Review: Great Read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2012
I was very excited to see there was a second book in the Merryweathers Mystery series and couldn't wait to read it. Having read and enjoyed the first book of the series, The Dreables, I fully expected The Curse of Borage-Doon to be just as great and I wasn't disappointed. The Merryweather Mystery series is written for tweens and very early age teenagers. It centers around the adventures of Sam, a precocious and "cunning" nine-year old boy, and his Gran, also a member of the "cunning" folk. These are the folks who are a type of good witch who save regular people from creepy creatures they don't know exist.In this book Sam is Gran's apprentice as well as her teacher as he tries to bring her up to date in the world of technology. Gran wins a suspicious contest that puts both her and Sam in danger. There are quite a few lessons to be learned throughout the book, including warnings about the dangers of the internet and why owning up to something that is your fault is always the proper thing to do. These little moral lessons are done in a very subtle way and not preachy at all. Your child will actually enjoy learning them without feeling like they are being told what to do. They are very cleverly done by the author. The setting is in Edinburgh, Scotland and the author makes it lots of fun to explore with Gran and Sam, although there isn't a lot of description about the area as the story is the main focus. I love the characters, in particular Gran and Sam, who have a very believable relationship. It's not always perfect, they get annoyed with each other, yet there is still a deep love between them. The villain is not scary and actually ends up being a bit of a bumbling idiot, thanks to Gran and Sam. The book is very easy to read and lots of fun and, at only 104 pages in ebook format, not daunting at all for picky readers. It's perfect for those just starting out with chapter books or kids who'd rather not read at all.