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A review by ladytiara
Rise of the Darklings by Paul Crilley
4.0
The Invisible Order is written for a middle-grade audience, but readers of all ages may enjoy it. It tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Emily in Victorian London. Emily's parents disappeared a few years earlier, and she sells watercress for pennies in the street to support herself and her younger brother. One morning, on her way to buy her day's supply of watercress, she stumbles upon a battle between two groups of fairies. She ends up saving the life of a piskie named Corrigan and quickly gets caught in an ancient war involving two opposing fairy courts and a secret society called the Invisible Order, which protects the human world from the fairies.
The book has a lot of the standard fantasy tropes: a normal child with an incredible destiny, absent parents, a secret society, etc., but the elements are put together well, and the story takes some unexpected twists and turns. Crilley doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of Victoria life. Emily and her brother share a room with strangers who sleep on the floor, she sells watercress to keep herself and her brother out of the workhouse, and they often go hungry. But the author also creates a magical and strange other world, populated by many different creatures, some of them quite scary.
For me, the best part of the book is Emily. She's strong, smart, and likable, without being too perfect. Sometimes she resents being on her own and having to take care of her brother, but she just gets on with it and never drifts into self-pity. Even when her involvement in the fairy takes some horrible turns, she never loses hope and she uses her keen intelligence to solve her problems and stay one step ahead of the villains (although who the villains are can change from chapter to chapter, keeping our heroine on her toes).
This book may appeal to fans of the Harry Potter series. I'm not sure how many books there will be in the series, but this one ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so there's at least one more. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
(I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)
The book has a lot of the standard fantasy tropes: a normal child with an incredible destiny, absent parents, a secret society, etc., but the elements are put together well, and the story takes some unexpected twists and turns. Crilley doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of Victoria life. Emily and her brother share a room with strangers who sleep on the floor, she sells watercress to keep herself and her brother out of the workhouse, and they often go hungry. But the author also creates a magical and strange other world, populated by many different creatures, some of them quite scary.
For me, the best part of the book is Emily. She's strong, smart, and likable, without being too perfect. Sometimes she resents being on her own and having to take care of her brother, but she just gets on with it and never drifts into self-pity. Even when her involvement in the fairy takes some horrible turns, she never loses hope and she uses her keen intelligence to solve her problems and stay one step ahead of the villains (although who the villains are can change from chapter to chapter, keeping our heroine on her toes).
This book may appeal to fans of the Harry Potter series. I'm not sure how many books there will be in the series, but this one ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so there's at least one more. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
(I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)