Review of Julu

[Claire Twy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Julu" by Jan Anderegg.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Time travel and tales of magical lands involving mythical creatures never get old, and Jan Enderegg puts a new spin on this time-honoured formula in Julu, the first of a series. Creating the fictional land of Jirvania, aka the birthplace of all stories, is no easy task, but Anderegg’s creativity erects portals, muse faeries and a fantastical Great Library any literature lover would die to enter. Neither is it an easy feat to juggle between past, present and future, yet Anderegg trods this fine line delicately in this highly engaging story.

Jack and Mia, seemingly ordinary children, must travel through time and space to change their story in order to stop Kor and his terrifying Spore army. With the help of a magical creature, Julu, they uncover a world and past previously unknown to them. Exploring themes of love, repentance, revenge and more, Julu is an intriguing yet heartwarming tale that leaves one eagerly anticipating the next book.

Indeed, Anderegg skilfully creates a well-developed world and lays the foundation for many more books about Jirvania and this particular adventure. The build-up and layering of stories is done in a way that doesn’t feel like too much is going on although the plot juggles more than five different stories at once. Each individual story is intriguing and the characters are all fleshed out quite well.

I did find hopping from story to story a little tiresome and confusing, but as I mentioned, the different stories of each character not only help me relate to them more, but are deeply engaging. A small problem I have is the introduction of too many characters, which makes it confusing and difficult to care for them, but I understand this is necessary as their characters will be explored more throughout the series.

At times, the pacing can be better, especially the first scene, which is a bit too rushed without enough build-up. Additionally, the descriptions are a little rambling at times and some sentences have no link to the previous one, so it is confusing when the story jumps from one thing to the next. There are very few grammatical errors, just an excess of commas, which makes the sentences slightly halting, but it is barely noticeable once one gets into the thick of it.

I highly enjoyed Julu and would give it 4 out of 4 stars, for Anderegg’s concept of visiting stories in the magical world of Jirvania has been brought to life with this immersive and fantastical read.

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Julu
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