A review by the_fabric_of_words
The Forbidden Expedition by Alex Bell

5.0

The witch puppet Stella brought back from her first expedition is spying on her and it isn't long before a horrifying vulture appears and tries to kidnap her.

Without her ice tiara she's powerless, but her guardian Felix and polar bear Gruff save the day -- and her. She makes it inside the Club and Felix won't let her out again, not until he can bring the witch that killed Stella's parents to justice.

The witch is probably living on Witch Mountain, from which no explorer has ever returned. So Felix works through officials channels first -- but official channels move ex-tr-em-el-y s-l-o-w-l-y and his requests for justice get bandied from one bureaucrat to another.

Then her friend and fellow explorer, Ethan Rook, with the Ocean Squid Explorers Club, arrives. His father has brought a magical cuff that can control the bone-eating vulture threatening Stella.

Then the vulture breaks through a window in the Club and Felix springs into action, jumping onto it and getting the cuff around a leg. He's off to Witch Mountain, and of course, Stella and Ethan aren't far behind.

But first Stella wants to get her tiara. It's her only real source of power, the only way she has of protecting herself or her friends. Because Shay and Koa and Beanie, with his Eidetic memory, come to the Club at her request. The kids set off all kinds of alarms when they grab the tiara and race to the rooftop to escape. They find an unoccupied dirigible and steal it, and they're off to Witch Mountain to rescue Felix.

Except it's not unoccupied, of course. Gideon Smythe, son of the leader of the Jungle Cats Explorers Club, is on board and quite cross they've stolen his Club's dirigible, not to mention failed to realize what a great Picnic Master he is.

This book has so many twists and turns from this point I won't try to summarize them all. Read and enjoy the ride, literally!

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