The Book of the Wise

I was provided this book under the agreement that I would give it an honest and impartial review.
As a whole, I like the idea. I could see this as a storyline tweens and younger might really get into. Countryside is about a young boy discovering a secret alternate realm and he has magical powers. Very Harry Potter-esque in broad outline. There are clear and important differences, though. As said, I liked the storyline. But I found the execution a little slow and disjointed. Sometimes the plot is obvious, with teasers hinting the way, and other times events happy that are never actually explained. This is a series, and all great series leave just enough out to keep your interest. Perhaps this series just needed a longer introduction.