Middle Grade Review: The Key & The Flame by Claire M. Caterer
Title: The Key & The Flame
Author: Claire M. Caterer
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: April 2,2013
Page Count: 480
Where I got it: Publisher via Edelweiss
Where you can get it: Amazon
How much: List Price 17.99
Format I read it in: eARC
Description/Blurb:
In this middle-grade fantasy adventure, a gusty girl unlocks a magical universe—and the danger that lies within.Eleven-year-old Holly Shepard longs for adventure, some escape from her humdrum life. That is precisely what she gets when she is given an old iron key that unlocks a door—in a tree.
Holly crosses the threshold into a stunning and magical medieval world, Anglielle. And as she does so, something unlocks within Holly: a primal, powerful magic. Holly is joined on her journey by two tagalongs—her younger brother Ben, and Everett, an English boy who hungers after Holly’s newfound magic and carries a few secrets of his own.When Ben and Everett are sentenced to death by the royals, whose fear of magic has fueled a violent, systemic slaughter of all enchanted creatures, Holly must save them and find a way back home. But will she be able to muster the courage and rise above her ordinary past to become an extraordinary hero?
My Thoughts: ★★★★
Holly is a young girl who is a dreamer. We can all relate to that on some level. Those of us obsessed with books, especially in the realm of fantasy, have a bit of the dreamer inside of us, right? We read to travel to distant faraway places that could never really exist in the world in which we live. Or could they?
This story takes us on an adventure like few others. A young girl, and inadvertently her brother and a friend, travel through a tree in the forest and end up in a place that is strange and familiar all at the same time. And what of the mysterious key and how she came to possess it? How did Mr. Galloway know that she would be the best one to wield it’s magic?
The world building in this story is well thought out, and the scenarios are exciting and interesting enough to keep the reader interested. But at the same time, there are a lot of unanswered questions that are raised in the story itself. How did Mr. Galloway come to choose to give Holly the key? How exactly did it come to pass that all of the Exiles and the like knew that Holly really was of the world that they knew and could do the things they wanted her to do? And what happens after the story? Will there be more in the story from this author? Will our questions ever be answered?
Usually this would be the point in the review where I would comment on the mechanical portion of the writing, but as I received an eARC of the book, I try to stay away from commenting on the editing and the like as it was not a finished copy and may not have been edited yet. The writer does show promise, though, and I look forward to more of the same in the future.
**DISCLAIMER** In full compliance with FTC Guidelines, I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was in no way compensated for this opinion, and the thoughts are my own. Links above will take you to a site where you can PURCHASE a copy. Using those links will take you through an affiliate link and I will receive a small percentage of the purchase cost. You are in no way obligated to use affiliate links and there is no additional cost to do so. Clicking here will take you to more information about the book on Goodreads.
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Middle Grade Review: The Key & The Flame by Claire M. Caterer is a post from: Just Another Rabid Reader
