October 28, 2013

{Review} Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Title: Fablehaven (Fablehave #1)
Author: Brandon Mull
Publisher: Aladdin
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Release Date: April 24th, 2007
Source: Purchased

For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered to a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite ... Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most.

Fablehaven was a very interesting read. I absolutely LOVE fantasy books. I love the aspect of different creatures and different worlds other then our own. When I saw this series box set sitting on the shelf at Sam's Club (yes, Sam's Club), I just knew I needed to check it out. The covers were so pretty and enchanting. However, the series has been sitting on my book shelf collecting dust since last year when I purchased them. That's when I decided, even though I have all these other books sitting around waiting to be read, that I needed to start this one.

The story was pretty great. It started off by two siblings, Kendra and Seth, taking a trip to their grandparents house, to grandparents they barely knew to spend 14 long days with them while their parents went on a cruise. They really didn't want to go and even when they got there they felt alienated by their grandfather and were technically locked away inside an attic nursery and told they couldn't do a whole lot. Seth is the adventurous type who does the opposite of what people tell him, even if it does get him into trouble. And soon they are off on an adventure and experiencing things they never thought existed except for in fairy tales.

This is rated more towards a Middle-grade type audience, but some of the words were just too big for a middle grade reader to understand in my opinion without having to look them up in the dictionary or just guess what they said and meant. Even my eleven year old neighbor was left scratching her head to some of the words. Also, Mull had a habit of overly describing everything, which, to me, made it a little more dull and seemed to drag certain points of the book out.

This is a magical first book to the Fablehaven series.  I hope the rest of the series is just as magical as the first. I would recommend this book for ages 14 and older due to bigger and more difficult words.



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