Skip to main content

The Castle in the Mist by Amy Ephron

By
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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Game by Terry Schott

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) What if this life is just a simulation? What if our bodies are in another world, plugged into a virtual reality game, and our entire life is just one play in that game? What would our real life be like, if we could experience several full simulated lifespans, in our teen years, and then enter adulthood? That is the premise of this story. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book It was either free or discounted on Amazon, and sounded interesting My personal opinion (the review) Too many inconsistencies. For example: The real world is able to view the players in the game in "real time", but time in the game is sped up, so that a week in real life is worth a decade in the virtual world. How do real world people have enough time to experience the virtual world, in real time, while still being accelerated? Danielle enters the game 3 days behind Trew, but she only ends up being 1 year younger. If a week is a decade in the game, then 3 days should have be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark of Fire by Richard Phillips

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Two main stories: Carol, the daughter of Lord Rafel, wants to be a magic wielder. As she learns magic and grows in strength, she is unaware that she is being hunted by the greatest wielder in the world. The second story is about a ward of Rafel's, named Blade, who becomes an infamous assassin and works for the king. The king sends Blade to kill Rafel and Carol, but he warns them to flee instead. Blade wanders, to escape the king's justice, but finds himself in his own adventure. Category : Fiction, fantasy, possibly YA Why I chose this book : Kindle First My personal opinion : I really enjoyed the story line, the world the author created, and the depth of the characters. It was easy to lose myself in the story. I also really appreciate that the story is "clean" - no bad language, no sexual situations, etc. I feel comfortable recommending this to my teenage children. Warnings Language: none Violence: fairly frequent fighting "Adult...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer

By
This is the fifth book in the Artemis Fowl series Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Artemis continues his adventures, leaning farther and farther away from the villain role, and closer to the hero role. He's quite the teenager, with all the hormones of that age. He has discovered another group of the People (demons), and they need saving. Artemis Fowl to the rescue! Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion (the review) Artemis is typically flawless. His plans execute perfectly, and when they don't, coincidence saves him. This time, he fails a bit. He loses some time, his body is a little less perfect, and not all of his plans go through perfectly. I like that- it makes him more real, as a character. Warnings : Language - none Violence - mild "Adult" situations - none Death - yes, but temporary Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Artemis is a genius beyond description. He tends to be prideful a...
Post a Comment
Read more