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jess's Most Popular Reviews
This is a fascinating a detailed story covering the actions of Lawrence and other key players before, during, and after WW1.
So much of what is discussed in this book was not part of my public education on the war, so I needed to refer to additional texts to understand the geography and people discussed in this book.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in history, other views of WW1, the middle east, or political development.
After the first book, the setting and characters start out as a bit of a surprise in this one. The characters seem just as confused as the readers, so it's fun. A. few new characters extend the cast and our familiar characters get a little more experience and depth.
The adventures continue, and it is an exciting and dangerous ride. How will the kids outsmart the bad guy(s) this time? What will the repercussions be?
I add a bit of caution to my recommendation- turns out that no one in this series is who they saw they are. Kids with trust issues may find it unsettling.
This is a great last book.
So many series start out great and then get lost by the end. This one...this one keeps the reader engaged to the last page...and is somehow not quite a perfectly happy or tragic ending. Keen readers will recognize parallels to other beloved worlds and characters - which makes the story more fun, in my mind...because then you can think about what is different about the stories and why.
Throughout the series, we get to know characters, some deeper than others, whose motivations completely drive their behavior. We get to glimpse a small part of a world where magic is manifest in everything, and its workings are not even well understood by the people living in it. This ambiguity leaves space for wonder and conjecture for the reader as well as the characters.
Recommended reading from middle grades on up to adult. Some violence. Some adult themes, no graphic content.
