Friday 1 October 2010

Book Review - 39 Castles: Greengrove Castle

Synopsis

Eleanor Conway is a 12-year-old girl living with her parents in a small castle community. One day Eleanor is visited by the mysterious Anderson; he tells her that she has been selected to join an illustrious and highly secretive organisation known as Castle Seven. Eleanor must begin training, alongside four other children, in disciplines such as horse-riding, sword-fighting and diplomacy so that she is fully prepared to take part in missions and adventures on the community's behalf. At first, Eleanor enjoys her training and her place amongst the elite Castle Seven members. But then she faces real danger - including wolves, imprisonment, and signs of betrayal from those closest to her. She must learn quickly who to trust - and how to hold her own.


My Review
I was captivated by the cover of this book, i thought it looked beautiful, well detailed and inviting, well they say don't judge a book by it's cover. when i received my copy i was slightly stunned by how small it was at only 167 pages it is very short. Therefore i was expecting a lot of content put into those pages, however i found the story quite slow and found it didn't really get anywhere. This is the first book in what was supposed to be a series and it seems the books flow from one to the next as although the plot was mostly rounded off by the end, it did leave some things open ready for the next. I liked the main character, she was quiet and hard-working and brave in the face of danger. My favourite character was Lucinda i think, not sure why but she grabbed my attention. I found Anderson annoying and knew right away he wasn't what he seemed. The story was well written but very simple. The only thing that confused me was all the different names for the group, one minute they were the castle seven, then the castle six, then just using their real character names, then they would refer to the castle they live in, got me a bit confused as to who the author was talking about. However, it did get more exciting and the characters began to come to life in the last 60 or so pages, for a first time children's novel it was a good book. And I look forward to reading more. 

My Rating 
I would give this book a 5/10. Not the best but a nice little read.  

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