Review: Delightful Young Adult Fare
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2013
The author does a good job of building a self-contained and mythical world that interacts with the non-magical world around it -- in much the same way that Harry Potter's contemporary world of magic is hidden while co-existing with the muggles' reality.I had a little bit of trouble keeping the seven Byrne daughters clear at first, flipping back to the early description. Eventually, their characters sorted themselves out.The girls are self-reliant, thrown on their own devices with a new infant sister after their mother dies in childbirth. These are not the kick-butt women of adult urban fantasy, but gentler young women who rely on wisdom and cunning rather than on tough talk and gun or sword play. At one point, some of the sisters sacrifice their long hair to help nearby villagers in the non-magical reality. In other words, the Byrne sisters set good examples as females with inner strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, and compassion.In the tradition of classic fairy tales, their aunt turns out to be a black magic evil-doer. But they also have protective adults in their lives -- a close friend of their mother who becomes a mentor in magic and a mysterious gentleman from the Far East who comes bearing gifts and wisdom.As a series, this work has a lot of potential. There are, after all, the lives of seven protagonists to explore.I enjoyed this book, a free Kindle download, even though I am a senior citizen. I doubt that I will continue to read additional installments. But this is just the sort of book that delighted me as a young adult. I can imagine anxiously awaiting each new chapter in the lives of the magical Byrne daughters as I once waited for my Young Adult book-of-the-month club selections that my mother regularly renewed for me.