All but one member of the royal family of Cello is missing. As the only one present, teen Princess Ko must assemble a team to find her family while also keeping her court unaware of their lacking presence. Part of the team is farm boy Elliot, who mainly got chosen for his connection to the World, also known as England, through a girl named Madeleine who he exchanges letters with. Princess Ko suspects her family may be in the World, and it will be up to Elliot and Madeleine to use their connection to find the missing royals.

THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM by Jaclyn Moriarty is one of the rare, but very hard books to review for me. It's very hard to label whether or not I liked it, but not because of any confusing plot or actions that don't make sense. This story is filled with humor and very well written in terms of plotting, but it isn't a book that I match up with. The main character, Madeleine, is quirky and lovable, but I struggled to connect with her. The style of writing in the story is along the same lines, extremely quirky, extremely humorous, and it kind of falls into a love-it or hate-it feel. In a way, it kind of reminds me of the TV show, Doctor Who, in the sense that it's something you either get hooked on right away or you never really understand (though in the case of Doctor Who, I was hooked). THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM would normally have everything I love: royalty, romance, fantasy, fun characters, etc. When it comes down to it, I really think the style is the only thing that breaks my connection to the story.

That being said, I absolutely, 100% think THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM could be someone's favorite story that they just fall in love with. If you really enjoy quirky, kind of out there books, then I would go read it right away. Unfortunately, Jaclyn Moriarty's style, though clearly developed and talented, just isn't for me.