John Stephens
My rating: ★★★
ISBN: 978-0375868726
Publisher: Knopf
Date of publication: April 7, 2015
Age: Grades 4 - 7
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: death, love, family relationships, good vs. evil, magic, prophecy
In the final book of the trilogy, it is up to the last sister, Emma, to get the final Book of Beginning: the Black Reckoning, which has power over death. Only with all three books will the kids—Kate, Michael and Emma—finally be able to defeat the enemy, the Dire Magnus. But to get the book, Emma will have to take a dangerous journey, not only to other worlds, but to the darkest part of herself. And what about the prophecy that warns of their deaths if the books are brought back together?
This book was a loooooong time coming after the first two in the series. Which I read so long ago, I don't even have their reviews on this blog. Or anywhere, really. But I knew that I loved them, and waited eagerly for this one...only to be a tad disappointed. The most likely reason being that I just forgot the main parts of the story and had lost my real appreciation for it. So, I'll try to review it in a more subjective manner...
Emma is a really annoying character. But in an on-purpose, sort of way: she's the youngest, she's felt ignored and that she needs to (literally) fight and scream for what she wants. She says "duh" a lot and isn't as smart as her siblings. So I don't think she quite fits into the whole "going on a dangerous magical quest" persona. In the end, she does do some growing up, and so it (kinda) works. Just not my favorite.
And the story as a whole? Pretty good, with the whole classic good vs evil, and love overcoming death and what not—if just unoriginal. In the end, I still like the series, I'm just not totally in love anymore. Great excitement for kids, though, and a good precursor to Harry Potter and the like.
Find it at your library or on Amazon
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