Fans of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass will love Anne Nesbet’s middle-grade fantasy A Box of Gargoyles.

In this sequel to The Cabinet of Earths, twelve-year-old Maya is feeling more at home in Paris, a city filled with old magic. Her little brother, James, is safe, and the terrible man with purple eyes is gone. At least Maya believed he was until a person-sized column of dust and leaves with hints of purple where its eyes should be begins following her.

Maya suspects the strange, shadowy column is what’s left of the purple-eyed man, and that it—he—is behind the eerie changes in Paris, including the appearance of flying, talking stone gargoyles. She’s right. Worse, he has bound Maya to make him whole again, even if it kills her.

• Magical Adventure in Paris: When a shadowy column of dust with terrifying purple eyes starts following her through the streets of Paris, Maya knows the old magic she’s discovered is far from finished with her.
• Talking Stone Gargoyles: The city’s famous stone protectors are coming to life, and Maya must figure out if they are friend or foe before the villain’s dark magic takes over.
• Friendship Adventure: Teaming up with her quick-witted friend Valko, Maya must unravel a century-spanning mystery to save herself and the city she’s come to call home.
• An Unlikely Hero: Once a champion worrier, twelve-year-old Maya must find the courage to fight a powerful enemy who has bound her to a terrible fate.