Synopsis

After Gabriel Draven smuggles home the Stone of the Seven Realms, his fear of facing consequences launches him and his oddball family on a rollicking run for their lives across the world they only thought they knew. As his journey takes him out of his realm and into another, Gabriel discovers that the deepest mystery lies at the heart of his own family, and he must do whatever it takes to find his way back home.

Strong and unapologetic, full of vivid, well-timed simile and lilting rhythm, bright with humor, at times bursting into a depth of pure simplistic beauty, The Book of Secrets looks far beyond the typical medieval swords-and-sorcery and, instead, introduces mystical creatures, absurd new worlds, and, at its heart, a hymn of praise to the complicated bond of siblinghood.

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Wow. What an unique, wondrous, powerful tale!

I don’t even know where to begin! This is almost one of those stories you just have to experience. It’s hard to put into words. But I shall do my best!

THE RUNDOWN

Thirteen-year-old Gabriel, his older sister, and two younger brothers don’t exactly fit in. Motherless and with a father who is often away for his job on the sea, these children are quite accustomed to fending for themselves in their peculiar tree house home. To the people who live in their little town, they’re the oddballs. A little wild, a lot of strange, they’re the type of kids parents warn their children not to play with.

When Gabriel discovers a peculiar, magical, and quite possibly very dangerous book hidden away within the town bookstore, his and his siblings’ lives turn upside down. Something dark is coming, and it may just be up to them to stop it.

At first this seems like a fun, quirky, middle-grade fantasy adventure book but…oh boy. It is so much more than that. It was dark. It was emotional. It was powerful. And utterly beautiful.

This story is The Series of Unfortunate Events meets Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia, and if that doesn’t catch your interest then…well, I don’t know what to do for you.

CHARACTERS

There is so much to this book, but the characters are the true heart and soul. Even amidst a large plot and imaginative world, it still always comes back to the characters and their inner struggles, and I loved that.

Gabriel is our main character, but the center of the story is all the four siblings, their relationships, and their heartaches as they try to learn to cope with the grief of losing so, so much. And can I just say YES FOR SIBLING BOOKS.

Each character was so complex, it’s hard to pin them down as one thing. But I found that amazing. Because isn’t that how we all are as humans? We’re not just the “sassy, stubborn” type or the “flirtatious, bubbly” girl or what-have-you. People are so many things, and these characters really showcased that. Especially Gabriel.

Gabriel: Fighting with the conflicting desires of wanting answers to so many questions plaguing his life and wanting to stay safe, Gabriel’s inner struggles were tangible. Though he often lets fear take over, his deep and loyal love for his family is his true driving force. My heart absolutely ached for him as he was thrust into so many terrible scenarios and had to make such hard decisions. Truly a protagonist to root for.

Ren: Gabriel’s older sister was probably my favorite character, simply because of the utter intrigue. Very quiet, very melancholy, and very protective, you just can’t help but wonder what’s going on in that serious head of hers. At first glance, she seems stubborn and coldhearted, but there is sooooo much more to her than that. Again I say, the complexity of these characters was awe-inspiring. Ren had a depth to her that I haven’t seen in a character in a long time.

Hollis: The rough and tumble boy keeps his older siblings on their toes. Where Gabriel is terrified of fighting, Hollis will be the first one to charge into battle with nothing but a knife. But, tough guy he may seem, there is a big heart and a lot of hidden pain within.

Patch: Paaatch, my sweet baby boy! Six years old and the youngest of the Draven siblings, Patch has a lot of love in his life from his protective brothers and sister. He’s playful and adorable but, at the same time, he holds such a deep wisdom. He’s like a tiny, mischievous, wise old sage, and I just adored him.

I loved the relationships between these four. They were just SIBLINGS. Their relationships were so, so real. As the youngest two, Hollis and Patch would constantly wander off and play games. Ren and Gabriel were very much the protective types. And there was plenty of bickering and strong disagreements and misunderstandings. But, at the end of the day, their love always held them together. I JUST LOVE SIBLING BOOKS. And this is one of the best I’ve ever read!

There were other characters as well. In fact, I got a little dizzy with the abundance of side characters. But each held such an unique and intriguing personality, I was eventually able to tell who was who.

This book just held so much heart because of the deep complexity of each character and their relationships and struggles.

OTHER THINGS TO LOVE

The setting. How do I even describe the setting??? It was like if you dumped bits and pieces of our modern world into a fantasy world. There were normal things like trains, bikes, refrigerators, and the like, but there was also a castle and people using swords and an abundance of fantasy creatures. It was a hodge-podge of modern meets old world fantasy and…I loved that? I feel like “unique” isn’t a strong enough word. It was fascinating all the way around! Oh, also. There was a wolfdragon, which is literally a wolf-sized dragon with wolf fur instead of scales and I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ONE PLEASEANDTHANKYOU.

A sense of wonder. To go along with the original world, there was this abundance of wonder in this story. Wolfdragons and candy-striped cats and magical books and tiny elephant-like creatures and train rides and a tree house home and on and on it goes. I love those types of books that awaken that child-like wonder in all of us!

Darkness and emotional depth. Yes, I putting “dark” under positive things because I’m just that type of reader. ShouldIbeconcerned? Like I mentioned earlier, with first appearances this seems like your average middle-grade fantasy adventure book. HAHAHAHAHA! I’m questioning if to even file it under middle-grade? The characters’ ages fit that genre, but some of the topics, violence, and themes felt catered to an older audience. This is not a happy-go-lucky read. These characters go through a lot, physically and emotionally. And the story does not take these matters lightly. But I loved that. It really made an impact because of the high stakes and emotional depth. Speaking of which…

Beautiful themes, non-preachy allegories, and hope. Yes, it is dark. Things seem bad. Really, really bad. But there is still that sense of hope lingering at the edges. Aside from the siblings thing, this book reminds me of Narnia because of that. It’s brimming with powerful allegories AND YET you barely even realize it. At first I didn’t even realize this was a Christian book, because never once did I feel preached to. The allegory was so seamlessly woven into the plot you don’t even realize it is an allegory. It was somehow both non-obtrusive and powerful. Alllll the points to the author for pulling off such beautiful brilliance!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Though the unique world was awesome, I do wish there had been a bit more description. I found myself struggling to picture things on multiple occasions. Sometimes the details I wanted came in much later, when I really needed them when a creature or new area was first introduced. Just a fewww added details would have helped a ton.

The plot, also, got a little hard to follow. Now, I love complex plots to the very depth of my heart. But, man, this one often made my head spin. Really, the plot in general is just dizzying. The siblings are constantly on the move, jumping from one new place to the next, with all sorts of insane things happening to them, and half the time I barely knew what was going on or why. (To be fair, Gabriel usually never knew what was going on either so…that may have been the point.)

With all the side characters, the vaaast and complicated world, the fast-paced action, the messy character relationships, and the tangled plot, there was a lot to keep up with. The first half of the book I especially kept getting lost. By the second half, I had more of a grasp on things and was really getting into it. But yeah, I had to constantly put my thinking cap on while reading. I don’t know if it was me or the book, but I just found a lot of it hard to follow and picture.

One other complaint is Gabriel’s arc. There was this super amazing, punch-you-in-the-gut-but-in-a-good-way moment where his character arc peaked. And you’re just like YESSS. But then…he kind of went backwards? And dismissed everything? It was really frustrating. BUT. This is actually book #1 of a series, so I am sure it’s all leading to an even more powerful arc later on. If this was a standalone, it would have been very disappointing. But I have faith it’s leading to something good, so I shall forgive it!

Other than that quibble and sometimes struggling to follow things due to a lack of details and maybe too fast paced of a plot, I loved every bit of it!

CONTENT CAUTIONS

As mentioned, this book can get a little dark. Though it does feel a bit middle-grade-ish, I’d definitely say for older middle-graders. Though, honestly, I think the YA crowd will love it the most.

There is some violence. Not too, too gory, but it is there. It’s a bit of a gritty novel, but not because there’s language or anything like that. It’s perfectly clean in that sense! More like because the characters are put through some terrible, terrible things. Just…get ready to ache for them. That’s all I’ll say. *smile, smile*

CONCLUSION

As I said at the beginning, this is really just a novel you need to experience. Despite this monstrous review, I feel like I’m doing a terrible job describing it. It’s truly a book like no other.

It’s a story of the deep, irreplaceable bond of family. Of the dangers of letting fear hold you back from living your life. Of doing the right thing, no matter the cost. Both dark and wondrous, achingly painful and full of heart, a fantastical adventure and a complex, inner journey, this is the type of book that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it.

If you like sibling books, fantasy adventures, and beautiful themes, well, you need this book.

. . . 4 out of 5 stars . . .

LET’S TALK!

Obvious most important question here, DO YOU LIKE SIBLING BOOKS??? What’s your favorite sibling story? Have you read this one? (Because you totally shoooould!)

NOTE: A huge thanks to the author for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.