How to use this Page

Montgomery, L.M. 1921. Rilla of Ingleside.

I will try to dry my eyes long enough to type out a review that couldn't hope to do this book justice. Rilla of Ingleside is the final book in the series of Anne books. The novel is set during World War I. For those that think Anne's life was so rosy and so perfect...just consider that her children came of age just in time for the declaration of war. The novel opens in July of 1914. Within the first few chapters, Anne has seen her firstborn son, Jem, off to war. Before the novel closes, she'll send off two more of her sons: Walter and Shirley.

Rilla of Ingleside isn't Anne's story--though we do get glimpse of the fiftyish year old mother and wife--it is Rilla's through and through. Her youngest child is just a few weeks (or is it a few months?) shy of her fifteenth birthday. Her teen years will be impacted greatly by the war. She'll have to say goodbye to her three brothers, two of her childhood chums (Jerry and Carl) and her almost-sweetheart Kenneth Ford. (Kenneth Ford is the son of Leslie Moore and Owen Ford whose story we were swept away with in Anne's House of Dreams.)

What does Rilla do with her time? She doesn't go away to school (high school and college) like her sisters Nan and Di. No, she'll start a Junior Red Cross society for the younger crowd in the village. But perhaps what changes her as a person (as a soul) is when she adopts a war baby. She quite inadvertently discovers a tragic baby--just a month or so old--whose father is a soldier overseas and whose mother has just died. Too compassionate to send to an orphanage, she takes him home--and does so in style. This baby is carried home in a soup tureen. For four long years, Rilla plays the role of mother. And it does change her...and for the better.

Life on the home front worrying about loved ones far far away is hard. Waiting to hear if they're dead or alive or if they're coming home...is difficult, is life changing. War brings hardship and worry and sorrow and grief and new perspectives on life as well.

The heart and soul of this book--the sentimental details that will pull at your heartstrings is Dog Monday. Jem's dog that stays at the train station all the years while his master is away. The dog that can't be tempted or swayed to leave the spot where he lost saw his Jem. The dog's loyalty...to both Jem....and to Walter...is not easily forgotten.

Rilla of Ingleside is a fitting end to a wonderful series. Like Anne of Green Gables, it has its bittersweet moments. It's about life--the good, the bad, the ugly, the joyous, the heartbreaking. I think it's only right that both books can bring both tears and smiles.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Display Comments Add a Comment

Montgomery, L.M. 1919. Rainbow Valley.

This book in the series has very little to do with Anne and very much to do with a set of imaginative children. The Blythe children: Jem, Walter, Nan, Di, Shirley, and Rilla. The Meredith children: Jerry, Faith, Carl, Una. And the prone-to-trouble Mary Vance whom Mrs. Marshall Elliot (a.k.a. Miss Cornelia) adopts. The children spend their time (when they're not in school or church) playing together in Rainbow Valley. The focus on this one, however, is not on the Blythe children. No, the stars of this book are the Meredith children. Their father is the preacher. He's a widower. And the kids have a bit of time behaving themselves. For one thing, their father doesn't have any inclination what his children are up to. There is no structure. There are no clear rules. He's a bit of a lost soul...and very unobservant. If it wasn't for good old "Aunt Martha" then the children would be quite alone. (Unfortunately, Aunt Martha isn't that great a cook...or a housekeeper...or a nanny.)

There is a bit of romance in Rainbow Valley. A concerned citizen (any guesses who???) tells the preacher he needs to find a wife, a good woman who can raise his children because someone needs to do it. He finds the perfect woman too...Rosemary West...unfortunately their courtship isn't a sure thing because of a long-ago-promise between siblings.

Full of humor and heart, this one is an enjoyable read.

In a probaby-interesting-only-to-me note, this book was written (and published) before Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, and Anne of Ingleside. So Rainbow Valley is the novel where certain characters make their debut: Miss Cornelia starts off as Mrs. Marshall Elliot. She's still lovable. Still very funny. Still just about perfect. I wonder if the original readers of these books took great delight in going back to see what she was like in the early-days? Same with Susan Baker.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Add a Comment

Montgomery, L.M. 1939. Anne of Ingleside.

Out of all of the Anne books--Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside--this one is actually my least favorite of the bunch. Perhaps it is the fact that it was written so many years after the others. Rainbow Valley, the one which chronologically is the sequel to Anne of Ingleside, was published in 1919. (The order of publication for those that want to know is Anne of Green Gables, 1908; Anne of Avonlea, 1909; Anne of the Island, 1915; Rainbow Valley, 1919; Anne's House of Dreams, 1922; Anne of Windy Poplars, 1936; Anne of Ingleside, 1939; Rilla of Ingleside, 1944.) This one always seemed a bit tacked on to the others.

Anne is all grown up with children of her own: Jem, Walter, Nan and Di (the Blythe twins), Shirley (boy with a bit of a girly name), and Rilla, the baby of the family. Anne and Gilbert are still happily wed though we don't see too closely or intimately into their relationship. Susan Baker is their live-in helper. Part nanny. Part cook. Full-time storyteller.

The book is episodic. There isn't one narrator. The role of narrator shifts between Anne and each of her children. (I can't remember if Susan ever gets her own chapters or not.) Each child seems to get a turn in the spotlight. From baby-Rilla being frightened to walk through town carrying a cake to Jem's heartbreaking loss of his first dog. The stories are about family and friendship and at times some of the harder things in life.

My favorite sequence in Anne of Ingleside is the visit of Aunt Mary Maria, Gilbert's aunt who invites herself to stay. No one has the gumption to even hint that it's time for her to go back to her own home. But an accidental surprise birthday party does the trick just fine.

I'm not suggesting it isn't worth reading, but it doesn't have that satisfying grinning ear-to-ear something special feeling about it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Display Comments Add a Comment

Montgomery, L.M. 1922. Anne's House of Dreams.

Anne's House of Dreams is the perfect blend of bittersweet and happily ever aftering. Anne Shirley has married Gilbert Blythe. She's Anne Blythe now. (Later on she's "Mrs. Dr. Dear" but that won't be until Anne of Ingleside.) The Blythes are moving away from Avonlea and settling down in Glen St. Mary/Four Winds Point. They've got a little cottage by the sea. (There is a brook nearby so Anne is happy.) The book tells of the first few years of wedded bliss for the two. (Though the couple is not without its heartaches as they lose their first baby, Joy, the very day its born.)

Anne's House of Dreams introduces many new characters--some of my favorites I admit--Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, Leslie Moore, Owen Ford. Marshall Elliot. Susan Baker. Who would ever want to forget their stories? Captain Jim's life-book. Leslie Moore's tragic past but enduring spirit. Miss Cornelia. She's got to be one-of-a-kind. Just a truly spirited character with so much heart and full of gumption. Practically everything out of her mouth is quotable. She sure is great at banter :)

I love this book. I do.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Display Comments Add a Comment

Montgomery, L.M. 1915. Anne of the Island.

"Harvest is ended and summer is gone," quoted Anne Shirley, gazing across the shorn fields dreamily.

I don't know if there are enough words to describe how I feel about Anne of the Island. It is one of the most magically, wonderful, giddy-making, purely-delightful, satisfying books I've ever read...and reread...and reread. Reading this book makes all the world seem right. (At least during the reading process.) It picks up shortly after where Anne of Avonlea leaves off. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe are preparing to go off to Redmond college. (Along with Charlie Sloane and Priscilla Grant who you may or may not remember.) Diana Barry is engaged to Fred Wright. And there is a hint of love in the air.

This is the story of Anne's college years; it spans four years. The books focus on her friendships with Priscilla Grant, Philippa Gordon, and Stella Maynard, her roommates. And of course the book focuses on her romantic-and-not-so-romantic dealings with men. Many men propose to Anne during the course of the book including Billy Andrews--who sends his sister in his place--and Sam Toliver with his bumbling, "Will yeh heve me?" (Charlie Sloane, Gilbert Blythe, and Royal Gardner are others.)

There are many side stories in Anne of The Island. And while these little asides and tangents are not employed much in modern fiction, within the works of L.M. Montgomery, they are so thoroughly charming that they just work well. Really really well.

I loved this one. Loved the romance. Loved the characters. Loved everything.

Here's my favorite bit of the book:

There is a book of Revelation in every one's life, as there is in the Bible. Anne read hers that bitter night, as she kept her agonized vigil through the hours of storm and darkness. She loved Gilbert—had always loved him! She knew that now. She knew that she could no more cast him out of her life without agony than she could have cut off her right hand and cast it from her. And the knowledge had come too late—too late even for the bitter solace of being with him at the last. If she had not been so blind—so foolish—she would have had the right to go to him now. But he would never know that she loved him—he would go away from this life thinking that she did not care. Oh, the black years of emptiness stretching before her! She could not live through them—she could not! She cowered down by her window and wished, for the first time in her gay young life, that she could die, too. If Gilbert went away from her, without one word or sign or message, she could not live. Nothing was of any value without him. She belonged to him and he to her. In her hour of supreme agony she had no doubt of that. He did not love Christine Stuart—never had loved Christine Stuart. Oh, what a fool she had been not to realize what the bond was that had held her to Gilbert—to think that the flattered fancy she had felt for Roy Gardner had been love. And now she must pay for her folly as for a crime. (237)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Display Comments Add a Comment

Montgomery, L.M. 1909. Anne of Avonlea.

Anne of Avonlea is the second book in the Anne series by L.M. Montgomery. Anne has graduated from Queens now, and is ready to begin her teaching career. She'll be teaching at the Avonlea school. She is still quite chummy with Diana Barry and Gilbert Blythe. And she is almost (but not quite) just as prone to getting into trouble as she ever was.

This second book adds some great characters: Mr. Harrison, the cranky neighbor with a parrot; Davy and Dora, the twins Marilla adopts; Paul Irving, the boy-from-the-States with a big imagination and a way with words; and Miss Lavendar, the "old" maid that has spent most of her years in seclusion but who is a true kindred spirit. And it has some great adventures or "incidents" that I love. Painting the debate hall that horrid shade of blue. Prophesying Uncle Abe's "big storm." The charming love story of Miss Lavendar and Mr. Irving...in which it is shown that it is never too late for one's Prince to return and for love to take hold.

I love Anne Shirley. I love her world. I love her friends. These books are just magical.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Display Comments Add a Comment

Crazy Cozy Murders is hosting a second series challenge. It *officially* begins June 1rst, 2008. It ends November 30, 2008.

I'm going to try to make my goals very specific this go-round.

The Anne series:

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

The rest of the Chronicles of Narnia series (a continuation from round one of challenge)

1)
2)
3)

The rest of the Twilight series

1) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

The Lord of the Rings

1)
2)
3)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Add a Comment

Here are the series books I was able to get to. A few of the series I am still a few titles away from completing. But I still have every intention of getting to them this year...if all goes well.

C.S. Lewis:
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair

Brandon Mull:
Fablehaven
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague

Isaac Asimov:
Prelude to Foundation
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation’s Edge
Foundation and Earth

Laura Ingalls Wilder:
Little House in the Big Woods;
Little House on the Prairie;
On the Banks of Plum Creek;
By the Shores of Silver Lake;
The Long Winter;
Little Town on the Prairie;
These Happy Golden Years;
The First Four Years.

Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Dead and Gone

Conor Kostick
Saga

Libba Bray:
Sweet Far Thing

Ruth Stiles Gannett:
My Father's Dragon
Elmer and the Dragon
Dragons of Blueland

Beverly Cleary:
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona and Her Mother
Ramona Quimby Age 8
Ramona Forever

Julia Quinn:

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth

Sisters Grimm: Magic and Other Misdemeanors by Michael Buckley
Sisters Grimm: Tales from the Hood by Michael Buckley

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Add a Comment

Cleary, Beverly. 1981. Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

Ramona Quimby is eight years old and starting third grade. While in former years, Ramona was a pest--though she'd deny it to her dying day--she has in recent years began maturing, began becoming more thoughtful and responsible. That doesn't mean she doesn't slip up now and then, but it does mean she tries--really tries--to be a good girl. Ramona Quimby Age 8 is one of my favorites in the series. (Probably in the top three. Beezus and Ramona and Ramona the Pest being the top two though not necessarily in that order) Highlights in this one include Ramona taking a raw egg to school--thinking it's hard boiled of course--and throwing up her oatmeal in front of her entire class. It also includes the rather humorous adventures of Beezus and Ramona in the kitchen cooking dinner for their parents! The Quimbys are definitely quite good sports in eating "cornbread" made from cream of wheat and banana yogurt!

I love Ramona. And I love her family. The Quimbys are far from perfect, but they're so loving that you just gotta love them!

Add a Comment

Lewis, C.S. Prince Caspian.

Prince Caspian, the second of the novels in the Chronicles of Narnia series, takes place one year after the close of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are preparing to return to school when they're instantly, magically transported (or translated) to Narnia. What they find there shocks them. Shocks them for many reasons. You see, it hasn't been a year in Narnia time. It hasn't even been just a hundred years. Their castle, their lands, unrecognizable ruins. The adventures are about to begin. Again. Many surprises, many adventures await them, along with one old friend. A friend that takes a little more faith to recognize these days.

Prince Caspian centers on a new hero. Caspian. The son of Caspian the Ninth, king of Narnia. But it is Caspian's uncle, King Miraz, that rules the land, and rules it harshly. Gone are the days of talking animals and other fantastical creatures. No the "old Narnians" must hide if they are to survive at all. Caspian may have been raised by his aunt and uncle, but his upbringing was left to an old nurse who believed in the old ways. Now, Caspian is a young man who longs to restore the golden days of the past. Who longs to restore Narnia to its former glory. Who longs to create a peaceful age where old Narnians can live and live well. But he can't do it alone. What he needs is help. Divine help.

Can a horn of old bring much-needed help from afar?

I love Prince Caspian. I do. It is exciting. It is thrilling. Again, Lewis has created memorable characters and memorable scenes.

Display Comments Add a Comment

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

My review of C.S. Lewis' classic children's book The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is going to be chatty--quite chatty--and there's nothing I can do about it. I first encountered the magic of Narnia in fourth grade when my teacher read it aloud to us. My teacher, Mrs. Watts, was known for many things. She inspired much fear and trembling. Like Aslan, she was not tame, but good. While, other students may remember the discipline or the hard work...I'll always remember my magical introduction to Narnia. Soon after, I added book by book the series to my collection. Most of my copies were used. Most were ugly. But I devoured each one. I seem to remember my sister reading a few of the series at least.

But unlike Little House and Ramona and Anne, this series was more me and less her. Narnia belonged to me--the magic, the wonder, the glory of it all. I remember the pure pleasure I experienced each and every time I opened up a book. I remember the book covers, yes. And I definitely have strong opinions on which book covers through the years are 'the best' of the bunch. But more precisely, I fell in love with the proper order of the series. Few things irritate me more than someone who insists on that new-fangled order. Which is why, if you could see me, you'd know how frustrating it is to read my 7-in-1 novel. But some things must be preserved at all costs.

Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. (p. 111 in the 7-in-1 edition)

The adventures in and out of the wardrobe that these four experience during the course of the novel are oh-so-magical. The characters--both major and minor--so memorable. The story, familiar yet resilient, even after having read it a dozen times. So many wonderful scenes. Scenes that resonate. In case you haven't read it, let me give you a teaser. Lucy, the youngest of the children, accidentally discovers a magical land of ice and snow while hiding in a wardrobe in the Professor's house. Her three siblings--Peter, Susan, and Edmund--at first don't believe her. They take her tale as a wild, silly, foolish story of a girl whose homesick and wanting attention. Edmund, the brother closest to her in age and thus her biggest tormentor, also wanders into Narnia unexpectedly. But who he meets there, will perhaps undo them all. Narnia is not a land at peace. Not at all. For the land is under a spell--an enchantment--the White Witch--the supposed Queen of the land--has made it always winter and never Christmas. And the lives of the children--all four children--are in grave danger when they're in Narnia. For there is a prophecy that four humans--two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve--will come to rule the land as Kings and Queens and restore peace and order to the kingdom.

The heart and soul of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is the revelation of Aslan, the King of the land, a lion.

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it has some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer. (141 of 7-in-1 edition)

The children's journey to Narnia, their quest to meet Aslan at the Stone Table, and their battle to save Narnia and their brother from the grasp of the evil and wicked witch....are unforgettable adventures that deserve to be experienced again and again by readers of all ages. You're never too old to experience the magic of Narnia.

Here's the super-trailer for the movie:

Display Comments Add a Comment

Quinn, Julia. 2003. To Sir Phillip, With Love.

To Sir Phillip, With Love is the fifth in the Bridgerton series, a historical romance series set in Regency England. To Sir Phillip, With Love, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, and When He Was Wicked are the three of the series that are most tightly woven together. The action of all three occur within the same few months of 1824.

During the ball scene (the big reveal) of Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton was noticeably absent. There was a big reason. She used her sister and brother-in-law's party as her getaway. She, partly out of jealousy, has decided to do something a bit bold and a bit out of character. She's off to meet her pen pal, a widower with two kids. Their correspondence began the previous year when she wrote condolences upon his wife's death. The letters have given them both a bit of comfort, and on his suggestion, she is on her way to meet them. He wants to see if she'll suit him as a wife.

Phillip never expected Eloise to be attractive. He was expecting a spinster. An unattractive but intelligent companion. That is what he wanted. He definitely didn't expect to find someone so talkative, so opinionated, so set in her ways, so spunky.

But Eloise forgot one thing when making her journey. Okay, she forgot two things. She forgot to write him that she was coming so he hasn't a chaperone ready to receive her and supervise their courtship. But more importantly, she forgot that her family would be worried and quite frantic about her sudden disappearance. She forgot to count on her four brothers--three older, one younger--hunting her down in angry pursuit!!! Poor Phillip. I almost feel sorry for him!

Phillip's kids are another story. A set of 8 year old twins--one boy, one girl. And they're more than a handful. But if anyone can handle this situation, it is Eloise.

The book is enjoyable. The kids add something more to this historical romance novel. I've not read too many Regency romance novels where kids play a role--a big role--in the action.

372 pages.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Quinn, Julia. 2002. Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton is my favorite and best. It is the fourth in a series of Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn focusing on the eight Bridgerton siblings: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. The fourth novel focuses on Colin Bridgerton. If you've read any of the previous novels you know that Colin is the favorite of many--both in and out of the family. His charm, his wit, his good nature make him quite the natural choice. (The other novels are The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me, and An Offer From a Gentleman. All feature glimpses of Colin.)

Penelope Featherington is not alone in her admiration of Colin Bridgerton. But she might be voted the least likely to marry a Bridgerton. In all honesty, she'd probably be voted least likely to marry anyone. Whether seventeen or twenty-eight, Penelope has always been Penelope. On the outside looking in, always waiting and watching and hoping all the while knowing that this spinsterhood is her destiny.

This is not our first introduction to Penelope. She has appeared in most of the other Bridgerton novels as well. (She has quite a memorable scene or two in An Offer From A Gentleman. And she played an important role in The Duke and I as well. I can't remember if she's got any lines in The Viscount Who Loved Me or not.)

Let me say now that this novel had me at hello.

On the sixth of April, in the year of 1812--precisely two days before her sixteenth birthday--Penelope Featherington fell in love.
It was, in a word, thrilling. The world shook. Her heart leaped. The moment was breathtaking. And, she was able to tell herself with some satisfaction, the man in question--one Colin Bridgerton--felt the same way.
Oh, not the love part. He certainly didn't fall in love with her in 1812, (and not in 1813, 1814, 1815, or--oh, blast, not in all the years 1816-1822, either, and certainly not in 1823, when he was out of the country the whole time anyway). But his earth shook, his heart leaped, and Penelope knew without a shadow of a doubt that his breath was taken away as well. For a good ten seconds.
Falling off a horse tended to do that to a man.

The book opens in 1824. Penelope has had plenty of years to dream and dream and dream about Colin from afar. As the best friend of Eloise, Penelope has long been a regular of the Bridgerton household. For teas. For visits. For parties and dances and balls. There's not a week that goes by where she hasn't spent several hours in the company of one or more Bridgertons. Colin does know she exists. He just doesn't see her in that way. He's not alone, no man thus far in her life has seen her in that way.

Besides being friends with the Bridgerton clan, Penelope has a rather chummy relationship with Lady Danbury, a woman in her seventies who's not afraid to speak her mind when she gets the notion. And lately Lady Danbury has been struck with the notion that Penelope is quite wonderful; unfortunately, not many people are aware of the fact of just how amazingly wonderful she is. But if Lady Danbury has her way, Penelope will soon have her day to shine.

It all starts with a dare, a bet. At a gathering (ball, party, dance), Lady Danbury startles everyone with a proclamation. Wouldn't it be fun to solve the riddle of who this Lady Whistledown really is? She offers a monetary reward. Solve the mystery and win the money. Lady Whistledown, for those unfamiliar with the novels or unfamiliar with my earlier reviews this week, writes a gossip or society column. Twice a week, the ton happily reads about themselves hoping to find praise and anxious to see who will be insulted.

The mystery is eventually solved and it might just keep you guessing for most of the novel.

I loved practically everything about this novel. The characters of Penelope and Colin are special favorites of mine.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Mull, Brandon. 2008. Fablehaven: Grip Of the Shadow Plague.

On a muggy August day, Seth hurried along a faint path, eyes scanning the lush foliage to his left. Tall, mossy trees overshadowed a verdant sea of bushes and ferns.

The third in the series, Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague continues the story of Kendra and Seth Sorenson, an unforgettable brother-sister team that (along with several 'responsible' adults including their grandparents) enjoys spending their summer vacations fighting in the ultimate battle between good and evil. If you haven't read the first two in the series, you should definitely do so. (That is if you love fantasy.) I enjoyed the first two. I really did. But this third one is even better--if that's possible. Every page was a pleasure. I didn't want to put it down.

For those that are familiar with the series, expect more of the same. But for those unfamiliar with Brandon Mull's fabulous series here's what you can expect. Adventure. More adventure. Danger. Action. Even more adventure. Some mystery. Some intrigue. Some surprises. If you love action, adventure, and mystery, then Fablehaven is definitely for you!

What's the third one about? Well the subtitle of "Grip of the Shadow Plague" says it all. Book 2 closes with the family securing--saving--Fablehaven, doesn't it? Does it? The traitor, Vanessa, has been captured and imprisoned in the Quiet Box. The Sphinx has taken away the other prisoner--the one who was released from the Quiet Box--and all seems to be well. But then if you remember Kendra discovers a note implying or suggesting that the Sphinx is not who he appears. That he is in fact the bad guy though he's been masquerading as one of the good guys--one of the top good guys--for decades and decades. The third book explores that claim and seeks to solve that mystery once and for all. But that doesn't even begin to capture what the third book is about. It is exciting. It is intense. It is good.

471 pages

Display Comments Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment