First, this is a book definitely tailored to younger kids, and that's great. I still love this kind of fiction. But if you're expecting something more adult in terms of depth, vocabulary, and so on, this isn't it. Still worth the read though!

Shard is a young gryphon in a pride of gryphons that crossed the sea and conquered the local pride, only it turns out things aren't that simple. Not by a long shot, and Shard has to make some hard choices.

Things like loyalty, justice, war, peace, and what it means to handle all of these things are tackled in this book, and I think it's great. That's the sort of stuff I always loved when I was younger, and that slight nostalgic feeling definitely made this a better read personally. However, that doesn't mean the read is bad if you don't have that same feels. It's a very simple read, very quick, but it keeps you interested. I finished this in about a day once I truly sat down and lost myself in the plot (you know how that goes with books).

My one grumble is that the plot was slightly typical, in terms of fantasy plots at least. Anyone who reads this and reads a lot of fantasy will understand. It's not a super big problem though, and is my only gripe.

Verdict? 4/5 stars. Great read for younger kids and people who enjoy fantasy overall, even if it leans on the slightly typical side.