This story is a mythical fairytale that takes place in parallel worlds. One world is the one we know and live in and the other is placed back in time and filled with creatures we have viewed as myths. Alice-Elayne discovers a story dating back many generations within her own family and the story leads to her adventure into the other world.
Her family has a bond with a unicorn and he has given part of his horn to be passed down from generation to generation in case she ever needed him again. Now she finds that not only can she can speak to the unicorn but she can ride him as well and it is in his world that she finds her strength to do what is right and what is needed.
This fantasy has it all. A great division of the two different worlds. Mythical creatures such as the Cerberus, Cyclops, and of course the Unicorn. A heroine who just doesn’t know what she’s capable of. A tyrant king. The list goes on. I found that the book was quick in it’s pacing and kept moving the storyline along. There were no dull moments at all. Both boys and girls will like this book as it has something for everyone. Between the small moments of romance there are many more moments of danger and fighting to keep the excitement going.
There weren’t a lot of overwhelming characters with hard to pronounce (or hard to remember) names as in many fantasy books, and that was a very welcome change to this girl. I often get discouraged and just stop reading the names all together when I read books like that. This one was completely readable, nothing to fret over or wonder about. I’d love to see a follow up novel!
- The authors website: http://www.cchumphreys.com/Site_2/Welcome.html
- This reviewer also blogs at http://booksake.blogspot.com
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Date of Publication: March 8, 2011
