Review copy provided by First Second Books.
Ben Hatke is a favorite of mine, and I was excited to get this sequel to last year’s Mighty Jack. I darted through it–it’s definitely a page-turner, following the cliffhanger ending of the first volume into strange new spaces full of goblins and giants and creatures who live in pipes. Jack and his friend Lilly are out to save his mute little sister Maddy from who knows what fate–although we soon find out, and it’s pretty gruesome.
Along the way they get separated. Jack has to whack things with his sword, bravely and boldly. Lilly has to actually figure things out, stick up for herself, and also whack things with her sword. But Jack’s name is on the cover, so even the dragon tells Jack he has saved the day when Lilly does some A+ prime grade day-saving.
Also Maddy speaks a crucial word at a crucial moment. I feel like having a mute character who did cool stuff was entirely fine, and having a character who speaks for plot convenience when the author feels it’s RULLY IMPORTANT is really less fine. Maddy goes from opinionated and nonverbal to rescue-bait. I know that Jack is going to be protective of his little sister, but I am considerably less thrilled with how much the disabled girl (intersectionally here; both elements) has basically one moment of agency in a plot where she’s the object.
It’s not the worst example of this stuff out there. It just could have been better. There’s room for more here, and I hope Hatke takes the opportunities to do more with these characters, particularly with the girls, rather than taking the path of least resistance.
Please consider using our link to buy Mighty Jack and the Goblin King from Amazon.