You engage in battles with other teams, build your own base, level-up your weapons, and access your pets' power. The weapon that the person who is the chosen one uses is similar to Mia so from the start I instantly thought that her and her brother would be the hero/heroine bestowed with the instrumental power to defeating the antagonists. I picked up this book to read with my eight year old not having any expectations one way or the other. Da es noch zwei weitere Bände um die gleichbleibenden Charaktere geben wird, ist viel Potential für Charakterentwicklungen möglich, dennoch hätte ich schon gerne im ersten Band ein bisschen mehr davon gehabt. Auch ihre enge Beziehung zu ihrer Familie, besonders ihrem kleinen Bruder Lucas, und ihren Freunden hat mir sehr gefallen.

Sie ist ihm eine tolle große Schwester, passt auf ihn auf und versucht ihn vor allem zu beschützen, nimmt ihn dabei aber trotzdem ernst und gesteht ihm seinen eigenen Kopf und seine eigenen Entscheidungen zu. The story definitely has the feel of a rollercoaster video game, moving swiftly from one thrilling confrontation between good and evil, towards a shattering conclusion. Mia ist eine sehr anstrengende Protagonistin, die ständig Angst hat, mit permanenten Selbstzweifeln kämpft und dann auch noch trotzig ist.Mia is forced to face her fears when her parents are captured and she is tasked with getting help from a far away city. I have not come across many other children's books that explore fantasy worlds this imaginatively and can draw a reader in to them. This book has everything I love: cinematic world-building, a page-turning adventure, pulse-pounding action scenes and characters so vivid I miss them already.

I loved how protective she was over her little brother and how she was brave despite being really scared. This is an action-packed, unputdownable epic fantasy adventure which took me on a heart-racing quest through an unforgettable world brimming with danger and darkness, friendship and family, courage and hope. Ich konnte mir beim Lesen alles richtig gut vorstellen und habe die Schattenwesen, genannt Umbra, förmlich vor mir gesehen. Doch kurz darauf wird ihre Heimatstadt von Menschen in roten Mänteln angegriffen und ihr bleibt nichts anderes, als zu fliehen und sich für ihnen in Sicherheit zu bringen.

It's hard to say why I enjoyed this book so much, the characters were all great and interesting to read about (i've read a few books recently where i couldn't connect at all with any of the characters, so this was really refreshing! Having read the book, I now think this book could be enjoyed with an adult by children aged 8 and up. Readers who like their heroes brave, resourceful and caring, magical and with a skill in martial arts are going to love twelve-year-old Mia. Rarely are there stories where people still care for each other but not always on the same side, so I appreciate seeing that happen here. You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods.