So ya’ll know how I felt about my first book I reviewed for this blog, The Magician of Tiger Castle 😩👎. Well, I can say that I am so glad I picked this book as my next one to review! It was such a refreshing change from the previous one. There’s action, fantasy, peril, family relationships, and a cliffhanger.
Fablehaven is the name of a mysterious preserve where Kendra and Seth are banished. Okay, not really, but they sure feel that’s the case. With their parents going on a trip to honor their grandparents who had passed away, they are sent to stay with their other set of grandparents. Grandparents that the rarely see, and who were reluctant to take them on themselves. Once there, however, the siblings realize that everything is not as it seems and their lives are about to change forever.
I have always had an attraction to books about faeries (though this book doesn’t use the proper spelling, instead using the traditional fairies), so that right there already had me interested. I also don’t mind reading juvenile or YA fiction either, though I know those aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Let me just say, if you think you want to shy away from this book because it fits that genre…don’t. There are elements, yes, that are a little on the juvenile side, namely the disobedience and defiance of Seth, but overall the book didn’t really feel like a kids’ book. So, give it a chance the worst that can happen is you DNF it; but, who knows? You might be missing out on a book you would have truly enjoyed had you given it a chance.
There is plenty of action and adventure in this story, especially when Seth and Kendra discover the truth of the land their grandparents live on. Some of the creatures are truly terrifying. There were several parts that had me wanting to turn the page to see what was going to happen, and I can’t say that I was ever bored with the storyline. The characters definitely have their flaws. Seth is disobedient and defiant, constantly pushing the limits of rules given to him, eventually pushing too far and putting those he loves in mortal peril. Kendra is a bit of a scaredy cat, never taking risks and choosing to play it safe, until she must take the biggest risk of all to save everyone. Both siblings learn a lot through their adventures and you can definitely see some growth in them by the end. Now, that’s not to say they aren’t still defiant and scared, but what can you say? They’re kids and they’re still kids at the end of the book. You can’t expect them to be perfect.
Regarding content warnings, honestly, there wasn’t much. Here is what I would flag:
- Language-.5/5 none, other than maybe some name calling by the siblings
- Sexual content-1/5 there is a part where they are milking a giant cow and it does describe in detail the body parts of the cow involved in the milking
- Violence-2/5 there is some fairy violence, especially with the battle at the end, but nothing described in a ton of detail
- Thematic elements-2/5 death, dying, aging, peril are all present, but again not in extreme detail
No comments:
Post a Comment