Middle Grade Review: Felix and the Sword of Sefu by Catherine Mesick

Felix and the Sword of Sefu by Catherine Mesick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Felix and the Sword of Sefu is an excellent middle grade book, which I picked up some time ago while it was free and finally found the time to read. I’m really sorry I waited to do so because it looks like it’s been unpublished since then. The only place I could find to post my review is here on Goodreads. I imagine, if the author is still around and checking, that this review will likely be just for her.

Anyhow, about the book itself. It’s on par with some of my other favorite middle grade, fantasy world books. It’s of an epic length and takes on the form of a quest, where three siblings find themselves stranded in and embroiled into the politics and troubles of a parallel world where magic and monsters exist. I also thought it was interesting (and indicative of possible sequels) that even though this story fully resolves, there is still the matter of the barrier between the two worlds weakening.

I loved the personalities and relationship between the siblings. The author avoided the pitfall of making them overly hostile or loving towards one another and simply made them believable and interesting, both as individuals and in their relationships with each other.

As for the plot, I really dug the mystery of Silk, the evil magician who is terrorizing the world they end up in. There’s a puzzling riddle/prophecy he’s trying to fulfill, and Felix and Sadie, in particular, have no choice but to become heroes in their efforts to stop him and rescue their brother.

Some things come a little easily, but overall, I found this to be perfect for its intended audience. This is a middle grade fantasy with some meat to it. If/when it becomes available again for purchase, I would highly recommend it.

All I can say for the author is, don’t give up. Keep writing. Your story’s awesome and shows you have a knack for writing many lack. It’s obvious you planned this out and put the effort into making it a clean, well-edited read. I would love to read more of your books.


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More by Catherine. Look's like she has another series, called Pure. You can find them and more about this author from the links below.

 

Catherine Mesick's books on Amazon

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YA Contemporary Review: Young Annabelle by Sarah Tork

Young Annabelle by Sarah Tork
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I really liked this book.

The story follows Annabelle, a slightly (very slightly in my opinion) overweight young girl whose self-image is under constant attack by her mother's obsession over thinning her down for her senior year. Though Annabelle wears only a size ten, her mother buys her clothes that are too small for her as incentive for her to lose weight, makes her wear a calorie tracking wristwatch, and makes her eat horribly unsatisfying foods in tiny quantities. Besides that, Annabelle's younger siblings are often brought in by their mother to gang up on Annabelle over her weight, making them disrespect their older sister and making Annabelle feel alone in a family who views her as less than worthy of their love and acceptance.

Already downtrodden, Annabelle finds herself in a thankless job selling lemonade at a country club. But that's when things get interesting. She meets a rather rude, but very hot boy named James who turns her life upside down. Her insecurities make her doubt everything he says, especially when he tells her she's beautiful, and she comes off pretty harsh at times. On the other hand, he's pretty self-absorbed and single minded, often coming off as a jerk.

Still, throughout the whole thing, I found myself rooting for Annabelle and James. His compliments and kinder moments seem to draw Annabelle out from the dark cloud her family has cast over her. As for Annabelle, she's a complex girl, and I totally get why she has so much trouble believing that James really likes her. I can't help but cringe when she lashes out at him, sometimes deserved, but not always.

Overall, I found Annabelle to be a relatable, insecure girl. Her rollercoaster of feelings, her struggle to please her parents, and her first encounters with a handsome boy who happens to like her are realistically portrayed if, at times, hard to take. I empathized with her and rooted for her, and even rooted for James, who had some good things going for him, too.

The story is well-layed out and well-written, though I did notice some errors sprinkled throughout, mostly words that sound like the right ones, but as spelled, don't mean what the author likely intended. The opening of the story starts at the end, not the end of this book, as I had expected, but likely the end of the series, or maybe even some way into the next book. The end leaves off at a cliffhanger kind of suddenly, and while it sets the stage for the next book, I would have liked some more resolution in this one.

Overall, I really liked Young Annabelle and would recommend it to fans of realistic, contemporary YA who enjoy reading about first loves, crazy parents, and troubled teens struggling to find themselves.

Although the author requested a review for this book earlier in the year, I found my copy on Smashwords during a free promotion.

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