THE SEEKING SERUM, by Frank L. Cole, Shadow Mountain, Jan. 7, 2020, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)
If you have not read the first two books in Frank L. Cole’s Potions Masters trilogy, stop here. Go read the first two books — The Eternity Elixir and The Transparency Tonic — before cracking the cover of the final book, The Seeking Serum.
The Seeking Serum is the third book in the Potions Masters trilogy. The series follows Gordy Stitser, one of a select group of people who know about the secret society of potion masters. His mom used to be on the Board of Ruling Elixirists Worldwide (B.R.E.W.), and she’s been training Gordy since the moment he showed aptitude.
But things haven’t been going well as of late.
There’s a covert group determined to overthrow the potion-making community and control the world. And Gordy’s grandfather, Mezzarix, just happens to be the leader. Mezzarix, who is a powerful, evil elixirist, stole the Vessel, the source of power for all potion masters. His plan is to eliminate all prisons, all rulers, all secrets and send the world into chaos.
No one is sure who’s on what side, forcing Gordy and his family into hiding. With help of an underground renegade network known as the Swigs, the Stitsers form a plan. When formerly imprisoned potion masters attack the Swigs, Gordy barely escapes. And he goes to the only people he knows he can trust — his friends.
Max, Sasha and Adilene join Gordy in making a plan to find Mezzarix’s secret location. While a battle between good and evil and everything plays out in the town, the friends set out to save the Vessel and Stop Mezzarix once and for all.
The Potions Masters trilogy is one of the more enjoyable middle-grade series I’ve recently read. Though the fate of the world is at stake, Frank L. Cole has injected his stories with just the right amount of humor. Gordy’s a likeable teen that readers will immediately root for.
If you have time, I highly suggest rereading The Eternity Elixir and The Transparency Tonic prior to taking on The Seeking Serum. This far out, it’s hard to remember some of the finer plot points that would have been helpful to the overall flow.
If The Eternity Elixir serves as an introduction to the potions world and The Transparency Tonic immerses you in it, then The Seeking Serum blows it all up. It’s fun seeing Cole’s world come full circle, and there’s room for him to build on it later on should he choose to do so.
