The Spell of the Black Stone

Welcome Inn #4

by E.L. Flood

Discovering a mysterious young boy on Blackberry Island, young sleuths Molly and Gwen become excited at the thought that he may actually be a supernatural creature from the sea. Original.

Genres: Childrens

139 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[The Retro Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic story! I remembered this book vaguely from my youth and recently reread this as an adult. I don't think I truly appreciated it for what it was when I was younger. It is extremely well-written and engaging. The main character, Molly, is very relatable and down-to-earth, and just a fun perspective from which to read, in addition to her interactions with the other characters, especially Kelvin. The story is about her run-in with a young man who may not be who he seems...who always has seaweed in his hair and his proclivity for being in the water becomes increasingly unusual...What I love about this story is that it reflects the type of adventure that I wanted as a kid - where you find a strange, magical artifact and suddenly it leads you to a curious encounter. This is an age-appropriate and fun story, with a hint of the mythological with references to Scottish folklore, without it being a full fantasy style book. It is a truly unique story - there are very few novels about the topic in this story and I really liked the how the author incorporated this into a modern perspective. Highly recommend! I only wish E. L. Flood wrote more than four Welcome Inn novels and explored other folklore characters.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of hard to rate since it is a teen book. My daughter and I read these types of books aloud together for fun. (Plus, most of the time they aren't keepers so we can move them out of the house.) Molly O'Brien is given an unusual present from her uncle; a black stone that supposedly has power over a legendary sea creature called the Sith. One day Molly finds a strange boy asleep on the beach. Kelvin seems more comfortable in the water than anywhere else. Molly is also snotty, self-centered, and obnoxious. The two likable characters are her little sister Gwen and her school chum, Josh. As adults my daughter and I figured out the plot right away. We both got frustrated that Molly was a little slow on the uptake. But, that is from an adult perspective. Had I read it as a teenager I probably would have enjoyed it more.

[D.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up.