One reason I write this blog is that you cannot rely on reviews on Amazon without knowing something about the reviewer. A teen might rave about a book that we adults find boring – I know my tastes have changed since I was 15! Knowing I am an adult female should put my comments into context and help you know whether my opinions are useful guides to what you will like.
YA fantasy fiction today is heavy on vampires, dystopias and zombies, but a perennial favorite is the coming-of-age- and-discovering-you-really-do-have-magic-talents. Awaken the first novel in the Fated Saga Fantasy Series is a good short novel on theme number four, coming of age and discovering magic talents.
As an adult I found the writing style crisp, fast moving, characters reasonably done. The foreshadowing elements (a locket that pricks the young heroine Meghan, ominous screeches that are not owls, tangling with a moose in a lake, Uncle Arnon’s musings with Kandra) are a bit heavy but probably perfect for teens and tweens. The book is short, 115 pages and takes about 90 minutes to read.
A few of the characters are obviously going to be involved more in future novels in the Fated Saga series, as they are peripheral to this story. Plus many plot threads that are left hanging as Meghan and her twin Colin fall through the pine room into another world at the end. The author Rachel D’aigle clearly aimed this book at the 11 to 14 year old reader who would enjoy this. Even as an adult I enjoyed it enough to read to the end, although I don’t plan to read the sequels.
Overall, it’s a fun, clean, enjoyable book that younger readers will love and adults will like enough to complete.
Leave a Reply