Review: Slow start with a spectacular finish.....
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2013
The first 20% of this novel was weighed down with the need to fit the most information possible into every sentence. Don't tell us what Megan is like, show us in the story. I'm not a young reader but I think children would have the capacity to hang on as a story develops and their mental picture of the characters and what those characters are good at will develop with the story-line. Show us that Megan is good at Maths.  The story, as it progresses gets less wordy and more repetitive. Actions are done over and over and there's a feeling of repetition. The said, the flow evens out and a new world is expands in a way that is often very colorful and interesting. Richie Earl's writing holds great promise not yet discovered fully in this first outing.The best thing about Emma, Megan and Scott is that they are ordinary children in an extraordinary circumstance. They are children looking for their father who has disappeared at the time that he got a terrible medical diagnosis. Their goal is to find him and restore their family. They don't glory in the adventures are much as follow a goal driven by an emotion that any child reading can understand. Children will identify with the siblings and cheer for them. The children are Welsh and use lingo that may be unfamiliar to North American readers but is easily picked up.My 11-year-old daughter would love Bones, the family dog, who accompanies the children on their adventure. Monkey demons, she would like those less. Most children probably wouldn't have a problem with the fright level in The Legend of Finndragon's Curse (Tales of Finndragon) which is no more than a Harry Potter novel. I would recommend this fantasy novel for children ages 9-14.