Rating: High Four 1/2
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Otherworld, the Land of Stories, and Eragon.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Something has changed at the Gregson Manor. An emerald has been stolen and a dark mist infects one of its Gardens.
Jack and his cousins are thrown into a universe of black magic, dark secrets and punkeys, as they search for a way to save their world and hopefully the whole universe with it.
(click the green Read More button in the bottom right hand corner of this post to see the entire review)
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Otherworld, the Land of Stories, and Eragon.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Something has changed at the Gregson Manor. An emerald has been stolen and a dark mist infects one of its Gardens.
Jack and his cousins are thrown into a universe of black magic, dark secrets and punkeys, as they search for a way to save their world and hopefully the whole universe with it.
(click the green Read More button in the bottom right hand corner of this post to see the entire review)
Thoughts: Honestly, I just could not put this book down (once I got into it about thirty or so pages). The characters are realistic and relatable, and I enjoyed following them on their journey. Jack is a great main character, as well as a good role model for kids. I loved the worlds that Jack, Rosie, and David traveled through and thought they were really creative - for some reason, that aspect of the book reminds me of A Wrinkle In Time. The high stakes kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know more. The "villain" of this story had a lot of depth, too, which is something I always look for in a book. The writing was simple and got the point across easily - nothing too flowery or incredible, but that was okay, because this book isn't meant to be a Brown Girl Dreaming or Hokey Pokey. It's a fun-filled, action-packed adventure story that all children will enjoy. In fact, I don't see why this is a YA book. Kids under the age of 10 will love this book just as much as tweens/teens.
The one negative I have is that the story didn't have me nearly as gripped until about a fourth of the way in. Not as much happened, and the writing wasn't as suspenseful and didn't me scrambling to turn the page so I could continue reading, like I did later in the story.
Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this story and all of the action, adventure, and creativity it contains.
(NOTE: We received this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. )
The one negative I have is that the story didn't have me nearly as gripped until about a fourth of the way in. Not as much happened, and the writing wasn't as suspenseful and didn't me scrambling to turn the page so I could continue reading, like I did later in the story.
Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this story and all of the action, adventure, and creativity it contains.
(NOTE: We received this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. )
