With the upsurge of young adult books currently being made
into movies, I decided to see what the level of offering is at the moment-and
was not disappointed.
The 5th daughter shouldn't be. After the jellyfish-like aliens hung in the
sky for a year causing human hysteria, they left; seemingly without effect.
Certain children were then born with abilities. Abilities to manipulate
elements. Certainly something the wardens want checked and under their control.
Magnus and Iva Roma have four special daughters able to control the elements of
fire, water, wind and earth. The 5th daughter that shouldn't be, Penelope, has
assumed the guise of her twin brother who she accidently killed the night she was
born and caused the stars to rain down. For years the girls have been hiding in
plain sight performing in The Show-a circus performance that defies ordinary
illusion. Now, the wardens have made their move, and in one night Penelope's
life and that of her family and friends is thrown to the winds of change. To
fight back she must enlist the aid of new partners and their capabilities, and
tap into the celestine power she has been forced to damp down throughout the
years. Unable to previously control the immense power, can Penelope unleash her
abilities and safely use them to find and free those she loves?
What I really enjoyed about this book was the author's ability to describe situations
and people so descriptively, that the imagery in my head was vivid and graphic.
She gave the main characters well thought out personalities (bearing in mind
it's a young adults book), and was able to weave the myriad of sub plots
together convincingly. The editing was
done well and the story flowed comprehensively. What's not to like about a
story that has unicorns and gryphons! The only thing that didn't resonate entirely
well with me was how some scenes seemed implausible. I'm not talking about
scenes where magic happened and you need to suspend belief, but where a character
was standing somewhere and the next minute they had gotten past guards and were
hiding in another place (not due to magic). I suppose sometimes you just have
to believe enough for the scene to happen.
I would highly recommend this book and praise the author on
creating a tale that will be able to be stretched over a series, yet keep you
enthralled in each book but still wanting more.
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