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The Castle in the Mist by Amy Ephron

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Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Tess and Max are sent to live with their Aunt in the English countryside for the summer. While out on a walk, Tess finds an enchanted gate and key and discovers a world of magic 

Category: Juvenile fantasy (definitely for early middle school grades) It was for younger audiences than I expected 

Why I chose this book: Saw it at bookstore

My personal opinion (the review): There were many things I liked about this book, especially the setting and the description of a Tess as a character. However, I feel these were ultimately outweighed by all the questions that were left unanswered in the text. I feel like the author had many great ideas, but didn't follow them through. For example, there are several comments throughout the story about Tess and Max's mother being ill, but there is never any closure. At the end, when they video chat with her it says that only the Aunt notices how pale and thin she looks but then it's dropped after that. Also, the two episodes where Tess goes into the fantasy land (beyond William's castle), are not very well tied into the rest of the story. There is a mini golf game and things that happen in the statue garden that don't get tied into any other part of the story. I just felt that there were so many loose ends and episodes that it didn't make sense. It had such potential to be good and just fell short.   

Warnings
Language:  None
Violence: None
"Adult" situations: None 
Death: Hinted at in that two of the father figures are away in war zone, but nothing that directly impacts the story. No main character deaths. 

Movie rating equivalent:PG

Protagonist description: Tess is a logical thinker. Max is the typical younger brother. 

Point of view of story: 1st person, Tess

Book length: Very short

Story flow: The changes from real time to magic/fantasy time are somewhat abrupt, but the flow is pretty easy to follow

Grammar and spelling issues: None

Character connection (no spoilers): None

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