tealmango's review
4.0
Jake is eleven years old, and he loves exploring the woods outside his grandfather’s home. When one day his grandfather is found dead in the house, on the same day that Jake sees a mysterious cloaked figure wandering through the woods, Jake is pulled into the fate of a mysterious place called the Underworld. Along with his friend, Arianna, Jake discovers what lies within a secret room in his grandfather’s house and finds out his own role in the Underworld. Arianna’s sister, Maisy, is kidnapped by the Underworld bad guy, and Jake and Arianna have to enter the Underworld and complete a series of tasks in order to rescue her.
To be honest, my favorite parts of this book took place in the real world, rather than the Underworld. I loved seeing Jake and Arianna discover different aspects of this new magical world and how Jake’s grandfather might have been involved in it. Once they finally got to the Underworld and were running around with Noggin, an Underworld creature, to try to complete all the tasks, things seemed a little rushed. Each of the tasks seemed like it was completed a little too quickly and easily to have the reputation of being impossible that they were supposed to have. Also, because the focus was on the tasks and on rescuing Maisy, we don’t get to see a lot of the world. There is an awesome cart system that reminds me of the system in Gringotts Bank from Harry Potter–that was pretty cool. But I would have liked just a little more time in the Underworld in general.
*Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Read more on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/review-copy-guardian-of-the-underworld/
To be honest, my favorite parts of this book took place in the real world, rather than the Underworld. I loved seeing Jake and Arianna discover different aspects of this new magical world and how Jake’s grandfather might have been involved in it. Once they finally got to the Underworld and were running around with Noggin, an Underworld creature, to try to complete all the tasks, things seemed a little rushed. Each of the tasks seemed like it was completed a little too quickly and easily to have the reputation of being impossible that they were supposed to have. Also, because the focus was on the tasks and on rescuing Maisy, we don’t get to see a lot of the world. There is an awesome cart system that reminds me of the system in Gringotts Bank from Harry Potter–that was pretty cool. But I would have liked just a little more time in the Underworld in general.
*Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Read more on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/review-copy-guardian-of-the-underworld/
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