by Clare M. Caterer
ages: 9+
First sentence: “
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Eleven-year-old Holly Shepard isn’t extraordinary. She isn’t that bright, and is often chided for being off-task at school. She’s not good at anything much, not like her brother Ben. So when her family moves for a summer to a small village in England, she doesn’t expect anything extraordinary; it’s all just more of the same. That is until the landlord of their cottage gives Holly a old key that opens a door. In an oak tree. Which turns out to be a portal to another world, Anglielle, where Holly is someone extraordinary: an Adept come to save the country from the oppressive King. She’s also tasked with rescuing her brother Ben and friend Everett – both who came through the portal with her, and were immediately captured.

Much of the charm of this book comes from Holly’s discovery of her powers: it isn’t an easy path for her and the magic doesn’t come easily. There are fits and starts as she tries to get the confidence and the skill to work the magic that her friends and supporters in Anglielle believe she has. There are other bumps as well: Ben and Everett attempt to escape, and fail miserably. As a result they fall in with a less-than-honest crowd, working for their freedom through jousting.

Overall, it had a feel of one of the old fantasies from the 60s — Narnia, maybe, or Half Magic. And there is something for everyone: swordfights and adventure was well as magic. Additionally, while there is conflict and danger, those who fill the role of “bad guys” aren’t terribly bad, and the book, in the end, doesn’t have an overly dark feel. Maybe the lack of tension will turn off some readers, but I do hope that there are those – like me – who find Caterer’s return to a more classic fantasy adventure refreshing.