A review by mirrorbug
The Box and the Dragonfly by Ted Sanders

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very much an underrated book. I think this could easily explode into a massive fantasy middle grade series but it just didn't. 
All the characters were fantastic, especially Horace and Chloe though. You really understand why this first book is called the box AND the dragonfly.

Especially towards the end, Chloe takes front and center in the emotional narrative if the story and the whole thing flows really well.

There were times where I thought Chloe in particular was being a but annoying to other characters or those characters were being too harsh on Chloe. But then you remember these are two snot-faced 11-year-olds running around Chicago in the middle of the night with incredibly powerful magical devices and we just have to trust them. Horace and Chloe are smart, lovable characters, but holy shit. These two are thr embodiment of the 11-year-old who believes himself to be an immortal god. I think it's easy in stories like this to almost jump from one plot point to the next, but it flows very well! Everything makes a lot of sense and we don't spend a lot of time doing what we don't need to spend time on. That alone makes this book go by fairly fast. Also, there's a glossary for new terms in the back which is incredibly helpful.