Author: Katherine Rundell
Illustrator: Ashley Mackenzie
© Date: 2023
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 334
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, some illustrations are included, but mostly text based pages
Publisher Recommended Age: 10 and up
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Yes, a guide to some of the mystical creatures is included
Summary from Book: The Day that Christopher rescued a drowning baby griffin from a hidden lake would change his life forever.
It’s the day he learned about the Archipelago—a cluster of unmapped islands where magical creatures of every kind have thrived for thousands of years, until now. and it’s the day he met Mal—a girl on the run, in desperate need of his help.
Mal and Christopher embark on a wild adventure, racing from island to island, searching for someone who can explain why the magic is fading and why magical creatures are suddenly dying. They consult sphinxes, battle kraken, and negotiate with dragons. But the closer they get to the dark truth of what’s happening, the clearer it becomes: no one else can fix this. If the Archipelago is to be saved, Mal and Christopher will have to do it themselves.
Page Pig Thoughts: So good. I enjoyed the variety of mythical creatures, the adventure, and the humorous bits sprinkled around. I was left a little disappointed by the lack of information about the adventure of Nighthand, Irian, and Anja; but I guess since they are not the main characters, their storyline faded to the background and only got a blurp in the end. I was also intrigued that Christopher’s father welcomed him with open arms and seemingly was not upset about Christopher disobeying his wishes about staying off the top of the hill. Although after Christopher being gone for so long, maybe his father was just relieved to have him back.
Larger picture statements about the fear and greed of humans are made. But in the end, love and courage save the day. “Tell people that the brutality of the world is terrible. And yes: the chaos is very great. But tell them: greater than the world’s chaos are its miracles.”
Slight romantic undertones follow the storyline of Irian and Nighthand, mostly just glancing at the other one and looking away quickly. The last blurp about their storyline indicates that they are openly in love.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers, death and murder may be upsetting.
Family Unit:
- Christopher has been living with his father, but is now spending some time with his grandfather. Christopher’s mother died when he was younger.
- Mal has been living with her great-aunt Leonor.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Christopher is upset that his father doesn’t let him do anything because everything is deemed unsafe.
- The magic is fading from the Archipelago, so all of the mythical creatures that depend on it are dying.
- A murderer tracks and repeatedly attacks Mal.
Positive Items:
- Christopher and Mal develop a strong friendship that is rare, but you only need one of in your lifetime.
- Courage and a belief in things bigger than themselves kept Mal and Christopher going. The wise sphinx believed that Mal sacrificed herself in “an act of insistence: it was insistence that the world is worth loving.”
Items of Interest:
- Christopher disobeys his father and grandfather’s instructions not to walk past the treeline on the hill behind his grandfather’s house.
- A murderer comes for Mal. To help Mal escape, great-aunt Leonor goes after the murderer more than once. The murderer kills great-aunt Leonor. Mal narrowly escapes. When she has a moment to quickly go back to her home, she checks on her great-aunt and covers her body with a blanket.
- Griffins had not been seen for five years and were thought to have died out. Unknown to everyone, Mal had hatched a griffin egg and had the last living griffin, Gelifen. During one episode of an attack by the murderer, Gelifen attacks the murderer and gets cut by his knife. Gelifen dies.
- Mal escapes the murderer one time by biting him hard on the face and not letting go. Yes, he bled while she was biting him.
- Nighthand, a Berserker (a large man that feels no fear), starts helping Mal and Christopher after they fell onto his boat. Nighthand defends Mal through many perils. While defending Mal from a herd of karkadann, he winds up getting poisoned by one of their horns and nearly dies.
- Nighthand kills the murderer.
- Nighthand’s first mate gets eaten by a kraken.
- Irian has nereid in her bloodline. She does not mention this to anyone. She also does not go swimming so she can keep her aquatic abilities and silver sheened skin while in the water a secret. She believes having people know will be dangerous.
- Jacques rescues Christopher several times.
- Mal sacrifices herself to rid the world of the man killing the world by attempting to consume all of the power for himself.
- A funeral march is held for Mal. Although Mal was only one in the long line of the Immortal Soul, so her soul moved on to the next human.
- Christopher returns to his grandfather and father. They have a huge feast.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Listed as Book 1, but no others are available