Tag: fantasy

Fablehaven Part Two

(great cover…)

Rise of the Evening Star
Brandon Mull
(2007)

Jana from Milk and Cookies; Comfort Reading made a comment on my review of Fablehaven #1 that this  “series just keeps getting stronger with each book”-and with this second one I agree.  It built nicely on top of the solid groundwork Mull created in the first.  While I was reading I kept thinking oh, I’ll have to include that part in my review-you know like the part where:

  • Kendra sees new student, Casey for what he really is-a disgusting, decidedly not human creature. 
  • Or how her brother, Seth breaks into a mortuary in the middle of the night to steal a treasure with nothing more than a dog biscuit for help.
  • How that same treasure ends up eating something very, very important (can’t say-don’t want to ruin it). 
  • And then getting whisked away to Fablehaven by the super sleek Vanessa Santoro in her light-speed, ultra-chic vehicle.
  • Oh, they meet Warren, Dale’s brother, scared by something so bone-chillingly awful that he’s nearly catatonic.
  • You’ll want to know how Coulton Dixon and  Tanugatoa Dufu save the…well, I really don’t want to give too much away.
  • Oh, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson are locked away and to save them, Kendra and Seth change into…(shh, I can’t say it).

You’re going to have to read this series and find out how all these events connect to each other…

Suffice it to say this book is filled with a suspenseful, page-turning plot with an intriguing cast of multi-dimensional characters (you never know who’s the traitor…).  Whoops, I’ve said too much! Kendra’s new magical abilities and Seth’s antics will keep kids totally enthralled.   I will seek out the third book in this series (from the library) when I return from fablehaven-ah, I mean camping.  If Jana is correct then I’m in for a another treat. 
Counts toward my 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge featured at Home Girl’s Book Blog.

Highly Recommended
Middle Grade Fantasy

Read my review here of the first Fablehaven.

Other reviews are here:
What…more books
What to read
Rhiannon at The Diary of a Bookworm

Peaceful Reading…

Fablehaven

(what a great cover)

by Brandon Mull
(2006)

     I picked this one up from my book fair about a year ago and it’s been sitting on my shelf just waiting for me.  My husband has even tapped it,  saying things like…”why don’t you read this one-it looks good.”  Even with that sales pitch from a man who hasn’t read it, I still didn’t take the bait.  Then I read on someone else’s blog that the fifth book in the series was out and my mouth hung a little.   So much for being behind the times-I have plenty of excuses but I don’t need to share them-you’ve heard them all before!

     Fablehaven is a mysterious safe haven for magical creatures.  You know here in the 21st Century we tend to shun all things odd-we like butterflies but not fairies.  I’m sure there would be quite an ebay bidding war if ever a fairy were to be found.  So all magical creatures have been moved to a variety of large farms.  Kendra and Seth’s grandfather happens to be caretaker of one of the largest and most secretive (off the map) of these sanctuaries.  The siblings end up staying with their grandfather while their parents are  away on a cruise.  Grandpa Sorenson gives Seth and Kendra a  list of rules they are to abide by and it doesn’t take but about 10 minutes for Seth to start breaking the rules; as most 11-year-old boys would do.  He goes exploring in the woods-right where his grandfather has asked him not to-and naturally, he meets a witch.  Kendra is more cautious but even she gets lured in by some of Seth’s wanderings.  Seth had an excellent sense of humor and it is a joy to watch him test the waters of this new world to explore. 

     I was fully engaged in Seth and Kendra’s story and the land Brandon Mull has created and I loved living vicariously through Seth’s escapades-except when he looked out the window.  I was cringing then, like a typical mother, thinking “oh, no, you’ve gone too far this time”-knowing there would be serious consequences.   Now I’ve got a lot of catching up to do to get to book 5!  If you haven’t read this one, give it a try!

4/5 peaceful stars
highly recommended-midlle school
plan on reading the rest of the series, soon.
Peaceful Reading…