The Apprentices takes the world as we know it, but sprinkles fairy tale dust on it. Well, not fairy tale dust, but fantastical plant pastes, elixirs, and concoctions.

There’s more, but I won’t tell you because I want you to read this book.

             The Apprentices is the sequel to The Apothecary, which I also enjoyed. Once again, the heroes must stop the enemies from developing an unstoppable nuclear bomb. But there’s more to the book than this. I felt I learned something about myself as the characters changed and grew. Even though the events are supernatural, the story and the people felt real.

             I think you’ll have a hard time deciding which character is your favorite: there’s Janie and Ben, amazing wise teenagers, Jin Li, the psychically scarred brilliant Chinese scientist, Ben’s father, the original Apothecary, who has in his possession a book with amazing plant cures.

            At the end, you’ll wish Maile Melloy’s created world were true.