Jared,
I have yet to read the actual Spiderwick Chronicles so I can’t compare. I did enjoy this though and I’m going to track down the rest of the series before reading the main series. There are only 3 books in this spin-off, so that shouldn’t be too hard.
Title: The Nixie’s Song
Series: Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles; Book 1
Author: Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: EU, Modern/Contemporary, Magical Creatures, Faeries, Giants, Nixies
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow. But an “expedition” to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem – the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety – and it’s up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.
Recommendation: This book is recommended for younger readers.
This is a short little easy read. I enjoyed it. I thought it got surprisingly dark at the end, it wasn’t bad it just surprised me is all. The story is about magic and whimsy, but there is that serious edge similar to Fablehaven.
The characters are pretty good. Nick and Laurie are step-siblings and are only just starting to get to know each other. They each filled there role pretty organically so that was nice.
I’m glad that the MC’s from the main series made an appearance. It provides continuity but I think it might be leaning a bit too heavily on that. I would have liked to have seen less of them.
The plot is simple but ends up with that dark edge I spoke of earlier. Very cause and effect, but with enough wiggle room for discover and exploration. A bit too short for my taste, even in a children’s novel. 25-50% larger would have fleshed things out a bit more but still kept up the pacing.
Over all it’s a good read. I really want to read the next 2 books and even get into the main series.
Robert
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Coming Soon A Giant Problem; Book 2 >>
Reading Over The Shoulder 
Oh, I didn’t know there were more books after Spiderwick. I gotta check these out.
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I watched the movie and had no desire to read the books afterwards…
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