Author: J.C. Phillipps
Illustrator: J.C. Phillipps
© Date: 2020
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Pages: 226
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 7-10
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Yes, how to draw characters
Summary from Publisher’s Website: Pacey’s little sister, Mina, has always said her stuffed unicorn, Slasher, is real-but seriously? He’s a stuffed toy! Then again, he does seem to be leading Mina outside her room and to…some kind of weird magical unicorn land? Pacey may not believe in unicorns, but she’s not about to let her little sister be kidnapped, so she does the only thing she can: follows them to unicorn land (that she totally does NOT believe in).
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this a short bit ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: Grumpy unicorns are amusing. I did not realize that mixing up the stereotype of a unicorn could be so fun. Although I did feel a bit weird about the idea of unicorns kidnapping children. This was the second book in the series that we read. I particularly enjoyed how Pacey and Slasher’s relationship developed from mutual need to an understanding. I appreciated how Pacey and Mina started out as bickering sisters, but in the end, beneath everything, Pacey’s love for her little sister encouraged her to move out of her comfort zone and be the big sister that Mina needed.
You may want to use caution with this book, a unicorn loving child may be rather upset about grumpy unicorns that do not want to be pastel colored or have rainbows on their hindquarters.
Page Pup reread these several times, I guess because they are graphic novels, not really sure. Something was appealing though.
Family Unit:
- Pacey is the older sister of Mina. They live with their mother and father.
- Slasher the unicorn is the younger brother of Arkane, the evil unicorn king, and Lark the lost unicorn.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Pacey is the snarky, egocentric older sister that doesn’t really want to play with her younger sister, Mina. Pacey is not the nicest to Mina. Pacey changes her tune a bit when she realizes that her parents will not say that she is an awesome babysitter if Mina complains.
- Slasher is tired of being a plushie and the way children play with him. He decides to do something that he doesn’t agree with to get on his brother’s good side, and hopefully be able to rejoin the unicorn herd.
- Arkane believes humans need to be put in their place. He kidnaps children and turns them into statues.
Positive Items:
- Pacey rescues Mina because she loves her little sister and you stick with your family. Pacey makes the choice to save her sister above all other things.
- Slasher realizes that kidnapping Mina to let Arkane turn her into a statue is wrong, so he does his best to correct his mistake.
- Pacey allows Mina to her her in the end. Mina told Pacey that even though Pacey doesn’t need help, it’s okay to let someone help anyway.
- Through Pacey and Mina, we see the value of sticking with your family, even if they can be annoying…but maybe not if they are doing evil things like turning children into statues.
- Through Slasher, we see that you can find your home and family with people that you care about.
Items of Interest:
- Pacey imagines herself as a hero in her head, so having a newspaper article calling her a hero for helping find a lost dog goes to her head.
- Pacey is afraid of heights, but runs across a rainbow bridge (without handrails) to save her sister, Mina.
- At the beginning of the story, Mina is the only one that believes Slasher is real. To everyone else, he is just a stuffed animal. Pacey discovers that Slasher is real when she walks into Mina’s room to find Slasher helping Mina onto the back of a unicorn.
- Slasher was taking Mina out of her room without anyone else knowing (yes, kidnapping).
- Slasher and Pacey fall off the rainbow into an unknown location in the magical land of Rundalyn, home of the unicorns. Mina was riding on a unicorn, so she was taken to the castle in Rundalyn.
- Pacey and Slasher realize they need each other to get to Mina and Arkane at the castle, so they reluctantly agree to a truce. Slasher helps Pacey navigate the evils of Rundalyn, and Pacey helps Slasher move along faster than his tiny plushie legs will carry him. But they still argue and don’t really get along well.
- Slasher watches a unicorn guard sneak behind Pacey and put a black hood over her head. The unicorn guard then pokes her with its horn to keep her moving toward Arkane, and doesn’t seem to mind if she trips along the way.
- Slasher was taking Mina home to his brother, Arkane, who turns children into statues. Several child statues were present in Arkane’s castle. Arkane holds a grudge because humans no longer depict unicorns as the majestic creatures they are, and “no one respects a creature with a rainbow on its butt!” He has rainbows and other things painted on the child statues.
- Slasher got turned into a stuffed animal because he wanted Arkane to be kind to humans.
- Arkane starts talking to Pacey to maybe make some sort of deal with her because she isn’t the scared, whining child that usually arrives in his castle. But when she says sibling bonds are important, Arkane turns Mina into a statue.
- Pacey wraps a torn piece of curtain around her hand to grab a shard from a broken mirror. She uses the shard like a knife to cut off Arkane’s horn.
- Pacey uses the magic of the severed horn to change Mina back from a statue to a real girl. Slasher gave her the tips to use the magic.
- Pacey was upset that she could not unfreeze the other child statues. If she went back to unfreeze them, Arkane might recapture Mina.
- Pacey uses the horn magic to freeze a unicorn guard, meaning turn it into a statue.
- Pacey pricks her hand on a vine that temporarily numbs her hand.
- Slasher uses the horn to shrink Arkane.
- Back at home, Pacey stitches up the hole in Slasher’s side.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book One – Pacey Packer: Unicorn Tracker
- Book Two – Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker: Horn Slayer (review)
- Book Three – Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker: Mermaids vs. Unicorns (review)
- Book Four – Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker: Dragon Rider (review)
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