Review: Scary Good!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2012
Talisman Of ElByAlecia StoneReally quick summary...There is a hidden world within Charlie's existing world.  Charlie just has to find it.  Lots of lives sort of depend on it.  Charlie's dreams seem to scare him nightly.  His survival and that of others depends on getting in and out of this other world...Arcadia.My thoughts...The story of Charlie and his friends starts off with a hugely powerful introduction.  I was caught up in the story from the prologue and it continued to get better and better as mystery after mystery was shared.  There are so many connections among the characters that my head was spinning a bit but it was all good...very good.Poor orphaned stoic Charlie stole my heart from the moment he stepped onto the school bus.He is bullied by kids at school and bullied even more by Jacob...his undertaker/ caretaker.He is poorly treated, locked  in his room and forced to help Jacob steal...Thank goodness he has Alex as his friend.  She is the only light in his sad and dismal orphaned life...until he meets others who have to find Arcadia, too.  Richmond who has no home and Derkein  who is 26 but looks 60 and ages daily.  He needs to get to Arcadia.Arcadia, however, is not always open and once you get there...well... it just might be rather difficult to get out.Now this is where the really fun part of this novel begins...the misfits sort of fall down into Arcadia where things are scary, weird, growly, creepy and life threatening.  However there always seems to be someone or something there protecting Charlie and company.  Creatures can morph and creatures can have special powers and Charlie...might have the most special power of all.Most of the mystical and exciting events happens as Charlie realizes what he really is as he tries to get to  the Garden of Eden.  He is chased by werewolves and demons but he has the help of friends...old and new...to help him complete his quest.Of course you must know its not nearly as simple as that...there are creatures and lands and beings that inhabit this old and reveal themselves and their powers to Charlie.There is one mind boggling event after another as Charlie tries to help his friends and fulfill his destiny.Loved the story...didn't love the demons...a fun fast paced heart pounding  kind of book.Little bit of a spoiler alert...happy happy ending...well...first scary and then...again...heart pounding...and then delightfully happy.