Rise of the Darklings

Rise of the Darklings
by Paul Crilley
Egmont USA, 2010. 333 pgs. Fiction.

Rise of the Darklings is the first book in the new The Invisible Order series. Emily Snow and her little brother William are orphans trying to survive on the streets of Victorian London. Everything in their lives changes the day Emily accidentally stumbles upon an injured piskie named Corrigan who demands that she help him. She and William quickly find themselves drawn into a three way war between the Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court, and The Invisible Order (a human group that fights against faeries). Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Emily isn’t so sure anymore. Unfortunately, the fate of the world just might hang in the balance if she doesn’t figure it out fast!

This book is packed to the brim with action, and filled with a colorful cast of characters that will draw you in to the story right from the start. Emily is a bit of a spit-fire, and her would-be best friend, Jack the thief, is the perfect partner for her as the two of them run around trying to keep ahead of pretty much everyone else. The faeries in this book are more like monsters than like Tinker Bell and can be a little frightening at times—but that’s what makes the story so exciting! Kids who liked Fablehaven will love this new series. Now, if only I can hold on long enough for the next book to be written so I can finally find out what happens next!

Comments

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013. 336 pgs. Fantasy Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life. He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines. Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog