Review: Fantastic start to a new series :)  Can't wait to read book 2 :)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 24, 2013
My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 unicorns - I really liked it!!I won The Shard in a giveaway from Krystal’s Enchanting Reads blog giveaway, but Victoria gave me the option to start with book 1 since I hadn’t read it yet which I thought was very cool.The cover is adorable, and I think it will attract kids like my son in middle school into checking it out.The story is cute and engaging.  I think the author did a great job with the writing because kids can get into the story and understand what is going on.  I think the characters are life like because kids can be so mean to each other and cruel.  I think this story brings that to light which is cool because kids don’t think about how what they do and say can really affect others.  Kristina must push herself on her quest to save Bernovem & so she can get home. It is difficult to represent perseverance, but Victoria did fabulously through Kristina & Werrien.  Poor Kristina & Werrien have so many personal and actual battles while trying to get to and climb the mountain.  I love all the magical creatures and elements that were a part of this story, but it was very real life related as lessons go.Another cool thing I noticed was a couple of the names were mixed up real words, but I’m not sure if that was on purpose or an accident.  For example, Bernovem is November with the last 3 letters moved to the front.  There is also a character’s name Lisheng which is English with the first 3 letters moved to the end.  It totally possible that there are more, and I missed it, but I just thought it was cool too.I think this story could inspire kids, so you really should read it with your kids.