Molly Moon Stops the World

April 1, 2004
Familiar characters face new adventures this spring. Georgia Byng offers more hypnotic high jinks in Molly Moon Stops the World, the sequel to Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, which PW described as "a lively symphony of hilarious escapades and madcap chases." This time, Molly travels to Los Angeles to stop a powerful hypnotist businessman who is trying to take over Hollywood-and then the world. Along with twists and surprises, Byng also works in themes about the pervasiveness of advertising and the influence of celebrity endorsements.

May 1, 2004
Gr 4-6-A lighthearted sequel to Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism (HarperCollins, 2003). In this adventure, Molly discovers from her mentor Lucy Logan that a man named Primo Cell is trying to take over the world and that she is the only one who can stop him. The girl goes to California, gets into the Academy Awards, swanky Hollywood parties, and more, all in an effort to discover how to stop Cell. She finds out that he has mastered the art of casting permanent hypnotic spells and must find out how to break them before he becomes president of the U.S. Readers are likely to enjoy this fun fantasy; as long as they don't delve too deeply, they won't notice the contrivances and the many holes in the story. This title will appeal to fans of the first story and may garner a few new ones-if they are willing to turn off their reality buttons.-Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2004
Gr. 5-8. Molly Moon (" Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism" , 2003) is back, and Byng has outdone herself. This time Molly, Rocky, and the rest of the orphanage gang are off to Los Angeles, where Molly must foil Primo Cell, a brilliant, power-mad, billionaire hypnotist, who may have kidnapped Davina Nuttel and possibly hypnotized half of Hollywood and most of the important people in America. But that's not all. Can Molly learn to control her mysterious new ability to stop time? Molly is irresistible: a skinny, 11-year-old mastermind with wild hair, who eats ketchup sandwiches, defeats seemingly invincible adults with her amazing abilities, yet yearns for a family. Plot twists abound, characters aren't who they seem to be, and danger escalates at a breakneck pace. The action is nonstop, but kids who need to care about characters will find this to be more than just roaring good sf; it's a feel-good story that will leave them hungry for more about a winning kid who learns to be comfortable in her own skin. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

April 4, 2005
"The author offers more hypnotic high jinks in this sequel to Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
," according to PW
. "This time, Molly travels to Los Angeles to stop a powerful hypnotist businessman who is trying to take over Hollywood-and then the world." Ages 8-12.

July 1, 2004
The heroine of "Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism" returns in a sprawling adventure. Here Molly's destination is Los Angeles, where she attends the Academy Awards, investigates a kidnapping, discovers she can stop time with her hypnotic powers, and learns the secret of her parentage. Purposefully preposterous, the busy story is filled with larger-than-life characters and comic dialogue.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)