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REVIEW: The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobsen

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Description

When human magic disappears suddenly from Vastia, it falls on the familiars, Aldwyn the telekinetic cat, Skylar the know-it-all blue, jay, and Gilbert the gullible tree frog–to find the Crown of the Snow Leopard, an ancient relic that can reverse the curse.  They learn that the only way to do this is by following in the purple paw prints of Aldwyn’s father, who’d gone missing while searching for the Crown years earlier. This magical spirit trail extends into the Beyond, where our heroes encounter new enemies and danger, while Aldwyn learns about his mysterious past.
 

Full of high-flying adventure and heartwarming friendships, SECRETS OF THE CROWN shows how great it is to be familiar with The Familiars!

About the Author

Adam Jay Epstein spent his childhood in Great Neck, New York, while Andrew Jacobson grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the two met in a parking garage out in Los Angeles. They have been writing together for film and television ever since.
One day, Adam asked Andrew, “Are you familiar with what a familiar is?” And from that simple question, Vastia was born, a fantastical world filled with the authors’ shared love of animals and magic. They wrote every word, sentence, and page together, sitting opposite each other.
Adam Jay Epstein lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jane, their daughter, Penny, and a black-and-white alley cat who hangs out in their backyard. Andrew Jacobson lives with his wife, Ashley, and their dog, Elvis, four traffic lights away.
The Familiars will be produced for film by Sam Raimi and Sony Animation.

Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins (September 6, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061961116
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061961113

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

The story picks up four weeks after the Familiars leaves off.  The Loyals and the Familiars are now being educated in magical defensive arts when there is a flash of green light disenchanting the human Loyals who lose their abilities to cast spells and which leaves the animals as the only magical creatures.  As part of a prediction that the animal will now rule, the Familiars must now race to save the humans against the evil intentions of the queen’s familiar, Paksahara who has tried to overthrow her in her quest to dominate the humans. The go on a quest to find The Crown of the Snow Leopard and Aldwyn finds his fathers footsteps which they follow.  This leaves the Loyals behind fighting for their lives with hand to hand combat.

There is a lot of action in this follow up to The Familiars and we find the threesome matching wits and talents against a series of evil creatures such as goblins, a creature that can turn you to crystal by the touch of his tail and Aldwyn’s uncle, who clearly is on another path in this quest.  When Malvern, Aldwyn’s uncle, escapes, there is a big opening for another one in this series and I can’t wait to read what happens next.  This story will appeal to kids of all ages and especially those a bit too young for Harry Potter.  If you enjoyed the Spiderwick Chronicles, you will love this one.  I also just read that a move of the first book is going to be made. 

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