The Triskaidek Review

Hey Blogger Buds,
Wow. I thought I scheduled this. I KNOW I scheduled this. I must have clicked something at some point, I'm sooo sorry this didn't go up. So here it is.
I received a book a while ago, and let me tell you,  I pushed it off for way too long! So let me introduce, The Triskaidek by Basil Sprig. (Various links below)
My Midway Mention is here. I gave it 4 stars at that point.


I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.


Blurby:
On the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month of her thirteenth year something rather strange happened to Alley Willowwood. In fact it was so strange the only way she could explain it was... magic? Welcome to Camp Fae where the fairies send their kids each summer to learn magic. Alley has more to learn than most since she didn't even believe in magic. Now she has to solve an important mystery to stop a treacherous villain from using his magic to take over the world.


Short Review:
Alley is a sweet character with a heart in the right place who makes mistakes like the rest of us. The story has a unique voice with memorable characters and great plot twists. The creativity of this book was wonderful.
I recommend it for mature 10 year olds, but mainly 11-13 year olds with a love of faeries and an imagination good enough to take it all in.


Long Review:
I'm going to try not to sound like I'm repeating the MM. The book has a really original voice that I see rarely. While being told in 3rd person, it's giving you great insight into Alley's thoughts, while the narrator has his own opinions and even addresses the reader.
Alley is cute and earnest. She's trying to help everyone, though she is making plenty of mistakes along the way. She even has her own "Look" for when she's mad at people. The Look gets a bit annoying after a while, but it's sweet in its own way.
This book has so many great supportive characters. Although the first friends she meets sorta fade into the background, it all comes together, and Alley has some absolutely incredible friends throughout.
I had some problems with this book, though. Everyone seems to love Alley and she's pretty perfect, fairy-wise. She didn't even know fae existed, and then she comes to Camp Fae and she's the best at everything she tries. I was hoping she'd just have some sort of #epicfail in one of the basic things she tries...and blowing things up doesn't really count. The book was also a bit too complex for the targeted age group. I was confused at all the different elements and groupings in the camp, which play a major part in the whole thing.
But overall, I must say it was a really enjoyable book.


Rating: **** 4 stars. Good book, good writing.


Camp Fae blog. Camp Fae website. Goodreads. Amazon. Book Depository.