I cannot begin to tell you how good it was. No, wait a minute! Yes I can. The fantasy world, character development and plotting was so good I was marveling when I wasn't lost in the world created. I also really enjoyed all the hints of other fairytales, books, mythology that were included-added a surprising depth and reality to the book that made me admire the author's skills even more. Plus, I must add that the plot is a little complicated and I truly appreciated how the author recapped-it was done so well and it never felt like an information dump. Some might feel this way? I am not sure. But he did it via characters having to update each other on what had happened to them. I found how he did this rather kind of well done. Would be interested to see what others think. Each of the siblings had their own arc that was subtle and believable and there were moments where the author backed them into a corner you would think they couldn't possibly get out. I won't tell you who gets out of what mess, but will encourage you to read this and also recommend it to your young readers who are fans of fantasy with some serious scary moments and battles.
I will be reading The Fire Chronicle this week and I must say I am very excited to be doing so.
More on the book from the publisher:
Called “A new Narnia for the tween set” by the New York Times and perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials series, The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.
These three siblings have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.
Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.
Until now.
Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.
Happy Marvelous Middle Grade Monday all and here is the link to head back to Shannon Messenger's. She's the one who started all this Monday fun for us Middle Grade readers. And she has a review and a giveaway to day!
Thanks! My daughter can't get enough of fantasy series like this. She just zoomed through the Fablehaven books. I'll tell her about The Emerald Atlas.
ReplyDeleteI love the new cover. I remember when the book was first released. It was one of my most favorite MG that year. :)
ReplyDelete~Akoss
Wow, this sounds like a great series! Thanks for sharing and I hope the second book is as good as the first! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved THE EMERALD ATLAS. I don't recall info dumps, so you're right. He certainly handled it smoothly.
ReplyDeleteBut I have an arc of THE FIRE CHRONICLE that's been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while and I've yet to tackle it. Just such a long book... And it's been a while since I read the first one, so I'm afraid I won't remember enough. I'll be interested in hearing if it's as good as the first volume.
My daughters love this series. We own both books but I still haven't read them because we pass our copies around to all our friends. I need to spend some time and read them. Everyone I know loves them.
ReplyDeleteA friend told me about The Emerald Atlas and I loved it. I had no idea there would be a second book, but there certainly was that opening at the end of the book. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
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ReplyDeleteI liked this one too!! Good review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder! I have been wanting to read this one and I loved hearing what you had to say about it. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jess
I love the idea of enchanted worlds. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI have the new book in my car right now, but wasn't sure I remembered the first. Thanks for the refresher. :)
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