Skip to main content

Hunted

Hunted (Spirit Animals #2)
by Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic, 2014.  185 pgs.  Fantasy

     Award-winning Young Adult author Maggie Stiefvater weighs in with the second volume in the Spirit Animals series, in which our four champions must travel to the north with an enigmatic, battle-scarred guide, Finn, to try to retrieve Rumfuss the Great Boar's talisman. Conor makes the mistake of visiting his home village on the way, where he and Rollan are imprisoned; Abeke receives an unwelcome visit from two of the Conquerors, and each child finds ways to bond more powerfully with his or her spirit animal. Hunted is an exciting, well-written continuation of the Spirit Animals series, for the profoundly gifted Stiefvater a bit of a toss-off, surely, but she does her job well, combining fine writing with humor and insight to carry the story along to, if not a cliff-hanging conclusion, at least a slippery slope one. The books in this series are sturdy enough to stand on their own, but there is an online component if kids are interesting in taking up the quest themselves by means of an avatar.  Entrance to the game does require a code number from a book.  Next volume due out in April.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Books That Take You There: Under the Sea

The ocean is a mesmerizing realm, teeming with an astonishing diversity of life. It contains microscopic bacteria and algae to towering kelp forests and countless marine creatures. Beyond its beauty, the ocean is vital to life on Earth. It supplies oxygen, sustains food chains, and plays a crucial role in climate regulation. Dive into these six captivating books that will transport you beneath the waves and unveil the wonders of the deep. The Sea Knows  Written by Alice B. McGinty and Alan B. Havis  Illustrated by Stephanie Laberis  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. Picture Book.  The Sea Knows  is a lyrical picture book that explores the vastness and wonder of the ocean. Through rhythmic, poetic text, the book contrasts the sea’s many characteristics. It can be both fierce and calm, shallow and deep, full of tiny creatures and enormous whales. This captivating book encourages curiosity about the natural world and highlights the ever-...

Review: Ruthie Rose's Big Idea

  Ruthie Rose's Big Idea Written by John Schu Illustrated by Holly Hatam Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2025. Picture Book. Some books just reach out and touch your heart and heal your soul. This is one of those books for me! Ruthie Rose wakes up one day with a beautiful idea. Because the idea is so big, she knows she will need a lot of help from people at her school. Fortunately, there are many faculty members and students ready and willing to help Rose with her idea. This story, and the accompanying artwork feel so joyful, hopeful, and inspiring. The artwork is completely captivating. I can picture so many kids and grown-ups reading this book and feeling a spark of creativity enter into their minds. I think it could give kids the courage they need to plan and implement their own "big ideas."  I loved that no one saw Ruthie's ideas as too big, too hard, or too much. They shared her vision, and each of them individually did their part to contribute in helping it co...