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A review by kayladaniella
Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster
4.0
"Instead of a leader, I wish to be a water-breather."
Emblem Island: Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster is a wonderful, middle grade, debut novel. It was a quick and fun read, although it had some flaws.
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Type: 1st in a duology
POV: 1 POV, third person, past tense
Age Rating: 8-12 years old
~Synopsis~
On Emblem Island, all are born with a symbol on their skin, depicting what their talent is. Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem. He hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. On the annual New Year's Eve celebration, Tor makes a wish for a different power. The next morning, he wakes up to a new marking—a curse. To break the curse, he must travel to the Night Witch with his two best friends and ancient stories as his guide. With his lifeline cut to just a week left, he must race against the clock to break the curse.
"His emblem... It was gone. And something sat in its place. 'Oh no,' Tor said, rubbing at his wrist. 'No, no, no, no.' This could not be happening."
~Writing and Setting~
While I understand this book is middle grade, the writing felt very elementary to me. It was very simple, almost too simple, and some of the metaphors were a bit weird. But, one thing that I did find very interesting was the book inside the book. It's something that isn't seen much and for this book it really worked. The book inside the book was a collection of ancient myths and legends, The Book of Cuentos, that will appear to Tor later in the book. The legends were my favorite part of this series and they were written poetically and charming. Comparing to the legends, the rest of the writing was a bit of a let down. That being said, Aster was able to create a world like never seen before. Emblem Island was dangerous, colorful, and intriguing. Each town they visited was unique and distinct from each other. I loved how Aster incorporated her latino roots and represented latino culture.
Once upon a midnight hour, the sea felt it was owed a debt.
~Plot~
The book was very fast paced, and rushed at certain paces. It was a very fast, 1 sit, sort of read. The roadblocks they faced on the quest were all very quick and resolved to quickly. They were fun, though. I really liked how the book ended, and yes, there is a cliffhanger at the end. There was a clear beginning, middle, twist, and end, making it a solid story.
"You see, a warrior always assesses their opponent's weakness. Weakness for one is opportunity for another."
~Characters~
The trio of friends was a very classic group of kids. The 'I don't want to be the hero' one. The 'smart, unlikeable' one. And the 'food obsessed, goofy' one. Tor was ok. Neither outstanding or boring. He was a fine main character. He didn't really have a defining trait like his friends, but he was conscious of his actions and accepted his consequences without question. Grimelda (Melda) didn't have any friends, and was unliked for being a smart-mouth. Throughout this book, she has so much growth, and I actually started liking her by the end. Her emblem was also leadership. She made bold choices, and although she was annoying, the knowledge she possessed came extremely handy. Engle was easily my favorite character. His emblem was sightseeing, meaning he could see very far away and sometime in the dark. He always had a hungry stomach and always wanted to go on a adventure. He added so much humour while saving the group multiple times. He's a quick thinker and my favorite.
"Engle licked each of his fingers, having eaten three rolls already."
~Overall~
Curse of the Night Witch was a cute and fun read. It was a bit too simply written, even for middle grade, but the plot was interesting enough to read the whole book. I will be reading the next book. This book is great for young kids who are starting to read long chapter books.
"Here's to more adventure."
3.5/5 stars
Emblem Island: Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster is a wonderful, middle grade, debut novel. It was a quick and fun read, although it had some flaws.
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Type: 1st in a duology
POV: 1 POV, third person, past tense
Age Rating: 8-12 years old
~Synopsis~
On Emblem Island, all are born with a symbol on their skin, depicting what their talent is. Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem. He hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. On the annual New Year's Eve celebration, Tor makes a wish for a different power. The next morning, he wakes up to a new marking—a curse. To break the curse, he must travel to the Night Witch with his two best friends and ancient stories as his guide. With his lifeline cut to just a week left, he must race against the clock to break the curse.
"His emblem... It was gone. And something sat in its place. 'Oh no,' Tor said, rubbing at his wrist. 'No, no, no, no.' This could not be happening."
~Writing and Setting~
While I understand this book is middle grade, the writing felt very elementary to me. It was very simple, almost too simple, and some of the metaphors were a bit weird. But, one thing that I did find very interesting was the book inside the book. It's something that isn't seen much and for this book it really worked. The book inside the book was a collection of ancient myths and legends, The Book of Cuentos, that will appear to Tor later in the book. The legends were my favorite part of this series and they were written poetically and charming. Comparing to the legends, the rest of the writing was a bit of a let down. That being said, Aster was able to create a world like never seen before. Emblem Island was dangerous, colorful, and intriguing. Each town they visited was unique and distinct from each other. I loved how Aster incorporated her latino roots and represented latino culture.
Once upon a midnight hour, the sea felt it was owed a debt.
~Plot~
The book was very fast paced, and rushed at certain paces. It was a very fast, 1 sit, sort of read. The roadblocks they faced on the quest were all very quick and resolved to quickly. They were fun, though. I really liked how the book ended, and yes, there is a cliffhanger at the end. There was a clear beginning, middle, twist, and end, making it a solid story.
"You see, a warrior always assesses their opponent's weakness. Weakness for one is opportunity for another."
~Characters~
The trio of friends was a very classic group of kids. The 'I don't want to be the hero' one. The 'smart, unlikeable' one. And the 'food obsessed, goofy' one. Tor was ok. Neither outstanding or boring. He was a fine main character. He didn't really have a defining trait like his friends, but he was conscious of his actions and accepted his consequences without question. Grimelda (Melda) didn't have any friends, and was unliked for being a smart-mouth. Throughout this book, she has so much growth, and I actually started liking her by the end. Her emblem was also leadership. She made bold choices, and although she was annoying, the knowledge she possessed came extremely handy. Engle was easily my favorite character. His emblem was sightseeing, meaning he could see very far away and sometime in the dark. He always had a hungry stomach and always wanted to go on a adventure. He added so much humour while saving the group multiple times. He's a quick thinker and my favorite.
"Engle licked each of his fingers, having eaten three rolls already."
~Overall~
Curse of the Night Witch was a cute and fun read. It was a bit too simply written, even for middle grade, but the plot was interesting enough to read the whole book. I will be reading the next book. This book is great for young kids who are starting to read long chapter books.
"Here's to more adventure."
3.5/5 stars