The Field Guide:
The story is basically about the Grace family (Mom, Mallory, Simon and Jared) who move into the house of their Aunt Lucinda, who’s gone insane. But there are a lot of surprises in store for the Grace family when the kids discover that they’re not the only ones in the house. A house Brownie (who has turned into a Boggart because he is angry at the family ) wreaks havoc on the house and it’s inhabitants. This involves destruction of breakfast food, beating up both Mallory and Simon in their sleep and tying Mallory’s hair to her headboard, all of which Jared is blamed for (due to a history of violence). The story ends with the meeting of the children and the Brownie/Boggart, and it leaves you hanging to the point that you just have to read the next book.
The Seeing Stone:
It’s just another ordinary day at the Grace family’s new home. Mallory is practicing her fencing, Jared is spending time with the house Brownie in a secret room, and Simon is searching for a missing cat. Suddenly Jared and the Brownie witness the kidnapping of Simon by invisible goblins in the yard. The Brownie takes Jared and Mallory to the shed where they find the seeing stone (for which the book is named), which helps them to see the mystical world of invisible goblins, trolls and other really creepy things. Then they go to rescue Simon from the goblins…if that is in any way, shape or form, possible.
When I picked up the second book I thought I’d like it the most. I do like a moderate amount of violence including kidnapping and captivity. However I was somewhat disappointed with some of the content. I especially didn’t like the long and inappropriate names a certain hobgoblin uses on Jared and the ‘bad’ goblins, not to mention the crude behavior.
As a Christian, I was relieved to find no Pagan worldview mixed into this fantasy. Comparing this to Lord of the Rings and Eragon, however, the story seems to go from the light and happy hobbits trying to destroy a ring to something that came from the depths of Mordor and the armies of Galbatorix. Altogether, I would call the books ‘harmless junk food’.
|
|
