I thought this was solid book conclusion to the series. I still will hope for more books in this series because I really want to see him keep going in the rangers. I found this be such a fun read and loved seeing how this book connected back to the other books in this series. I loved how fast pace this book was. I really loved how this book had both supernatural problems but also family problems. This book also tackled friendship drama and high school. I found this book to be a joy to read and really hope we get more book in the series eventually. ( )

I thought this was solid book conclusion to the series. I still will hope for more books in this series because I really want to see him keep going in the rangers. I found this be such a fun read and loved seeing how this book connected back to the other books in this series. I loved how fast pace this book was. I really loved how this book had both supernatural problems but also family problems. This book also tackled friendship drama and high school. I found this book to be a joy to read and really hope we get more book in the series eventually. ( )

Like other 3-star reviewers, I thought this third (and final?) installment of the Arlo Finch series was missing something that the earlier books had. Perhaps it was the lack of new imagination, which made the first two books better. After a slow start, Arlo, his sister and Wu one of his two best friends from the Blue Patrol travel through The Long Woods, via a pit stop for directions (one of the best parts of the book), to China to retrieve Arlo’s father, who is thought to be a traitor in the U.S. Meanwhile, Arlo's archenemy, Hadryn has escaped captivity. Hadryn is after Arlo to gain possession of a spirit knife and is willing to do anything to get it. While it is a happy reunion for the Finch family, the father has to hide, and the U.S. government suspects his return and tries to gain Arlo's trust. ( )

I’ve been a big fan since the first book in the series & one thing I’ve enjoyed is that I haven’t been able to anticipate & guess where the story is going - that sense of anticipation carried through in this final (?) book of the series. I did find some plot lines clunky - wondering if I had missed or forgotten something from the second book - this will be less of an issue for middle grade readers who are likely to binge through the series rather than read the books a year apart as I’ve had to.

Arlo Finch holds up for me as a solid mg adventure series with a good mix of real life problems & magical adventuring. ( )