“She stepped through the door of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, out of one world and into another” - L.D. Lapinski
Welcome back, friends, to the final day of our book club read-along for OwlCrate Jr's June 2021 book, Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski! How is this awesome story going to wrap up?
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 31 - 41 of Strangeworlds Travel Agency, so make sure you read these chapters before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box! We’ll be selecting four winners this time around, so make sure you join in for every discussion!
And the story concludes....
Back in the Waiting Room, Flick discovers that two of the other people stuck there are none other than Darilyn and Greysen Quicksilver, Custodians of the Quicksilver Emporium! Meanwhile, Jonathan, having cleaned himself up somewhat after the avalanche situation, has gone through another suitcase to Thatcher’s Apothecary to look for help. He meets Tristyan, who tells him unfortunately there is no longer a Custodian there, but he does have some knowledge. He tells Jonathan that the reason places and people in Five Lights are disappearing is because the city is actually leaking magic due to a very big schism. Most of the suitcases that used to be at the apothecary have been returned to the travel agency, but he does have one left that happens to lead to another outpost, and from there Jonathan is just going to keep trying suitcases until he finds one that takes him back to Five Lights.
Flick is feeling especially angry about her situation and is somehow able to harness magic to alter the multiverse! In her anger she is able to grab hold of a dark power and create a schism, pulling the Waiting Room through, therefore destroying it. Darilyn and Greysen once again become young because the Waiting Room has been stealing their magic to survive. At the exact same time Jonathan lands back in Five Lights.
They immediately head back to the Quicksparks Emporium, only to find two Thieves waiting to question the Quicksparks and bring Flick back into their clutches. Freedom was brief! They take her to see the Overseer. The Overseer tells her about the schism that is taking magic from Five Lights faster than it can be replenished, which is why they all need to leave.
Hid appears with Jonathan and he tries to negotiate with the Thieves by suggesting they use their huge storage of bottled magic to help heal the schism, which of course does not go over well. The Thieves reveal that they have perfected the ability to actually create worlds - specifically the world of the Waiting Room which Flick so recently destroyed.
Learning of Flick’s new powers, the Overseer demands that Flick break them into a new world. Either that or give them the suitcase that will take them back to Strangeworlds where they will have access to hundreds of worlds in the multiverse. Seeing a gleam in Jonathan’s eye, Flick decides to pretend to try to break into a new world and let Jonathan’s plan take place. When she comes up empty, the Overseer takes the suitcase Jonathan brought, which very much does not go to Strangeworlds but to a secluded island instead, and the Thieves all get inside without checking where the suitcase goes. Whoops! At the last second Flick grabs the suitcase and closes it in Five Lights so the Thieves are now stranded and can do no more harm. Result!
After talking to the Nicc and the other Thieves, who very much were not in favour of the Overseer and her minions, they agree to smash all the bottled magic to help heal the schism. Looking through Jonathan’s magnifying glass she is able to see the healing start to take place.
With the help of the Quicksparks, Flick and Jonathan locate a suitcase that will take them back to Tristyan and then Strangeworlds. Arriving back tired but more or less in one piece and not knowing much more about what happened to Jonathan’s father, Jonathan apologizes for lying to Flick. Three days later, Flick is back and grounded until she’s an adult. Jonathan tells her he wants to keep searching for his dad, and Flick agrees to come back for more adventures. As she leaves, Jonathan gives her his magnifying glass.
What a wild ride! Such a satisfying ending but I am so excited for book 2, which is called The Edge of the Ocean and comes out at the end of August. So soon!
Questions:
- What are your overall thoughts on the book? Did you love the adventure?
- Why do you think Flick feels like she recognizes Tristyan? How can that be if he has never travelled between worlds before?
- We left Nicc back in Five Lights, do you think we will see more of her in book two?
- What was your absolute favorite part of the book?
