4 out of 4 stars
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The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid is an engrossing young adult fantasy set in a world full of dark secrets. Fans of science fiction and fantasy will enjoy Dew Pellucid’s imaginative world and the characters that she creates. This story immerses the reader into a world of magic, danger, and adventure.
When William Cleary returned from the dead ten years ago, he arrived with a falcon, a wolf, and no memory of where he had been. His story is not unique, as many children go missing, including his twin sister, Emmy. Their parents have been looking for a passage beyond the pond, from which Will returned ten years ago, to find Emmy. Will gets caught up in the parallel realm of the Echoes, who are the reflections of real people, called Sounds. After the king is murdered in Echoland, a ruthless usurper takes over the throne, and Will must find a way to put the rightful king on the throne. Will is then plunged into a journey full of twists and turns, as there are evil forces at work in both realms, that are looking to kill both Sounds and Echoes. Will and his friends must go on a terrifying journey to save both realms before it is too late.
The plot moves very quickly with short chapters. The plot also deals with political intrigues that are fascinating, but still easy to understand for younger readers. The author does a great job of describing the Echo Realm. One can almost imagine the sights and smells of this parallel universe. The way the author described it as a winter landscape reminded me of the setting in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is a fascinating idea to think that our reflections could be real people, but also different from us. It is like imagining that your shadow can take on a whole different personality. Once you start learning the terminology and understand the direction of the plot, it is truly an interesting world to read about.
The story also deals with the topic of fate. The characters are battling evil creatures out to destroy them because of a preordained law. The author makes a point to describe how the characters must deal with the fact that they cannot control what happens to them. They learn that they can only control what they do about it afterward, which is a great lesson for younger readers. The pictures at the beginning of each chapter help the reader visualize the world and the characters. A lot of the pictures reminded me of the White Walker characters in the Game of Thrones series. I liked that the plot was not very obvious, there were surprises throughout the story. There were many plot revelations at the end that tie the story together.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I liked that the chapters were relatively short. This made it easy to pick up where I left off. The author has a wonderful imagination and the world she creates is very interesting. I felt that the book was well edited, and I did not see any major grammar mistakes. I recommend this book to those who love young adult and fantasy novels. I feel like there is so much more that the author could develop in further books that would be interesting to read about. There was nothing about the novel that I did not like, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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