In Tyler & Tess in the Magic Maze, by Samuel Warren Joseph and Phil Proctor, 11-year-old twins Tyler and Tess Porter take a shortcut home from soccer and find themselves in strange, Oz-like new world. There’s an Alice in Wonderland vibe too, as they’re immediately in for confusing questions — if the twins weren’t TRYING to get to Queen Zebra, then why were they sheltering in the standing stones in Percival Woods at the convergence of Mercury, Saturn and Venus, in an electrical storm? It’s just logical! And are they followers of Queen Zebra or King Fable? Answer fast, twins!
Tess and Tyler are opposites in just about every way, but they’ll need both of their strengths to figure out what’s going on in this new world and make their way home. Each section of the maze is its own little world, complete with odd rules and odder characters, but if the twins work together, they can work it all out.
To return home, the twins must make it through twelve separate sections, each with its own confusing (but internally consistent!) set of rules and riddles. The Magic Maze has the unpredictable energy of classic children’s fiction such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, or even some of the Narnia exploration on the Dawn Treader. Each section fof the maze introduces different creatures with different customs, and these creatures range from weirdly cute to just plain weird. Young readers will enjoy the zany antics and strange settings.
The story is fast-paced, twisty and inventive, making a great story for middle-grade readers who like their fantasy mixed with puzzles and teamwork. I enjoyed the riddles I especially enjoyed how Tyler and Tess grow throughout the story, both as more developed characters, and as siblings who grow to understand and appreciate each other more. There’s a lovely acceptance of their different personalities an strengths over the course of the book, and I expect more of this over the rest of the Magic Maze trilogy.
There’s also an overall message about trust — in a Wonderland-style world where nothing is as it seems, and characters who seem friendly and kind may have darker motives, the twins have to trust themselves and each other. This is a lovely message for middle grade readers to hear, especially couched in a wild adventure story, and not a heavy-handed morality play.
This is a fun and imaginative start to the Magic Maze Trilogy, full of quirky characters and sibling teamwork. A fun adventure for middle-grade readers who enjoy fantasy worlds.