I’ve been meaning to take a look at the Beast Quest series by Adam Blade for a while, but have also been praying that it won’t make me weep like the Ugenia Lavendar books (I know there’s an Amazon link, but please don’t buy this for your child).
Luckily, it’s not bad (fast-paced and lots of adventure) and is very smoothly written, so the pages go by very easily. The plot is very, very generic: a boy who lives with his uncle, a blacksmith, appeals for the King’s help to fight the fire and drought, only to find that it is his destiny to free six beasts from the curse of an evil wizard, and along the way, befriends a girl with a bow and a wolf to help him.
It’s very appealing as someone’s first fantasy series, but is probably not for someone who reads a lot and understands what those italics are for. What makes it stand out is probably the cover art and the equally nice collector’s card inside (though they make me think of Pokemon more than a little).
Story Time 