Review: Amazing characters
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 26, 2013
"Hidden in the Amethyst" by Jason Ellis is the second in his Amelia Maylock series. 8th grader Amelia is no ordinary girl, she has special powers that are being developed in her training with several great fantasy/ paranormal characters, such as the Old Hag and the  purple eyed Orhus.Amelia is an orphan and lives with her sister and aunt, she is going to school and has issues to figure out, such as who is this cool and distant new girl Martina.Outside of school she enters other dimensions and fights mysterious creatures, amongst them her older, other-worldly sister.Now in the second instalments the series benefits from the immaculate set-up of the first book and allows for a more playful narrative.What I like most about this series is that Amelia - or Maylock, as her other worldly name is - is not the super hero form word go. She is learning and occasionally fails, making for a much more likeable reading in my view. The fun is in the process and development.Ellis has created a wonderful set of characters that work together nicely. Set in Essex, a place I know well, and using some characters who speak the local accent, the book admittedly had added value for me, but I am sure that readers in the US will find this just as amusing and see it as an intriguing detail to the story.I was given the first book in exchange for a review but I bought this myself and will continue to follow the series. (Even though it is written for young adults).I recommend this book and the series to all fans of Potter and similar books without any fear to disappoint their expectations. I didn't read past the first Potter book but I am looking forward to book three in this series.