Fablehaven
Brandon Mull
368 Pages
Hard copy edition
From the Publisher:
For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered to a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite. . .
Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most.
Throw Back Review, First Posted May 8, 2009:
This series follows Kendra and Seth to their grandfather’s estate where they find a magical world full of all sorts of mystical creatures, good and bad.
I’ve been meaning to get to this series for a while and finally got around to reading it. I think it was a fun series, perfect for younger readers. One of my 10 year old nephews is reading the series right now and he loves it – something I would totally expect after finishing this first book.
While the last 50 pages of the book were really interesting and hard to put down, there were parts of the middle that were a little slow for me and I skimmed a lot more than I usually do.
I have to admit that when I finished the book and read the preview for the second book I couldn’t wait to get my copy and start reading. I’m hoping the second book will not let me down.
Updated Review:
This review I posted in 2008 makes me chuckle for so many reasons. My nephews were 10! Now they are 16, taller than me, and my husband, have jobs, and are driving and dating. Times have changed! I also think it’s funny that I didn’t love the first book so much. I got pretty hooked to these books after this one. I kept telling my husband about them too and he finally got the clue and read all five of them out-loud to our boys a couple years ago. They loved these books too. We talk about if they would make a movie or not, but I don’t know if they could do the books justice. Many times I would find my husband reading ahead at night because he couldn’t put them down. Our 8 year old, who was probably 6 when we read them, is always asking when we can re-read them.
Since reading Fablehaven, we have also read through almost every Brandon Mull book we can find. Candy Shop War was probably our least favorite, we still all liked it, just didn’t love it. (The second Candy Shop War and The Spirit Animal special edition book are the only one that we haven’t read.) My husband and the kids have loved reading the Five Kingdom books out-loud. What my kids are most excited about this week is that Brandon Mull’s third book in the Five Kingdoms comes out next week! They are so excited!
My kids love Brandon Mull and supporting a local-ish author. They are pretty sad that we are missing a book signing event this weekend, but they still are super excited for the new book.
If you haven’t read Fablehaven than I highly recommend it. If you have, have you read any of Brandon Mull’s other books?
