“The engine of the station wagon was already running.”

From Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Ironwood Tree.

Siblings Mallory, Jared, and Simon Grace lives have gone from ordinary to thrilling and dangerous in a short time ever since they found a field guide for fairies that their Great Uncle Arthur Spiderwick wrote.  While all kinds of magical creatures want to get their hands on the field guide (some to destroy it and some for its incredible power), so far the Malory children have been able to keep the field guide safe.  However, things fall apart quickly at Mallory’s school fencing match.  While everyone is focused on Mallory’s dual, Jared notices a fairy going through his sister’s bag on the sidelines; when he confronts the fairy, Jared gets in trouble both through a combination of the fairy’s magic and the vice principal’s arrival.  Jared thinks his day couldn’t get any worse until his mother is finished speaking with the principal and Simon and Jared are unable to find Mallory.  All the boys can find is her medal and a fairy note that calls for a trade.  Unable to hand over the real field guide, the boys use a textbook as a decoy and head off to find Mallory.  When they arrive at the quarry where they believe she’s being held, the brothers are captured by dwarves who show them both an unconscious Mallory and the Ironwood Tree built by dwarves long ago.  Like many magical creatures, the dwarves use trickery to keep the children prisoner, but they’re no match for the cunning and creative Grace children.

The fourth and penultimate installment in The Spiderwick Chronicles manages to create quite an intense story.  While the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, it also pushes readers into gear for the final book.  The Ironwood Tree is a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure.