I wrote this review for School Library Journal; it appears here and in the February 2009 print edition.
PINKWATER, Daniel. The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out Where They Went, and Went There. illus. by Calef Brown. 256p. Houghton. Feb. 2009. Tr $16. ISBN 978-0-618-59445-0. LC 2008001874.
Gr 4–6—In this independent sequel to The Neddiad (Houghton, 2007), Yggdrasil Birnbaum is determined to find out why all the ghosts in early 1950s Los Angeles seem to be vanishing. Iggy and her friends Neddie and Seamus, all of whom see and talk with the city's numerous ghosts on a regular basis, visit Olvera Street, Clifton's Cafeteria, and other famous spots to solve the mystery, but it takes a visit to an alternate world called Underland, filled with an assortment of curious characters, to discover what those ghosts have been up to. Pinkwater's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor is very much in evidence, as is his penchant for odd names and eccentric folks. His version of 1950s L.A., filled with aging movie stars and health-food fanatics, is authentically and delightfully kooky. The story takes a while to get going, but once these young heroes reach Underland, the action picks up, and readers will speed happily through to the goofy ending.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Gr 4–6—In this independent sequel to The Neddiad (Houghton, 2007), Yggdrasil Birnbaum is determined to find out why all the ghosts in early 1950s Los Angeles seem to be vanishing. Iggy and her friends Neddie and Seamus, all of whom see and talk with the city's numerous ghosts on a regular basis, visit Olvera Street, Clifton's Cafeteria, and other famous spots to solve the mystery, but it takes a visit to an alternate world called Underland, filled with an assortment of curious characters, to discover what those ghosts have been up to. Pinkwater's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor is very much in evidence, as is his penchant for odd names and eccentric folks. His version of 1950s L.A., filled with aging movie stars and health-food fanatics, is authentically and delightfully kooky. The story takes a while to get going, but once these young heroes reach Underland, the action picks up, and readers will speed happily through to the goofy ending.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
And read the whole book for free here on Daniel Pinkwater's website!
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