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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Sword of the Spirit (Spirits 3) by Rob Keeley (view source)
Revision as of 10:29, 21 April 2016
, 10:29, 21 April 2016no edit summary
As ever, I thoroughly enjoyed this Rob Keeley story. It's told directly and with a good heart. You can't help but like Ellie. She's honest - even when she is telling a few fibs to save her ghostly friends from discovery - and she has a very strong sense of right and wrong. She never stops trying to do the right thing, even if she is a bit gung-ho about it. But for the first time in this instalment, she is made aware of the possible consequences of her actions. We'll have to wait until next time to see how she tries to put this right. I have faith in Ellie!
''The Sword of the Spirit'' blends high adventure with the supernatural and includes a good dollop of realist drama through the post-divorce conflict between Ellie's mother and father. It's nicely balanced between shivers and high jinks and you get the odd joke too. This time, I particularly enjoyed Tina, the straight-talking catering assistant. She's blunt and funny and delivers a few excellent one-liners. And she gets a plot point in a thoroughly deserved reward. The vocabulary is carefully chosen to stretch but never lose accessibility and the book will appeal to a wide range of readers from those emerging into confidence right up to the later stages of middle grades.
Recommended.
