The plot of Brandon Mull's (the Fablehaven series) page-turning second book in the Beyonders trilogy picks up just where it left off: Jason Walker has found his way home from the cornfield where we left him at the end of the first book. He tries halfheartedly to fit into his old routine, but his thoughts continually turn to the disembodied hand of Ferrin the displacer, which he brought back with him; to Rachel Woodruff, his fellow "Beyonder"; and to a sense of urgency to share what he has learned about the Word and the evil wizard Maldor.
Jason returns to Lyria via the same pathway--through the digestive tract of the hippo at the Vista Point Zoo. And when he emerges in Lyria, Tark turns out to be, once again, the source of the music Jason hears in the hippo's pen. Tark split off from Rachel and Drake, a seed man from book one, because they were being stalked by one of Maldor's "lurkers." Meanwhile, a charm lady, impressed with Rachel's abilities, offers to teach her Edomic, Maldor's language.
With Maldor still gaining power, Jason and Rachel join forces with more fellow resistors. Aram, a half-human and half-giant, and Ferrin the displacer are among them. Mull assumes readers have begun with the first book, A World Without Heroes; he begins with a spoiler to that book. But his themes deepen here, as he continues to mine questions of what makes a hero and what constitutes loyalty. Readers will be eager to read the third and final installment. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness