Kit-in-the-Candlestick by Nixie Turner: A Successful Adventure into Lighthearted Fantasy

Title:  Kit-in-the-Candlestick

Author:  Nixie Turner

Format:  Kindle

Rating:  7 / 10

Description:  When Mopsa discovers the secret that lead to the death of her father, she runs away and finds herself late at night in the doorway of a mysterious shop on one of York’s ancient streets. She tries the door handle and tumbles inside, only to find herself banished to the strange and inhospitable land of Lethe.

Pursued by hidden enemies, and in a desperate race against time, she attempts to discover the whereabouts of a missing girl and unlock the magic within her amethyst necklace. On her journey, she meets Tom, a boy as lost as she is, and together they try and find their way home.

Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a fantasy novel for older children and young adults with magic, mystery and romance. 

Nixie Turner’s Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a refreshing return to traditional fantasy in a market dominated by horror-based romance, with a modern feel that keeps it fresh and a light-hearted tone that allows for danger while still keeping everything fun and exciting.  The general feel of the story reminds me favorably of Diana Wynne Jones (an author I don’t compare to lightly).  I couldn’t quite figure out why the story had to be set in Lethe (her name for Limbo) rather than just a fantasy world beyond the door (ala Gaiman’s Stardust).  One, Lethe is the river in the Greek underworld whose waters caused spirits to forget their past lives, while Mopsa never experienced forgetting.  Two, the world did not seem very much like a Limbo, but more like a medieval landscape.  I don’t think the story would lose anything being set in only a medieval world; however to be Limbo, I think the setting needed darker, more supernatural elements and a much more forbidding environment, whereas Mopsa seemed pretty comfortable most of the time.  (And why “Mopsa”?)  

The plot itself begins a little slowly.  The language can be a little heavy-handed in some places, with too much description and not enough action, or overly repetitious passages.  However the majority of the writing is simple and clear, allowing the reader to move quickly through the story and focus on the characters and plot.  The prologue could be taken out without changing anything; it continues with a ghost tour that is never mentioned again and a tarot card reading that serves only to signify that something will happen, which the reader already knows.  However, it picks up dramatically when Mopsa reaches the inn in Cyanesglade.  Turner uses this seemingly peaceful time very well to sow seeds of the mystery of Janas, Elizabeth, Tilda, and the necklace.  These chapters create a sense of impending danger that pushes the reader forward, eager to learn more.  More scenes with Janas in the very beginning would help establish his villainous ways better than Elizabeth just saying he’s terrible, but his later actions make up for his early absence.  Once they leave Cyanesglade with Wilberfoss and Tom, the plot races forward to the very end and it’s hard to stop reading; you always want one more page. 

Overall, the plot is very original, with an unexpected final twist that made me slap myself in the forehead; Turner sets it up so carefully and so early that you’d never see it coming, but when it does, it makes perfect sense and really adds strength to the story.  The romance between Tom and Mopsa is built on friendship, develops slowly, and has its fair share of snags; a sweet alternative to the whirlwind love affairs that develop in seconds in other books.  Overall, Mopsa’s search for home, the secret of the necklace, and the relation of Lethe to her world are well done.  The combination of old English superstitions with a modern fantasy sensibility makes for an exciting, whimsical adventure that feels new. 

My only criticism on the plot is a certain lack of danger.  There are many places where Mopsa and her friends have the opportunity to be in real trouble, but everyone escapes without a scratch.  Even at the end, how quickly they escape Lethe doesn’t really matter.  As a result, Janas doesn’t feel like a very dangerous villain and Mopsa’s story lacks urgency.  The endearing characters kept me reading because I truly cared for them by the end, but I kept wishing that something really terrible would happen to one of them to add spice to the story.  Even so, Turner makes up for it with an ending that is sweet but not entirely perfect; a great bittersweet ending for a modern fairy tale.  The book is self-contained and satisfying as a single, but I would be pleased to hear more adventures of Lethe. 

As a first effort, Kit-in-the-Candlestick is a successful novel.  It relies on some contrived situations and miraculously easy escapes that might annoy older readers and its language shows room for improvement.  However, its plot is very original and has the rare quality of feeling like a fresh new world with characters you can really care about; even when the plot lags, they’re so endearing and interesting that you can’t help but go on.  The final twist and ending is satisfying and clever, justifying every page.  Turner shows great promise as a writer, with all the positives there, just waiting for a little maturing and a little tightening.  I look forward to her next book!