3 out of 4 stars
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The Crystilleries of Echoland is a captivating tale that takes you into an enchanting new world. When a person is born, also known as a Sound, another, more ethereal copy, or Echo of that person is created and slips into what is called Echoland where they live out their own unique lives. When Will Cleary, the Sound, was two, he and his twin sister disappeared. Other children have been disappearing as well, never to be heard from again, except for Will who reappeared shortly after his abduction, accompanied by a wolf and a falcon. Will, now 11, is determined to discover what happened to him, and find and rescue his missing twin sister. After an attack on his home by strange creatures, Will begins to find clues to the hidden world of Echoland. Will discovers that his pets may be more than they seem, and he is swept away on a dangerous adventure that will determine if he lives or dies, as well as the fate of Echoland itself.
The Crystilleries of Echoland is an easy read and will keep you eager to continue turning its pages. The story is fast paced and the author does a wonderful job of painting a picture with every word she writes. Sometimes she almost gets too descriptive, making you question if the descriptive words she is using are actually what they are seeing. The artwork throughout the book is beautiful as well. My favorite thing is the world she has created and learning about the unique characters found therein. It really keeps you invested in the story. The characters are likeable and interesting so that you care about what happens next. I really wish we had time to learn more about the side characters.
My only real complaints are that the book is sometimes so fast paced that I feel that I miss out on interesting details about the world and its characters that I want to know more about. Additionally, some details about characters are given so briefly that I found that I had forgotten them the next time we met up with that character, leaving me backtracking to find that little detail or wishing for a reminder. I would have really loved an index of characters at the back of the book with details about each of the characters and their backgrounds in the story, as it really is fascinating. That was what bothered me the most, was being left wanting for more background information on the side characters.
Though the book has a satisfying conclusion, I really would love to see more stories from this fantasy world. I believe readers would enjoy additional stories following some of the other characters mentioned in this book, as well as exploring the history of Echoland which is touched on. There is plenty of information left to explore if the author desired. I hope to see more books by her in the future.
I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars mainly because of the the confusion that is sometimes caused by being too descriptive at times and some minor issues with fragmented sentences. If I could I would have given this book 3.5 stars because of how much I enjoyed it. This book is such a fun read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, children and adults alike.
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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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