Scarlett and Blaze

Unicorn Academy: Where Magic Happens #2

by Julie Sykes

When your best friend is a unicorn, magical adventures are guaranteed! Imagine a school where you meet your own unicorn and have amazing adventures together! That's what happens for the girls at Unicorn Academy on beautiful Unicorn Island.

Scarlett and Blaze love being at Unicorn Academy. It's the perfect place to have fun and be a bit naughty, too! But magical Sparkle Lake is starting to ice over and the school might have to close! Scarlett and Blaze can't bear to be parted, so they decide to find out who's behind the big freeze and put things right...

With a glittery cover and beautifully illustrated throughout by Lucy Truman, Unicorn Academy is the perfect series for 7+ readers who love magic and adventure.

Check out the other titles in this Sophia and Rainbow, Ava and Star, Isabel and Cloud and many more!

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Chapter Books, Unicorns, Fiction, Boarding School, Magic

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Welcome to my website. Come on in and have a look around. You can find out about my books and also about me.

Name:
Julie Sykes

Birthday:
My birthday month is August

Place of birth:
Kingston upon Thames

Places I’ve lived:
My family moved to Australia just after I was born but returned to England in time for me to start school. I was educated in Surrey and lived there until I got married. I now live in the south of England with my husband and our three children. We used to live on a fish farm, which we shared with 300,000 rainbow trout. We share our current home with a few goldfish and a white wolf cunningly disguised as a dog.

Jobs:
I’ve worked in a kennels, shops, pubs and on a mushroom farm. My first full-time job was as a laboratory technician and after that a teacher. I’m now a full time writer.

First book published:
There were two - This and That and I Don’t Want To Go To Bed!

Favourite Things:
Family, friends, Spring (the season not the bouncy sort although bouncing is good, too), cappuccino, Danish pastries, Cornwall, the sea, books, animals, chocolate.

Worst Things:
Litter, vandals, cleaning the house, having NOTHING to read.

Hobbies:
Reading, walking, cooking, hanging out in cafés.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent continuation of the series. I kinda wish there was one main protagonist for all the books, but I guess each entry will focus on a different girl within the same dorm? 'Cause I think there's like 5 or 6 of them all bunked together. I don't love that decision, but whatever. I'm not the target audience for these books anyway.

I liked the central plot for this story, but I'm frustrated that we never actually found out who froze the lake. Hopefully it gets revealed in a later book, but I won't hold my breath. I don't think overarching plots are really a thing in books aimed at this particular demographic (7-8 year old girls).

[Em Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still a favorite of my daughter's,

And yet again, the main character is rewarded for making a dangerous choice. This time she put her friend in danger, too, along with two unicorns. I didn't feel like enough character development happened to justify any of the "I learned a lesson" shit that should have come at the end.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een nieuwe glitterige serie over eenhoorns. In dit tweede boek volgen we Lotte en Fonkel

Na het heerlijke succes van het eerste boek moest ik meteen ook het tweede boek lezen, helaas ik vond het niet zo leuk en dat kwam voornamelijk door de twee karakters die we in dit boek hebben. Lotte en Fonkel, ze zijn echt made to be together, want wat een stelletje blaaskaken waren dat zeg. Totaal niet nadenken over wat er misschien kan gebeuren. Het hielp ook niet dat wederom het meer werd bedreigd. Ja, nog steeds door iemand die we niet kennen, en sorry, er moet toch wel iets anders zijn om te saboteren naast een meer?

In het begin vond ik Lotte nog wel een leuke meid, en ook Fonkel was erg leuk. Natuurlijk vond ik het wel gevaarlijk wat ze aan het doen waren, het hele springen over takken. Maar er kwamen nog andere stukjes die ik enorm leuk vond, zoals te zien hoe ze samen met haar vriendin is. Zien hoe zij en Fonkel naar elkaar groeiden.

Maar ja, het ging al snel mis. Haar commentaar op Lisa, ELKE KEER, werd enorm vervelend. Echt, enorm. Ik snap dat Lisa niet het soort type is waar jij mee omgaat, maar je hoeft haar niet steeds af te zeiken (voornamelijk in haar hoofd).

Dan later krijgt Fonkel zijn krachten (en niet wat Lotte dacht dat het zou zijn), en gaat het helemaal mis. Ze geven allebei geen poep om of het nou veilig is, ze vinden het gewoon zo geweldig dat ze allebei helemaal los gaan en er van alles misgaat.

En dan is er nog het meer, hoe Lotte erg lacherig over de hele situatie deed, niet eens wilde nadenken dat het gewoon slecht is dat er nu geen water is voor de eenhoorns. En als het meer bevriest en ze moeten helpen... wordt het nog erger. Veel erger. Ze doet dingen die je gewoon niet moet doen, en ja, ik snap dat het nodig was, maar na alles in het boek kon ik dit regelbrekende stuk niet erbij hebben. Ik vond het ook ietwat té magisch dat alles maar gewoon op zijn hoefjes kwam. Ik zie dit niet als een spoiler, je weet gewoon vanaf het begin al dat alles glitter en regenboog wordt. Ik ben helemaal blij met meiden die stoer zijn, maar meiden die gewoon de regels breken en allemaal dingen doen die niet goed zijn? Nee, dank je.

Valentina is er ook nog, dus het verhaal werd er nou niet echt beter op.

Gelukkig zien we ook af en toe nog wat andere karakters en kon ik daardoor ook verder lezen. Plus, ik vind het ook nog steeds leuk om de kinderen en de eenhoorns samen te zien groeien en de eenhoorns die hun krachten ontdekken. En de illustraties zijn echt superschattig en leuk.

Ik hoop wel dat het volgende boek leuker is en dat er iets anders wordt gesaboteerd dan het meer. En dat we misschien wat meer te weten komen over wie het doet.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still struggling with the main characters being rewarded for dangerous stunts rather than showing kids that adults can be trusted to do the right thing and asking for help.

My daughter was upset that the main character rolled her eyes at other girls and wasn't always kind to others AND was asking her unicorn to break the rules. She is determined to read the entire set so we'll see how book three goes.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second in the series. Scarlett and her unicorn Blaze like to play jokes and think that anyone taking a difficult situation seriously is "boring" - after all, a solution will roll around eventually. That is, until Scarlett find that Blaze's magic, fire magic, will help solve the problem of Sparkle Lake freezing and the unicorns being unable to drink. She also learns a little bit about courage and friendship along the way. A nice series for readers of fantasy, animals stories, and tales of adventure.

[Saphira Boozenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE IT

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline concept for this book was truly cute and fun. This is probably around a 3rd grade reading level. The only thing I didn’t really like about it was there seemed to be a lot of attitude towards teachers and just unnecessary clique-ish behavior amongst the girls at the school (though they DO work through it, too - so it’s not alllll bad). Other than that, a fun book and, of course, it has unicorns which elementary aged girls adore. :)

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are lovely chapter books for children, whether it's for you to read at bedtime or for them to read to themselves. Overall there are nice lessons to be learned and an overarching mystery of the curious happenings at Unicorn Academy.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter read most of it while I helped her with difficult words. The story was ok for a 6 year old, in fact my daughter liked it. To me it was ok, I just wish
to know who is messing with the island but unfortunately even in this book they don’t tell you.

[Barbara Lombardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because one of my granddaughters is reading this series. So we started our own book club. I thought this book was cute, magical, and it kept my interest. My granddaughter and I had a great discussion about the characters and two “scary” parts.

[Oli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked it but kind of boring

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading through these books with my 4 year old daughter who is obsessed with unicorns.

This second installment follows Scarlett and her unicorn Blaze in the dilemma of a polar freeze icing over everything including the lake that has the precious water the unicorns need to stay healthy. Scarlett and Blaze are more brash and keen to break the rules when they are having fun. This ends up causing problems not just for them but also their friends as they try to undo the freezing curse.

Scarlett in particular was less likeable than her predecessor. Getting into trouble, and getting fed up with her friend when she expressed worry. Now, she is 10, so this is understandable. A lot of girls go through these kinds of struggles and grow from them. Scarlett did too though in the process and her unicorn started a fire, were responsible for her friend falling into frigid lake water, running into the wilderness without telling an adult, and putting herself and her friends into mortal danger. All again with little to no consequences.

There is some mild negative language from the bully character, as well as negative narration from our protagonist about her “annoying” friend who was expressing worry and warning when they were doing something reckless. There is suspense when the stables get set on fire/need to be put out, a friend and unicorn fall into freezing water and need to be rescued, and the protagonists get attacked by a massive bear. The last scene in particular worried my daughter, so I ended up censoring it quite a bit to bring down the seriousness of the danger.

My daughter enjoyed the other 98% of the book though!

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter really enjoyed and seemed to engage even more with this second book of the Unicorn Academy series. I think it helped us both enjoy the book more that the perspective is different than the show. I had fewer expectations about what might happen.

I didn’t love the way Scarlett treated Layla throughout the book and felt like I needed to remind my daughter that Scarlett wasn’t being kind or a good friend. Scarlett did have a change of heart in the end a bit about Layla and recognized some of her good qualities but I can’t remember if there was a solid apology given.

There is a definite lack of actual consequences in this series which I think needs to be addressed. When the various students disobey rules they seem to end up being rewarded in the larger scheme, like with a bonfire in this book. I think the author is trying to wrap things up in a neat feel good package at the end of each book but is missing an opportunity or better message to send.

We’ve bought the first eight books of the series plus one of the Nature series so we’ll be reading more and I’m hoping my daughter continues to enjoy them.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ако си падате по детските книжни поредици за млади читатели, изпълнени с фантастични приключения и красиви илюстрации, то имаме добра новина за вас! Ако пък сте фенове на фентъзи истории за вълшебни училища и млади герои, борещи се за добро, то новината е още по-хубава! А ако новата мания вкъщи е анимационния сериал на Netflix „Академия за еднорози“, то за вас това ще е направо новината на годината! (Добре, де! Стига дрънка! Каква Е новината?!) Благодарение на изд. „Сиела“, вече можете да прочетете и на български „София и Дъга“, „Скарлет и Жар“ и „Ейва и Звезда“ - първите три романа от прочутата поредица на Джули Сайкс „Академия за еднорози“! Проч��тете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Jess HP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading this series with my niece (7y). I personally love to read and wanted something to talk about with my niece. These are well written and engaging for the target audience and enjoyable even for me. The main plots wraps up within the individual books and rarely impact the others in the series. This will allow for conversations on what the target reader might have done as opposed to the characters in the story. These typically deal with finding inner courage and doing what’s right. The series has an over arching plot that runs through all the books that allows you to have conversations on theories for subsequent books. These conversations have been the most fun, it’s a joy to listen to how a child thinks the world should work.

[Cute Rabbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting.In it we see Scarlett learn that she needs to listen to people that want the best for her.She also is able to save the lake from freezing over by finding the diamond 💎 and is able to save unicorn academy by allowing the unicorns to drink the water that is very vital for them as it makes them strong.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far my daughter loves this series. She can read well enough to read chapter books but I'm trying to read as much as I can to ger before she thinks that's not cool anymore. I'd like to be able to read all 11 in this series but our library only carries the first 4

[Thalia S. A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book. Lovely pictures, interesting story. I do wish that the book could be longer (I finished this in a few minutes!). Also, some of the grammar doesn't make sense, like on page 71 where it says Star used her magic, but it was Rainbow. But overall, it's a great story.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the main character to be brash, full of herself, and annoying. We had to have discussions about kindness, respecting people, and following rules. But my daughter loved the book. My daughter would probably rate it a 5. I would do a 2. So 3 is a compromise.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series with my daughter and it was great time together. The books are fun and enjoyable. There is a little more bullying than I would like but my daughter loves the unicorn friends and the girls empowerment in each story. Scarlett is confident and she liked her story.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

On page 71 it says that Star used her magic when it was actually Rainbow. Errors like that decrease my rating. I'd give this a 2.5.

[Jessica Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute fun easy chapter book to read with my elementary school daughter. She loved the girl/unicorn bond and the mystery element.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sequel

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my preschooler. Another book in the series that we didn't find out who the bad guys is.

[Joud Algorain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it is one of my favorite books.

The best part is when Blaze finds out that she has fire magic so that she can melt snow, when she walks on the snow it melts quickly.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars according to my 5yo

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better than the first! Great lessons in this for my daughters.

[Sophia Belott · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was amazing i love the power of the unicorn and the name

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My youngest daughter loves unicorns. She said it was the best book ever. I let her rank it. I would have ranked it 3.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter is loving this series so far