I don't read a lot of YA or middle grade books anymore, usually I'm into a little bit darker rougher fantasy and even though I would still call this a clean YA read, Andrea has some fantastic imagery that made me take notice.
From the back cover blurb:
When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon—evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn’t know he possesses—powers they desire to control.
The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob's help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key—and Jacob's special abilities.
None of this is particularly fresh ground in the YA arena-I'm not arguing how hard it is to come up with a fresh take on things-its hard. But Andrea has populated her tale with all sorts of interesting fantasy characters and creatures revealed through her own lens and this is how we see old things new again-like Rogs, vicious bear creatures with human hands or how about some beautiful yet evil Lorkon woman in the woods who spews a cloud of flies at you?
I also liked some of the elemental barriers mentioned in Prince Dmitri's quest to retrieve his princess bride from the Lorkon. An invisible wall of water hundreds of feet thick-you'd drown unless you found the correct entrance or a fog of forgetfulness making you a prisoner in your own mind. I noticed that some other reviewers on Andrea's blog tour didn't like the snippets from Dmitri's journal but I did-I was almost more interested in his story than Jacobs.
Overall an imaginative and entertaining novel that I suspect my kids will enjoy when they are just a little bit older. You can order a copy here.
8 comments:
I sense some shades of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" in this one. Ought to make it appealing to a lot of readers.
I think so Charles, its the classic imagination that captures the young and young at heart.
David! Thanks for your review. :-) I do appreciate your honesty, and I really like the journal part, too. :-) (Is that a given? The author likes a part of her book? Ha ha. :-))
Oh, and how's your hat doing these days? I haven't seen our "regular" group in so long.
Andrea-you're welcome. The hat is here in the office and I don't see the gang that often either.
It's sad. Sad, I tell you! Hope the hat is treating you well. :-)
Its all good.
Yo - David. :-) Thanks again for your review. :-) I'm wondering how open you'd be to posting it on Amazon and Goodreads? I'd really, really appreciate it! :-)
Amazon (Kindle):
http://www.amazon.com/Key-Kilenya-ebook/dp/B0058KBQRS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323978764&sr=1-1
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12416944-the-key-of-kilenya
Thanks soooo much! :-) Also, I'm wondering if you'd be okay with me using bits of your review for blurbs and such? Let me know: apATandreapearsonbooksDOTcom. Thanks! :-)
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