Scan barcode
cam_alain's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sereia8's review against another edition
4.0
In order to enjoy fantasy you have to be able to suspend disbelief, and these Fablehaven books require that ability in spades. They're fun to read.
sam_book's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
kzahed's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As nostalgic as the first book. Now that the world is set up, this book dives more into the overarching plot of political intrigue, introducing new characters. The twists were predictable at times, as one would expect from a children’s book, but satisfying nonetheless. Also, the main characters are slightly less annoying as they grow older.
faeonyx's review against another edition
5.0
The second book in the series, Rise of the Evening Star gets off to a slow start by grounding readers in Kendra's world at home. Fortunately, things start getting a little more interesting with the introduction of a new character, Casey Hancock. The other girls in Kendra's school seem to find him incredibly attractive where Kendra can see who he really is due to being kissed by thousands of fairies in the first book. She no longer has to drink the milk and because of this she can see that Casey is a goblin type creature. She spends the first chapters unsure as to whether he knows she knows or not. It's a little confusing and muddy for the reader initially, but raising some very interesting questions that help to propel the action forward.
Kendra, and the readers through her, gets the feeling that Casey can't be there for any good reason, and this starts to become apparent when their teacher, Mrs. Price, falls suddenly ill after someone had placed a tack on her chair. It seemed to change her personality completely, and in Kendra's mind the only suspect was Casey. Things start getting really weird, building enough tension in the beginning of the book to leave readers looking for the right answers.
Once more, the book delves into the story with a feeling of foreboding. The reader is left feeling like they aren't being told the entire story, which is true as things are revealed to us only when they are revealed to Seth and Kendra. Every new character that is introduced is looked upon with hesitancy. The circumstance with Errol, however, lull Kendra and Seth into a false sense of security. They haven't been able to contact their grandparents, so they have no choice but to trust him. He has information about Kendra that makes him seem more trustworthy, but even with that there is a certain edge to his personality that makes him seem questionable.
It seems that the characters that deal with magical creatures become somewhat like magical creatures themselves. As Kendra's grandfather said in the first book, they aren't necessarily good or evil, but instead fall somewhere in a grey area. In the same way, it is extremely difficult to sort out the motives of most of the characters aside from trusting the initial assumptions made by Kendra and Seth as they come into contact with these characters.
Throughout this book, Kendra and Seth become much more useful members of the team, but there is trouble lurking when it becomes obvious that someone inside Fablehaven is a traitor. The author keeps us guessing at this until enough evidence has mounted for Stan to make an accusation after putting all the pieces together. However, it isn't one of those things that is super easy to figure out before the story reveals it. Once again, after the evil is introduced, it falls to the kids to resolve the situation. However, it seems that Kendra and Seth have learned quite a bit from their previous experiences and are better equipped to deal with this new challenge.
The way that the children seem to have changed and grown between the first book and this book is probably one of the better elements of the story. There isn't such a huge change that it isn't believable, but there are elements of their personalities that are being molded around the experiences that they had in the first book. This leaves them with a different sense of confidence and secrecy and allows them to make better decisions, even though they are still difficult choices, to make sure they are able to carry on in the second book.
Still, this book is carried by an underlying current of foreboding. The reader knows that something isn't quite right through the entirety of the book. There are elements of the stories, characters, that just don't seem to mesh correctly, but with the way things have been set up it is hard to tell if anyone's motivations are truly pure or if they are actually completely bad. The older characters seem to stress the importance of picking allies very carefully, but then fall into the same traps that they have warned the children of again and again.
It seems that the action is only just building and that the story has plenty to reveal. Fortunately, the building action in this book has managed to maintain momentum. The way the story is told allows the reader to actually feel the urgency that the characters in the book are experiencing as they feel they are losing ground to the Society.
Kendra, and the readers through her, gets the feeling that Casey can't be there for any good reason, and this starts to become apparent when their teacher, Mrs. Price, falls suddenly ill after someone had placed a tack on her chair. It seemed to change her personality completely, and in Kendra's mind the only suspect was Casey. Things start getting really weird, building enough tension in the beginning of the book to leave readers looking for the right answers.
Once more, the book delves into the story with a feeling of foreboding. The reader is left feeling like they aren't being told the entire story, which is true as things are revealed to us only when they are revealed to Seth and Kendra. Every new character that is introduced is looked upon with hesitancy. The circumstance with Errol, however, lull Kendra and Seth into a false sense of security. They haven't been able to contact their grandparents, so they have no choice but to trust him. He has information about Kendra that makes him seem more trustworthy, but even with that there is a certain edge to his personality that makes him seem questionable.
It seems that the characters that deal with magical creatures become somewhat like magical creatures themselves. As Kendra's grandfather said in the first book, they aren't necessarily good or evil, but instead fall somewhere in a grey area. In the same way, it is extremely difficult to sort out the motives of most of the characters aside from trusting the initial assumptions made by Kendra and Seth as they come into contact with these characters.
Throughout this book, Kendra and Seth become much more useful members of the team, but there is trouble lurking when it becomes obvious that someone inside Fablehaven is a traitor. The author keeps us guessing at this until enough evidence has mounted for Stan to make an accusation after putting all the pieces together. However, it isn't one of those things that is super easy to figure out before the story reveals it. Once again, after the evil is introduced, it falls to the kids to resolve the situation. However, it seems that Kendra and Seth have learned quite a bit from their previous experiences and are better equipped to deal with this new challenge.
The way that the children seem to have changed and grown between the first book and this book is probably one of the better elements of the story. There isn't such a huge change that it isn't believable, but there are elements of their personalities that are being molded around the experiences that they had in the first book. This leaves them with a different sense of confidence and secrecy and allows them to make better decisions, even though they are still difficult choices, to make sure they are able to carry on in the second book.
Still, this book is carried by an underlying current of foreboding. The reader knows that something isn't quite right through the entirety of the book. There are elements of the stories, characters, that just don't seem to mesh correctly, but with the way things have been set up it is hard to tell if anyone's motivations are truly pure or if they are actually completely bad. The older characters seem to stress the importance of picking allies very carefully, but then fall into the same traps that they have warned the children of again and again.
It seems that the action is only just building and that the story has plenty to reveal. Fortunately, the building action in this book has managed to maintain momentum. The way the story is told allows the reader to actually feel the urgency that the characters in the book are experiencing as they feel they are losing ground to the Society.
stephreadsnow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I read this to my 7yo, one chapter a night. Here is her review:
Seth has really learned his lesson but he shouldn’t have betrayed Kendra while she was in the bathroom. I also liked that they introduced new characters. And there was lots of cool stuff. We also learned that Kendra was not just fairy-struck but fairykind!
Seth has really learned his lesson but he shouldn’t have betrayed Kendra while she was in the bathroom. I also liked that they introduced new characters. And there was lots of cool stuff. We also learned that Kendra was not just fairy-struck but fairykind!
katarina_nowicki's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stargirlmyaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
juliawitmer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would - and I don't mean that in a mean way!
I read the first book and enjoyed it relatively well, but felt it was missing a certain...umph. I feel like this book actually has that umph, which is awesome! Despite that, it has weaknesses along with its strengths, so let's get into those.
(All of these are also taking into consideration the fact that this is a middle-grade/borderline YA novel, and therefore has different standards/expectations than, say, a YA or Adult novel)
Ok moving on
**THIS SECTION HAS SPOILERS**
STRENGTHS:
- further character development
- plot full of twists and turns
- a story world that feels even deeper and more complex than what we can see
- a story world that we can see that feels well thought out and unique
- an intriguing cliffhanger ending (I like cliffhangers, but I guess this could be a downside for others!)
WEAKNESSES:
- Kendra and Seth don't feel like realistic siblings. Maybe my siblings and I just got along uncommonly well, but it feels like they're more at each other's throats than I ever was with my siblings as a kid.
- I think some plot points were dropped or forgotten? FOR INSTANCE (with spoilers): I thought that they said once they got into the tower at the climax of the story, that getting out with the artifact would be nearly impossible. But they just...waltzed out?? And it was fine?? Maybe my reading comprehension is bad or something but that just really confused me lol
- because the plot had so many twists and turns, it was sometimes hard to follow.
- it feels like there weren't a lot of negatives/consequences for things happening. (i.e. nobody who got mortally wounded actually died except one guy that we didn't care about that much and low-key wanted to die)
**END OF SPOILER SECTION**
Overall, I enjoyed this read. I give it a 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars!
I WOULD NOT suggest this book for...
- most Christian families (demons and dark magic are a big element of these stories, and a lot of Christians are uncomfortable with them or their kids reading books like that)
- people who don't like violence in stories (contained some graphic violence)
I WOULD suggest this book for...
- readers who like fairytales with a twist
- readers who enjoy books with cool story worlds and magic
- readers who enjoyed book 1 in this series (lol)
That's the end of my thoughts! Thanks for taking the time to read 😌
I read the first book and enjoyed it relatively well, but felt it was missing a certain...umph. I feel like this book actually has that umph, which is awesome! Despite that, it has weaknesses along with its strengths, so let's get into those.
(All of these are also taking into consideration the fact that this is a middle-grade/borderline YA novel, and therefore has different standards/expectations than, say, a YA or Adult novel)
Ok moving on
**THIS SECTION HAS SPOILERS**
STRENGTHS:
- further character development
- plot full of twists and turns
- a story world that feels even deeper and more complex than what we can see
- a story world that we can see that feels well thought out and unique
- an intriguing cliffhanger ending (I like cliffhangers, but I guess this could be a downside for others!)
WEAKNESSES:
- Kendra and Seth don't feel like realistic siblings. Maybe my siblings and I just got along uncommonly well, but it feels like they're more at each other's throats than I ever was with my siblings as a kid.
- I think some plot points were dropped or forgotten? FOR INSTANCE (with spoilers): I thought that they said once they got into the tower at the climax of the story, that getting out with the artifact would be nearly impossible. But they just...waltzed out?? And it was fine?? Maybe my reading comprehension is bad or something but that just really confused me lol
- because the plot had so many twists and turns, it was sometimes hard to follow.
- it feels like there weren't a lot of negatives/consequences for things happening. (i.e. nobody who got mortally wounded actually died except one guy that we didn't care about that much and low-key wanted to die)
**END OF SPOILER SECTION**
Overall, I enjoyed this read. I give it a 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars!
I WOULD NOT suggest this book for...
- most Christian families (demons and dark magic are a big element of these stories, and a lot of Christians are uncomfortable with them or their kids reading books like that)
- people who don't like violence in stories (contained some graphic violence)
I WOULD suggest this book for...
- readers who like fairytales with a twist
- readers who enjoy books with cool story worlds and magic
- readers who enjoyed book 1 in this series (lol)
That's the end of my thoughts! Thanks for taking the time to read 😌
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
would not suggest for most young Christian audiences