The Book of Chaos (Starfell)

Depending on how adventurous your young person is, this is a great adventure book for young people with parental guidance. It does deal with sucking the life out of people -- murdering them slowly - using others for your own gain, and various types of magic. If you are a Christian and you have children who are not solid in their Faith, you will want to wait a little bit to read this with them. You will want to be clear that this is an alternate world from ours so witchcraft in our world is not good since witches are pulling power from sources that are not Godly. However, this book has definitions that explain that Fable is a sorceress...meaning her magic comes from within. There is a clear good and evil side in the book. The witch in the book pulls power from nature. The wizard pulls power from unknown sources while learning to cast spells. The Lich is a witch gone bad. I read this as an adult. It has similar issues that Harry Potter had for parents of young Christians. While children can read stories with magic in it, as a Christian parent, you should always read it with them, ready to give an answer and explanation when needed. I think Jessica did a good job creating a unique world for her story. There were some unanswered questions by the end of this book, but since there are additional quest books, I assume the questions will be answered later. I highly recommend the book for readers who are able to enjoy the fantasy of the magical land without wanting to become a witch or wizard themselves. There is no sex in the book. However, there is a male gay couple. The gay couple is approached as matter-of-fact, but not glorified. As a Christian, I would have talked about this relationship with my children and explained that while we do not endorse a gay lifestyle and see it as simply another sin that people should not enter into, people have a right to choose their own path. If you are opposed to your children reading about openly gay relationships, you need to be aware that it is in there.

This book is the first novel of a series for upper elementary or middle grade students. At the beginning of the tale, a mysterious and sinister figure enters a toddler's room and plants a magical book on a bookshelf.Readers are introduced to Fable, a young girl who possesses powers that she does not yet understand, and her younger cousin, Timothy. They live in their Aunt Moira's home. When Timothy suddenly vanishes into the strange book, Fable knows she must go inside to save him.The adventure begins as both find themselves in a strange land filled with dangers. In the process of her journey, Fable discovers much about herself and her powers. Will she be able to save her cousin and thwart the evil lurking everywhere around them?The characters are rather interesting. It will delight boys and girls in the target audience, keep them entertained, and eager to read the next book in the series.

This book would be great for middle school students who are intrigued by magic and mystery. This book was enchanting.

My son (12) and I enjoyed this middle-grade fantasy about a little girl with magical powers whose past is shrouded in mystery. Fable lives with her aunt and beloved younger cousin. At the very beginning of the story, we meet a most sinister character, who you can immediately tell is up to no good. However, we don't discover precisely what until much later.After finding a strange book, Fable's cousin gets sucked in and swept away to an enchanted forest. Determined to save her cousin, Fable quickly follows and ends up on an adventure that answers many questions about her past. The story is engaging and includes a cast of most endearing characters. Interwoven throughout the story is a lesson about bravery and being true to oneself. This is a beautiful fantasy that is sure to delight young readers. Enjoy!

The plot is very simple, but adequate for a children’s book. There are some nice elements in it. I particularly liked Thorn, a Folkvar which seems to be some sort of Forest giant. However, her size seemed very inconsistent. She was introduced as the size of an adult man (let’s say six feet, because adult men come in many sizes but Thorn seemed to be tall), yet she seems to be about ten feet tall in some scenes.I also liked Star, the fire hawk, which is actually a fire breathing chicken.Unfortunately, the world building did not work for me at all. What seems to start out in our world and lead to a portal fantasy is in fact a secondary world fantasy all along. I’ve no problem with cars, dishwashers and video games existing in a fantasy world. I think it’s an interesting concept, but I don’t understand how they manage to avoid roads as they traipse through the forest and when vehicles do arrive, they are drawn by boars. Also, why don’t phones exist in this world? Why didn’t Fable phone her aunt to come collect her?The names also annoyed me. There’s Fable, Thorn, Brennus and Fedilmid, which are all fine fantasy names, but also Moira, Timothy, Thomas and Murphy.Fable has no idea that a world exists outside her home. I don’t expect her to know all about it, but she’s no idea whatsoever. No one knows about the Folkvar. None of the people know what a fire hawk is. All the characters living in this world seemed to be confused about what exists in it and how it works.Fable’s magic is extremely convenient. She doesn’t know how to do anything and then can perform the exact spell needed when necessary.The writing, especially at the beginning of the book, is very stilted and lacks polish.I can understand why people enjoy this book, but for me the world building didn’t make sense and I couldn’t get past this Thorn sized stumbling block.

We enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Action, adventure and a lesson on the true meaning of unconditional love.

Keeps your interest from beginning to the end. Not your ordinary fairy tale. Lots of interesting characters and action. Can't wait for the next book.

Kept me going in anticipation of what to happen next. Loved the author’s style. The story line was is creative too!

Excelente

This is a perfect adventurous middle grade read. I loved it now, as an adult, and I would have adored it as a kid. Magic, friendship, and daring rescues… what more could you want?

Im not giving the story away, check it out for yourself

I got this book for my daughter, who read it in a few days. Despite an event she described as “scary,” she liked the book enough to read it more than once (and get over the “scary” part). These were her words: “I liked it and it made me want to read it again and again. And the book of chaos is cool because it’s magic and smoke tentacles came out of it.” She went on to ask me for the next two books in the series. I’d say she’s a satisfied customer.

Good book.