Tyler Whitesides
360 pages
Hard Copy Edition
From the Publisher:
A secret society of Janitors with wizard-like powers continue their battle, and now, the stakes are even higher. The Bureau of Educational Maintenance is after Alan Zumbro and this time they mean business–deadly business. Spencer, Daisy, and their little team of rebels must find the source of all magical Glop and destroy it before it can destroy the world as we know it. No small task with the BEM and their monster toxites at their heels. It is a wild and dangerous ride as they follow the trail of clues all the way to the hiding place of the mysterious aurans: guardians of a secret landfill. What they discover there will change the way Spencer sees himself, not to mention the fate of the rebels.
Review:
My older boys and I read the first book in this series last year out loud at bedtime last year and then we read the second book in the series last spring. They LOVE fantasy/magical books and these really kept their attention. They wouldn’t wait for me to read to them and finished books two through four on their own and then had to wait all summer for book 5 to be released!
Finally the book is here! Book five was released this month! I actually received an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley to review. But before I get to it, I need to posts for book three and four. My OCD tendencies just won’t let me get away with posting a series of books out of order. Next week I’ll have my review on books four and five.
Let me also say…I love this series. I love it even more because my boys REALLY love it. They cannot put it down and it they are always reading it. They talk about it and discuss the characters. They laugh about parts and try and figure out what will happen. I LOVE when a book makes reading fun and enjoyable for them. This series does just that!
Book Three, The Curse of the Broomstaff was so full of action! It’s so hard to talk about these books without giving away so many spoilers, but I will try. In this book there are new creatures and new characters introduced. It was so hard to know who to trust and not trust! I love that some of the old characters come back – I love that some of the kids from the second book make appearances as “Monitors” and I LOVE Daisy in this book. She is herself, and sometimes funny and flighty, but there are points she makes that just make me smile. I love that she still has Baybee from the first book. (although I”m a little sad for her too) I adore how she “trash-talks” a monster and gains an ally.
There are seriously twists and turns on almost every page of this book. Just when I think I’ve got it all caught up in my head and figured out something else happens and I am off running and fighting another group of monsters or bad guys. No wonder my boys loved it so much – there is not a boring page in this whole book!
One of my favorite quotes comes towards the end of the book when Rho says to Spencer “It got me thinking…What if we hate them just because we’ve always hated them?” This really made me think – and I loved this lesson that kids could get from it. Sometimes we don’t need to hold on to feuds and grudges just because. Sometimes good friendships are made when we let go!
Overall I loved this book. The series has gotten better and better with each book for me. If you love Fablehaven, Five Kingdoms, (Any Brandon Mull book for that matter!), Spirit Animals, or Harry Potter, these are some books you should check out. The entire series is fun and great for middle readers too!
Final Score:
