Author: Carrie Jones
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den by Aimee Carter
The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Rating:
 |
| Okay, not great |
Summary(provided by publisher): Annie Nobody thought she was, well, nobody, living in a nowhere town where nothing goes her way. Day 1 at her newest foster home proves to be dreadful, too . . . and things get even worse when she's chased by something big and scary that definitely wants to eat her.
Luckily for Annie, not everything is what it seems, and she gets swept up--literally--by a sassy dwarf on a hovercraft snowmobile and taken to Aurora, a hidden, magical town on the coast of Maine. There, she finds a new best friend in Jamie Hephastion Alexander--who thought he was a normal kid (but just might be a troll)--and Annie discovers that she's not exactly who she thought she was, either. She's a Time Stopper, meant to protect the enchanted.
Together, Annie and Jamie discover a whole new world of magic, power, and an incredible cast of creatures and characters. But where there's great power, there are also those who want to misuse it, and Aurora is under siege. It's up to the kids to protect their new home, even if it means diving headfirst into magical danger.
My opinion: I go back and forth with this one. The plot, while serious in nature, is more playful and almost mocking in it's tone. While the plot is entirely appropriate for it's middle grade audience, I'm not sure the tone is there yet. It tries too hard to feel like kids talking and ends up feeling out of touch and almost condescending. I'm fond of the world building and the premise but I feel like the characters are over-simplified. I think it's a series that will go over fairly well with young readers, especially fans of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, but less so with adult readers.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
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