Fablehaven

While away from our home, we did not have a crib for our barely two year old son, so we decided it would be as good a time as any to make the transition into a big boy bed. Along with this transition came the responsibility for someone to sit in his room at nap time until he fell asleep. This responsibility required a quiet activity for my husband or me while we waited - for me: reading. After our family had left and taken their "beach books", I had scoured all of our tourist pamphlets and returned our library books, I was left with no other choice than one of my husband's birthday gifts: Fablehaven or book two of the new series: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull.

I chose to read Rise of the Evening Star for two reasons: a friend was borrowing Fablehaven and Rise of the Evening Star had a slightly less scary cover. I don't find myself attracted to fantasy novels, so I was not interested in the least in this book, but once I began reading, I was easily drawn in to the story. I found it very similar to Harry Potter with young children involved in a magical world of creatures and spells (without the wands) - the goal being, yet again to find a way that fantasy and reality can coexist and offering a new and different explanation of this secret world (hint: butterflies are fairies). Good versus evil abounds (as well as a little suspense), the story is easy to follow, and the characters are very likeable. I would imagine it is very close to the earlier Harry Potter books (which of course, I haven't read) - ideal for middle school, but entertaining still for adults. I hope that this author keeps the series young.