantasy and adventure fans will be particularly please with the quick pace and unusual settings.
• 
  Angela Oliver

  A colourful and fast-paced, action-packed and entertaining romp in the ever-so-slightly-magical-but-also-quite-scientifc world of Fontania.
  
  Else has a real knack for creating quirky characters - in this case, Sibella the "little" Queen, who follows protagonist, Hodie when he runs away, and more-or-less, by accident or intent, ropes him in to helping her save her kingdom from the pompous emperor of Um'Binnia.
  
  The plot bounces along, twisting and turning in topsy-turvy rhythms with some totally madcap moments and a hearty dose of humour. The description of the technology is nifty - it could be steampunk, but it has the playful colour and fun of rather crazy, over-the-top inventions, maybe what Dr Seuss would invent.
  
  With giant toads, ogres, dragon-eagles and much more, this is one adventure that you will want to be whisked up and away on!
  
  This is the second in her Fontania books - the first being the "Travelling Restaurant", but they are stand-alones and I have not read the previous one, although I feel now I should. Previously, the only Else novel I have read was her adult historic novel, "Wild Lattitudes", which was also populated with a cast of rather quirky characters and is definitely worth venturing into, although it does have a certain outrageousness not usually found in historic novels.
  
  I do wonder, was there some deeper metaphor/meaning to the ugly squirrel?
  
  Special thanks to NetGalley and Gecko Press for providing me with the review-copy ebook.
  
  Speaking of Gecko Press - they are purveyors of quality literature for children and I have seen some beautiful books come out of their publishing house. If you want something slightly different, a bit - or a lot - special, then definitely look their way!
• 
  Jo

  The Queen and the Nobody Boy
  by Barbara Else
  
  Summery
  Hodie is the unpaid odd-job boy at the Grand Palace in the Kingdom of Fontania. Fed-up, he decides to leave and better himself in the South. But the young Queen, 12 year old Sibilla, is fed-up, too, because of gossip about her lack of magical ability. She decides to go with him, insisting he go north to get his mother's bag back from the Emperor of Um'Binnia.
  
  Review
  This book reminded me of the classic fairytales I grew up with. There were Heroes, villains and lots of twists to keep it interesting, There were moments of sadness, humor and honor.
  The Queen and the Nobody Boy is a fast paced adventure, with crazy inventions and a touch of magic. I really enjoyed the humor and found the story both exciting and fun to read. Hodie the practical nobody boy and the good natured but unprepared little queen Sibilla, balance each other nicely. The Princessa, Emperor, and other secondary characters vary between being a little flat and being so well fleshed out that I want to read much more about them in the future.
  Barbara Else is a New Zealand author with immense talent, her stories are imaginative and whimsical. and a privilege to read.
  Fantastic book.
  4 stars
• 
  Carolina Colleene

  Language - G, Sexual Content - G; Violence - PG
  Hodie is sick of working for the royals of Fontania for little food and no pay, so he sets off to be a farmer in the South. The little queen Sibilla, though, decides to tag along and "help" him. Now Hodie is headed North, hiding from Um'bannian soldiers, and cannot get rid of this random vicious squirrel! If only he had left a day earlier.
  This book is alright. The story moved slowly and didn't make much sense, but it was entertaining enough. The story was predictable, but it was set in an interesting new world debating the use of innovation versus magic. Also, the purposeful grammar mistakes were very annoying. I understand that Else was trying to write in an accent, but it just made me reread dialogue several more times than should be necessary.
  Reviewed for
  https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/
• 
  Sophie

  I chose to read this book because I have all the others in the series and I liked them. I enjoyed it for the same reason I enjoyed the others, it was creative and compelling and all about my favourite character from the first book, Queen Sibilla. I learned that no matter where you come from or what you do, you are still worthy, and you never know what might happen, such as how Hodie was the unpaid job boy and then turned out to be the queens mother's best friends child. So in a way, he was royal too. A character that was interesting to me was Murgott. He was fiercely protective of the queen, unafraid to speak his mind, and brave, and somehow was kind even when he was being brutally tough. This book won the IBBY NZ Honour Award For Writing, White Raven, and NZ Post Children's Book Honour Award.
• 
  Destiny Dawn Long

  A full review is available on my blog:
  
  
  http://destinydawnlong.wordpress.com/...
  
  Excerpt:
  
  "The Queen and the Nobody Boy is a lively modern adventure fairy tale for children ages 10 and up. Else’s narrative style reminds me a bit of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. There’s a real playfulness to her language. It’s not just that she’s produced a compelling story, but that she’s also managed to tell it in a style that sucks you in. In many middle grades and young adult novels, the narrative prose is secondary to the story. Typically the only time I really notice it is when it’s not terribly good. In this case, I noticed because it was so refreshingly fun to read."
• 
  Adele

  Barbara Else has done it again. She's come up with a new set of characters for us to love and hate in this next tale of Fontania and reprised a few from The Travelling Restaurant too. This book focusses on a different part of the realm of Fontainia - Um'Binnia, a smelly hot underground city reached primarily by somewhat dodgy wind travel. This book's not as foody as The Travelling Restaurant - (and I have to say I missed the pies) but there's plenty of the kind of magic we've come to expect. I loved the wind-trains and the Ocean Toads, and I especially liked Hodie her main character for his vulnerable but steadfast qualities.
• 
  Erin

  An all around okay book, however, there were parts of it that really bugged me! The biggest thing for me was the fact that nobody actually seemed to care about Hodie. Other characters would call him " boy" and never gave him the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't figure out why Hodie kept following the queen around when obviously he didn't want to and she treated him like crap pretty much throughout the book. I was utterly disgusted! The story itself had a semi-good plot and the first half of the book went really fast. That being said I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character growth in spoiled rich kids (because you aren't going to get it).
• 
  Sunshyne

  A great old-fashioned children's adventure story, with lots of twists and turns, very clear goodies with just a couple of are-they-or-aren't-they types, a little bit of sadness, alot of humour, and it all turns out just right in the end.
• 
  Lorraine Orman

  If you liked The Travelling Restaurant you'll like this one!
• 
  Kirren Wilson

  Did not finish this story. Likeable characters.
• 
  Elsie

  I liked the queen and the nobody boy, but I didn't have the want to keep reading like every good book should have. I love the author though and I'm continuing to read through Barbara's work.
• 
  Annemarie

  I liked this book; adventurous and humorous in some parts.
• 
  Z.R. Southcombe

  A wonderful adventure! This book explores human nature, hope, and the possibility of magic in an imaginative and quirky tale.
• 
  Emilie

  v good