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A review by cat_literary_world
The Guardian of Whispers by B. E. Padgett
3.0
I’ve received a free copy of this book, curtsy of @booktasters_, in exchange for a honest review, so I start by thanking the opportunity.
“The guardian of whispers” is a middle grade fiction book following twin brothers Jon and Frank, who will discover they have some special talents.
The book has a clear Harry Potter vibe, both in the school setting and some of the events portrait, which I will not disclaim to avoid spoilers. The book is an easy and engaging reading experience, particularly for the younger audience, and, if you already are a Harry Potter fan, chances of enjoying this book increase. However, some aspects could have been better achieved, which might be a reflex of this being a first book, so I will be gentle in this review. There’s also the chance that these issues are better explored in the second volume, as this book is part of a series.
Frank and Jon start this story at the age of 9, and, although they feel 9 in the beginning, some parts closer to the end they feel older. It makes sense that they grow in the storyline, but they feel much wiser than they should, which I didn’t feel to be very realistic. Another thing that bothered me was the gift system not being explained. It came out of the blue and I kept waiting for it to be explained to our MC’s, as they didn’t knew anything about this world (their mother never talked about it). This might be a reflex of me reading adult fantasy, where the setting is much more detailed than in children fantasy, which makes sense given the target audience. I get it that children are more focused on action rather than world building, so we couldn’t have a lot of description with zero story as we would lose the target audience, but this felt too little description, which, then again, can be better explored in the second volume.
Overall, and despite the two main downsides of the book, it’s an easy read and I think the children out there discovering books now will feel this to be a magic experience
“The guardian of whispers” is a middle grade fiction book following twin brothers Jon and Frank, who will discover they have some special talents.
The book has a clear Harry Potter vibe, both in the school setting and some of the events portrait, which I will not disclaim to avoid spoilers. The book is an easy and engaging reading experience, particularly for the younger audience, and, if you already are a Harry Potter fan, chances of enjoying this book increase. However, some aspects could have been better achieved, which might be a reflex of this being a first book, so I will be gentle in this review. There’s also the chance that these issues are better explored in the second volume, as this book is part of a series.
Frank and Jon start this story at the age of 9, and, although they feel 9 in the beginning, some parts closer to the end they feel older. It makes sense that they grow in the storyline, but they feel much wiser than they should, which I didn’t feel to be very realistic. Another thing that bothered me was the gift system not being explained. It came out of the blue and I kept waiting for it to be explained to our MC’s, as they didn’t knew anything about this world (their mother never talked about it). This might be a reflex of me reading adult fantasy, where the setting is much more detailed than in children fantasy, which makes sense given the target audience. I get it that children are more focused on action rather than world building, so we couldn’t have a lot of description with zero story as we would lose the target audience, but this felt too little description, which, then again, can be better explored in the second volume.
Overall, and despite the two main downsides of the book, it’s an easy read and I think the children out there discovering books now will feel this to be a magic experience