Review by Everydayadventure15 -- The Crystilleries of Ec...

Erin Dydek · Post by **Erin Dydek** » 07 Jun 2019, 08:04

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Crystilleries of Echoland" by Dew Pellucid.]

3 out of 4 stars

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The Gravestone book kept a record of all the missing children. Will Cleary returned home with no memory and his twin sister Emmy is still missing. In trying to find Emmy, twelve-year-old Will discovers a land beyond the frozen pond in his backyard, called Echoland. In The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid, every time a human is born, its echo is carried off to Echoland. The Sounds live in the known world but Echoland is a secret place unknown to humans where the Echoes live under the threat of an evil king.

A law set forth by this king requires an Echo to be killed if its Sound dies. This allows hunters, called Fate Sealers, to carry out commands to kill unsuspecting Sounds whenever someone wants to get rid of an Echo. Will doesn’t know it yet, but he is the Sound of a very important Echo and he must survive in order to save Echoland and find his missing twin. His journey through Echoland will require him to team up with his friend Peter and to trust his new allies, some of whom have questionable loyalties. Together they need to decipher an ancient map that will lead to Olam Shone, a mythical place where Sounds and their Echoes live in peace, and where the key to ousting the evil king is hidden. Will must succeed in his quest in order to help the rightful king take the throne and restore peace to the beautiful land of ice and snow.

Creativity abounds in Pellucid’s Echoland. The winter wonderland is graced by beautiful descriptions of the crystalline landscape, and the preparations for Crystalmas (Echoland’s version of Christmas) allows readers to let their imaginations run wild through this parallel world that exists just below the surface of our own. The author developed crystal ball technology and various ice technology to aid Will and his friends throughout the story. Each character was also matched with a pet of their choice that helped develop that character’s personality. Will’s concern for his wolf showed his compassionate side and Peter’s silly side was brought out with his equally silly dog.

Pacing throughout the story was pretty consistent except for one section of the book where it took several days for Will and Peter to translate the map that leads to Olam Shone. We are informed that Will must accomplish his quest within a deadline of 11 days, many of which have already passed by the time the translation is underway. This section of the book just seemed to drag by and it was a little too convenient that the Fate Sealers simply chaperoned Will and followed him everywhere but never made a move to attack or threaten him throughout the process. Once this section was finished, however, the pacing picks back up and an exciting series of events follows, bringing the reader to a complete and satisfying end to this tale.

I give a 3 out of 4 rating for this novel, with the 3 being closer to a 3.5 because the concept of the book was creative and the story engaging except for the slower section with the translation. This book was fit for teens to young adult readers and had no overly graphic violence and absolutely no foul language or intimate scenes. There was one very brief scene of animal cruelty in which the gruesome animal keeper drowns a wolf cub and its echo simply because of his distaste for “wild pets.” Overall well-written and edited. A clever story to add to your want-to-read list!

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 07 Aug 2019, 11:50

That scene with the animal keeper made him the most evil character in the book, in my mind. One of the things I wanted out of the book which it didn't give me was to see him get his "reward". Other than that, I also enjoyed the book tremendously, though I listened to the audio version instead of reading it.

Erin Dydek · Post by **Erin Dydek** » 07 Aug 2019, 20:01

esp1975 wrote: ↑07 Aug 2019, 11:50 That scene with the animal keeper made him the most evil character in the book, in my mind. One of the things I wanted out of the book which it didn't give me was to see him get his "reward". Other than that, I also enjoyed the book tremendously, though I listened to the audio version instead of reading it.

I agree, that scene was a little hard to read because I don’t like to see the strong being cruel to the weak. I didn’t understand what made him hate the wild pets so much.

I’m looking forward to the book of the month discussion in September!

rumik · Post by **rumik** » 14 Aug 2019, 15:48

The way you describe the wintery setting is really intriguing, I'd like to read this one if I get the chance. Though I'm not sure about animal cruelty, I really prefer not to read it unless I have to. Thanks for the wonderful review!

Erin Dydek · Post by **Erin Dydek** » 27 Aug 2019, 18:54

rumik wrote: ↑14 Aug 2019, 15:48 The way you describe the wintery setting is really intriguing, I'd like to read this one if I get the chance. Though I'm not sure about animal cruelty, I really prefer not to read it unless I have to. Thanks for the wonderful review!

It was one very short scene, but I think it surprised me because it seemed a little harsh for a younger audience. You might still want to read this one if you do the book of the month discussion (it’s the September book).