A review by anxiety_friendly_book_reviews
The Dark Is Rising Sequence, Book One: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

2/10 anxiety rating
8/10 enjoyment rating
Themes: Arthurian history, Good versus Evil, children on a quest
Hopeful or not? Hopeful
Who dies? No one

Give me the Spoilers section - a complete summary: 
Spoiler Three British children in the mid-1960s discover a manuscript in their summer vacation home. The manuscript leads to a grail that could help save the world from a rising tide of evil (not described particularly in depth). Great Uncle Merry Lion helps guide and protect the kids as they unlock its secrets and find the grail. Well, kind of protects them. He's sent off on a wild goose chase as the children pursue the climactic final clue. So Simon, Jane, and Barney face evil Hastings and his henchmen alone. They do successfully rescue the grail and don't suffer any lasting harm, but Barney gets kidnapped along the way. Alongside the grail, they find another manuscript which is lost, creating the impetus (I assume) for the next book in the series. 
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