Wayfinders (Wayfinders, 1)

What does a Winnebago, a giant, a mermaid and a unicorn have in common? They have Chloe: a preteen, she loves horses and can’t believe she actually meets a unicorn. This is a great daughter and Dad fun, fantasy adventure story. I have never read anything like it before, it’s an original. You’ll enjoy the ride—don’t miss it . Cheers to Bryan Chick, well done!

Bryan Chick’s Wayfinders is riveting, mesmerizing, and magical! He expertly brings people and creatures from a hidden enchanted world into America’s farmland. I couldn’t put it down!Chick seamlessly molds fairies, a giant, a dwarf, a mermaid, and a unicorn into the humdrum world of a troubled teenage girl and her fearful father. The unlikely duo is tasked with helping creatures from a world they didn't know existed find their way back home in a single day. Chick’s magic takes us into a fascinating story of a race against time to save the life of one creature and a race away from a witch and her evil collaborators who want to capture another creature for their own evil purposes. The wannabe heroes, dad and daughter, muster a courage they didn’t know they had to conquer fears from their past. The author leads us through a journey of emotions and desperate situations. His compelling writing leads us through each page wondering what’s next and how are they going to overcome the obstacles on their way to get to the end of their journey. At the fascinating story's end, we see victory with help we couldn’t have seen coming. I applaud Chick’s magical way of completing a story and leaving us wanting more. Chick’s a master storyteller and eases us into a world we end up running through with our hearts pounding faster with each page we turn!The second time I read it I looked at the bigger picture and asked myself how far would I go to help save a stranger’s life. And how could I, how would I muster the courage to stand up and do the right thing for creatures I didn’t know existed until that very day? My grandchildren love Wayfinders, they can’t get enough of it. They're as eager for book two as they were for each book of Chick’s Secret Zoo series. Hooray for Wayfinders – can’t wait for the next book!

This book has a perfect balance of cute, intense, and serious that I enjoyed even as an adult. It reads fast paced like a movie but I found myself quickly endeared to the characters. The emotional realness of the dynamic between the main character and her dad was refreshing to see in a middle grade book. Hope there will be a book 2!

Fast-paced and cinematic, but with an emotional depth that adds to the enjoyment. Absolutely loved the relationship between Chloe and her dad, as well as the development of their friendship with the fairy tale creatures/people throughout the course of the madcap road trip in the Winnebego. A scarily nefarious villain adds chills. And who can resist a unicorn? Highly recommended for middle grade readers as well as family and classroom read-alouds.

I am a big fan of Chick's Secret Zoo series and so I was excited to read this new series - and it did NOT disappoint! Wayfinders has a different pace and delves deeper into the main characters' inner struggles but the adventure is on point. It is fast and fanatic and just when you make your predictions about what will happen next, Chick takes an unexpected left turn (quite literally since it is a road trip adventure) - that keeps you turning the pages to find out just how this story will finish. He sets up a love between the father and daughter main characters, that shows frustration, annoyance that is met with unconditional love and understanding. He throws in unlikely fairytale creatures that become endearing and adds humor of their entrance from an enchanted world into ours. Great adventure that any middle grade reader will love!

I LOVED this book! Read it to my daughter and she was super into it. I couldn't read enough of it for her before bed each night before my voice got tired, lol. The main character is totally relatable, and I really loved how authentic the relationship between her and her father was portrayed. Plus, it's a really great ensemble cast of different fairy-tale creatures (fairies, dwarves, giants, mermaids, unicorns) and they've been thrown into “our” world, so it's fun to see them navigate the normal world as magical beings. My daughter also loved the illustrations that just really gave it personality. We can't wait for the next book—and here's hoping we get to dive into their magical world this time!