Nara Duffie

Author Nara Duffie completes her Monster Realm story in style with The Three Worlds, a sequel that stands alone and carries some very modern, everyday girls into a very strange, fantastical and dangerous world. The story’s straight-forward, exciting and clean, never tripping over the I-want-to-be-a-mermaid or I-want-to-marry-a-vampire clichés that so haunt modern girls’ fiction. Sure, one of the girls wants a perfect look in a perfect world, but these are pleasingly real characters, even when one of them’s more than human. And even the adults are convincing and fun. Even the monsters are convincing…

It all starts quietly enough, moving forward to movie-style, Independence Day terror, because the world really is in danger. In between, characters make mistakes, suffer regret, and somehow aim with honest determination to win through.

So that’s two worlds… You’ll have to read the book find why it’s titled for three. The answer’s cool and intriguing, making for a really great and satisfying read. Love the Hobbit? Love the movie, Indpendence Day? Love dragons? Looking for strong, intelligent female protagonists? Then read this book.

Disclosure: I was given a paperback copy and I offer my honest review – I love this book!… (mehr)

Written for middle-grade readers with a taste for fantasy and a desire to see girls take center stage, Nara Duffie’s Monster Realm takes Lillian, Maisy and Katy off into a land of curious adventure. The story begins, as such things surely must, with a walk in the dark by the sea. But there’s more than just the mystery of moonlight shining on these waves. Soon the three friends are wandering through a wonderfully imagined and vividly described Monster Realm.

The action is fast and furious. The movie and book references are pleasingly up-to-date. And the three main characters form a nicely diverse bunch, with studious Lillian determined to rescue her sister, nervous Katy solemnly recording in her note-book all the reasons she wishes she weren’t here, and excitable Maisy, striding straight into danger.

Lillian’s interest in Greek mythology gives an interesting depth to the tale. Backstory and sibling relationships strengthen the emotional power. And if dangers are quickly resolved, that’s just as it should be in middle-grade fiction. My only complaints are 1) that I want to read book two, and 2) that I wish the author hadn’t twisted the viewpoints around quite so often. That said, I really enjoyed this novel and couldn’t put it down.

And that said... the author was eleven when she wrote it! Great fiction for middle-grade readers, written by a great middle-grade writer.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book and I offer my honest review. One thing I honestly forgot while reading was the author’s age. Great job Nara!… (mehr)