Childrens

The Golden Swift

The Golden Swift

  • Downloads：7365
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-04 08:52:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lev Grossman
  • ISBN：0316283541
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The thrilling sequel to #1 NYT bestselling author Lev Grossman’s The Silver Arrow， in which Kate and Tom confront the limits of what even magic can do。

A lot has changed for Kate in a year。 She and Tom are now full-fledged conductors of the steam-powered， animal-saving Great Secret Intercontinental Railway。 Life is good！

Or good-ish， anyway。 Her uncle Herbert has gone missing， and the worsening climate means that there are more and more animals that need help all the time。 How many times does Kate have to save the world before it stays saved？ 

And her real life isn’t exactly perfect either。 She flunked her audition for the junior high musical and got stuck in the chorus， while her archenemy Jag got a lead。

So， out of desperation， Kate breaks the rules and takes the Silver Arrow out on an unsanctioned mission， to find Uncle Herbert and bring back balance to the world。 But she quickly discovers she’s not the only one on the Great Secret Intercontinental Railway。 There’s a mysterious train called the Golden Swift out there too， with an agenda of its own。 Is it an ally？ A rival？ An enemy？ A bit of all three？ 

The question will turn Kate’s world upside down， take her from the Scottish Highlands to the Australian outback to the bottom of the Bering Sea， and lead her straight on a collision course with the mysterious masters of the Great Secret Intercontinental Railway itself。 Because when you're a human being fighting to save nature， are you the hero or are you the villain？ There are no simple answers。

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Reviews

Bethany ，

I enjoyed this follow-up to The Silver Arrow。 Kate and Tom have a bit of tension growing between them as they are each reaching ages where they want， and deserve， a bit more independence。 Uncle Herbert is missing。 A cassowary and a wolverine join in on the adventure， and we encounter new conductors and a new train。My favorite character in the books remains the Silver Arrow itself。 Its printouts add levity and humor to the story。 Like The Silver Arrow， The Golden Swift teaches young readers about I enjoyed this follow-up to The Silver Arrow。 Kate and Tom have a bit of tension growing between them as they are each reaching ages where they want， and deserve， a bit more independence。 Uncle Herbert is missing。 A cassowary and a wolverine join in on the adventure， and we encounter new conductors and a new train。My favorite character in the books remains the Silver Arrow itself。 Its printouts add levity and humor to the story。 Like The Silver Arrow， The Golden Swift teaches young readers about different types of animals， geography， the impact humans have had on the environment， and climate change。 I feel like The Golden Swift is easier to follow along with than The Silver Arrow， but you still need to read The Silver Arrow first to have the context for everything that is going on--especially when you reach the penultimate part of The Golden Swift。I like that you get to see more of Kate's day-to-day life in between trips on the trains and that you see Kate and Tom interacting with other children。 Kate is entering middle school， and I think her feelings about school and fitting in accurately reflect what many children feel at that age。Whereas The Silver Arrow focuses on shuttling animals to safer locales， The Golden Swift is more focused on trying to find the right balance for the earth。 Just like The Silver Arrow， The Golden Swift does tend to get a bit heavy-handed when discussing humans' impact on the earth， animals， and climate change。As a parent， caregiver， or teacher， please be aware that this book discusses loss， and subjects such as Chernobyl， the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea， the Red Zone in France， and Hitler are mentioned in this book。 Thank you to Little， Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more

Pam ，

I received an electronic ARC from Little， Brown Books for Young Readers through NetGalley。The sequel to The Silver Arrow。 Readers see the continued adventures of Kate and Tom as they continue their work to save endangered animals。 Unfortunately， Uncle Herbert has gone missing so Kate decides to go rogue and take the Silver Arrow out to look for him。 With help from the cassowary who runs the rail yard and a grouchy wolverine， Tom and Kate set out to follow some vague clues and locate Herbert。 Alo I received an electronic ARC from Little， Brown Books for Young Readers through NetGalley。The sequel to The Silver Arrow。 Readers see the continued adventures of Kate and Tom as they continue their work to save endangered animals。 Unfortunately， Uncle Herbert has gone missing so Kate decides to go rogue and take the Silver Arrow out to look for him。 With help from the cassowary who runs the rail yard and a grouchy wolverine， Tom and Kate set out to follow some vague clues and locate Herbert。 Along the way， they meet two other conductors their ages。 Kate already knows Jag from school; Wren is a new friend that Tom connects with。 Together， they set out to protect endangered species and reestablish animals in their former habitats。 As readers would expect， some relocations are successful and some are not。 The four are confronted with different animals who want to rid the world of humans and stop the work of the Great Secret Intercontinental Railway。 Even the Board of Directors of the GSIR becomes involved。Grossman spins a tale that weaves environmental awareness and protection with fantasy。 Middle grade readers will learn about a wide variety of species and see how interconnected we all are。 This will be a terrific read aloud to blend with science and social studies units on the environment。 Families can also share this together and discuss changes they could make to protect the planet。 。。。more

Chelka Posladek ，

Two things you need to know about me for context:1） I've been on a soapbox lately about how awesome middle-grade fiction is because of its hopeful nature。 Middle-grade authors love to introduce kids to hard topics （racism， inequality， disability， mood disorders） in a way that leaves readers optimistic。 2） The state of the world has me avoiding sad things like the plague （or covid-19， haha）。 Everything around me causes such internal despair that I escape into fiction。 Because of that， I obviously Two things you need to know about me for context:1） I've been on a soapbox lately about how awesome middle-grade fiction is because of its hopeful nature。 Middle-grade authors love to introduce kids to hard topics （racism， inequality， disability， mood disorders） in a way that leaves readers optimistic。 2） The state of the world has me avoiding sad things like the plague （or covid-19， haha）。 Everything around me causes such internal despair that I escape into fiction。 Because of that， I obviously don't want to find despair in books--or at least not in large doses。 Sidenote: most bookstore customers don't feel the same way， because we can't keep Hanya Yanagihara in stock。Okay。 So I loved The Silver Arrow and was a bit confused by the sequel。 The ending was great， the message was wonderful， the mood was awesome。 Why do we need more of Kate and Tom？ However， I read Lev Grossman's Magicians and found that series only got better as it went （which was good， because I hated the first one）。 Perhaps this series will do the same。。。？ What I found was nuance， and I understand why Lev Grossman thought it was necessary。 If Kate （and the railway） could save endangered species by moving them from place to place， why isn't the world fixed already？ Because it's not that easy。 He uses "The Golden Swift" to go deeper into the issues of environmental destruction， global warming， and animal endangerment。 I resonated a lot with Kate when she realizes that as a human， she's inherently a "bad guy" even when she's doing "good guy" things。 Even if we work to fix climate change， we're part of a system that's causing problems， simply by eating the food we eat and wearing the clothes we wear。 I think that gray-area morality is important， and it could lead to some great conversations for young readers。Still。 It was much heavier than "The Silver Arrow，" and I ended the book feeling more sad than hopeful。 I'm hoping for a third installment with a little more magic。Note: I listened to this one as an audibook。 Simon Vance， the narrator， is fantastic and definitely swayed me to love this book even more。 。。。more

Amanda Lee ，

X and I listened to this on our Spring Break drive。 I enjoyed the magical mixed with real world problem solving of climate change。 It led to some nice family discussions。

Kristine ，

I usually expect Book II to fall short， not so with Lev Grossman。 This is a perfect middle grade read。 Any child with a curiosity for the natural world will devour this book。 Grossman has found the perfect blend of fantasy and real life issues。 When not traveling around the world on a magical， timeless steam train talking with animals， Kate is worried about where she fits in at school， if she is a good friend and sister， can she sing， and does she have a crush on Jag too？ Great conversation star I usually expect Book II to fall short， not so with Lev Grossman。 This is a perfect middle grade read。 Any child with a curiosity for the natural world will devour this book。 Grossman has found the perfect blend of fantasy and real life issues。 When not traveling around the world on a magical， timeless steam train talking with animals， Kate is worried about where she fits in at school， if she is a good friend and sister， can she sing， and does she have a crush on Jag too？ Great conversation starter about conservation and what role humans have had and can play in helping our world。 Even as a adult reader， you are going to learn stuff！ 。。。more

Leah （Jane Speare） ，

Whereas the Silver Arrow introduced readers to basic endangered animal threats and conservation efforts， the Golden Swift brings more variables into the picture。 Kate and Tom learn that the simple relocation of animals doesn't always solve problems， and sometimes small actions like this can even make things worse。 It's a good reminder that relationships in the natural world are complex and rely on each other - nothing exists on its own and solutions need to be multidimensional。 Sometimes efforts Whereas the Silver Arrow introduced readers to basic endangered animal threats and conservation efforts， the Golden Swift brings more variables into the picture。 Kate and Tom learn that the simple relocation of animals doesn't always solve problems， and sometimes small actions like this can even make things worse。 It's a good reminder that relationships in the natural world are complex and rely on each other - nothing exists on its own and solutions need to be multidimensional。 Sometimes efforts will be disheartening， as we humans often only do bad rather than good。 But Kate learns it’s okay to make mistakes， small efforts are worth it， and we will all need the passion and confidence she has in order to save animals and reduce environmental harm even when all we have to show for it are unclear results。 Also this one made me cry just like the first。 But also hope。 Hope with the tears。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Golden Swift

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Golden Swift&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Golden Swift&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0