Oo! I have the perfect book to share with you all. It is the first book to be published by a new author, and I am so looking forward to more of her books. Well, here we go.
Megan Bradshaw is a young teen who loves reading, daydreaming, hates sports, and is facing a major move. Thankfully, she has her imaginary world of Vindor and the great heroine Guardian Selena to escape to for a few minutes each day. However while on her way home from school one day, she makes a disturbing discovery. Vindor is real and even more complicated than she ever imagined it. And what exactly is this horrid, darkness called the Shadow doing in her world? And where is Selena and why does everyone think that Megan is Vindor’s Guardian?
In the hopes of finding Selena, and finding the answer to the Shadow, Megan starts on a quest with a Kavannan centaur named Nikterra and a mysterious goblin named Bat. Along the way, they must learn to trust each other as they face dangerous goblins, superstitious huntsmen, and mischievous sprites. But as they travel on and Megan gains a better understanding of Vindor, will it in any way be enough? Can they destroy the Shadow? Or will it destroy them? Might the answer to a riddle be the key to it all?
Okay. I got entranced by this world when I first visited the author’s website for it: World of Vindor. I was fascinated by the dozen or so detailed descriptions of Vindor’s residents and cultures. And now that I have been to Vindor myself, I am needing to revisit it with fresh eyes since I’ve met some of the citizens. I just had to congratulate the author on her work since I am currently trying to create a couple cultures for my own works and so know how much time and effort goes into it. So, with that, I decided that I was going to own and read this book.
So it was a bit earlier this year, I received the book for my birthday. It took me a little bit to read because I was also trying to read The Hobbit. Maybe not the smartest idea on my part, but had to squeeze in the reading somehow. Finally, I started to read it before going to bed. Oh, it was difficult to make myself put it down to sleep sometimes. (Partly helped when I had to remind myself the dogs I was watching at the time would wake me around dawn for their early morning walk.)
I’ll admit, simply because I hate hearing or seeing someone doing something even potentially embarrassing, I consider Megan’s first chapters in Vindor to be especially cringe worthy. I almost wanted to snatch that girl out and tell her, “This isn’t your imagination anymore! This is as real as your world!” Thankfully, she and I managed to escape those chapters fairly quickly and the rest was incredibly enjoyable for me. I loved learning more about Vindor through Megan’s eyes and watching her grow as she faced many fears and dangers.
Escape to Vindor was written by Emily Golus. Her tale spans 342 pages and is divided into 36 chapters. All the chapters have their own titles (which I personally enjoy), and there are times when the font changes either to show when someone is writing or that a great evil is speaking (which I think is cool). There is one chapter near the end that I especially fell in love with. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. This book easily gains five questing dragons out of five for me.
So, anyone one who loves other worlds, fantasy, or adventure, check this book out and enjoy. I have also heard rumors that there is supposed to be a sequel coming out in another year or two. :-)
Well, until next time. Bye.
Edit: Since the initial publishing of this review Emily Golus has announced that the sequel Mists of Paracosmia will be coming out April 29. I fully intend to get this book and review it for you. :-)
Other title in series:
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