The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Gwen has terrible parents, and they send her to live with her Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Gwen is not upset because, as I said, her parents are terrible. Uncle Matthew comes come with a quirky personality and a great dog. Turns out though, that Gwen is a protector of a group of fairies called the Lahdukan. The Lahdukan are in trouble and Gwen must save them.

The Good – This book was just a fun read. You have fairies who are in trouble, you have a heroine who doesn’t believe in herself, and you have a epic adventure. Really, for a kids book, what more could you want? The author does a great job with Gwen’s character. She acts and reacts exactly like a kid who has had a rough time of it. She has a hard time trusting and keeps a wall between herself and others through much of the book.

Gwen also has a fear of heights and the whole book foreshadows that this will be a thing at the end, and of course, it is. I think it is a great thing for kids to see characters that are real and have real issues and how they overcome them and what strategies they use to solve problems.

Lets talk about the fairies! The Lahdukan are awesome! They have fierce warriors, scholarly scholars, and nurturing caretakers. They have their own language and a large collection of prophecies. I wished there would have been more to the Lahdukan story, but this was really Gwen’s story.

The Bad – Did I say Gwen’s parents are awful? This might be hard for some kids to take in and comprehend. As an adult reading the book, I can process it. I can empathize with it. My hope is that kids can learn through books like this about what some of their classmates or friends might be experiencing. This isn’t really a bad unless you have someone sensitive reading it.

Some potentially bad things, depending on your tolerance level. Gwen does steal a painting. She does bend the truth with her uncle a bit about the fairies, but for the most part she tells him the truth, he just doesn’t believe her. Again, these can be problems for some people. I honestly don’t think in the context of the story that they are deal breakers.

The Ugly – Nothing really ugly. This was a wonderfully entertaining story. It was a quick read and the characters where delightful.

*Book Study for kids coming soon!*