Alvor by Laura Bingham

Alvor is just the kind of book I love to read for myself and then dangle in front of my eight-year old bookworm son and say, I have a book for you!  It backfired on me this time because he took it from me before I was finished.  Both he and I enjoyed the book very much and are looking forward to the sequel, Wings of Light that comes out this April. 

Food to Eat While Reading: Popping Water

Read the synopsis here.

The setting and characters remind me of Fablehaven by Brandon Mull--so much creativity and adventuring in an imagined land that I would love to visit.  Like Fablehaven, Alvor is also about a brother and sister who find a magical world practically in their backyard.  Erin and Bain are twins who find a house in their grandpa's woods that leads them to a place where it seems they have been destined to travel to all along. 

The banter and love that Erin and Bain show each other is genuine and heartwarming.  They were easy together and after they were seperated for a time, their reunion was sweet. The two of them form a stronger magic than each of them alone. I love how their magical abilities branched from their natural tendencies and desires. 

Halfway through the book my son snatched it to his room and wouldn't let me have it.  I have to admit that it took awhile for me to get back into the plot.  It slowed way down for me in the middle, but that could have been due to the long break I had between reading sessions.  I'm glad I stuck with it because the second half of the book is filled with adventure and more wonder. 

Even though the characters were supposed to be sixteen, I had a hard time seeing them that old.  They felt much younger to me.  I know that an author should write a protagonist a few years older than the intended audience, but to me Erin and Bain felt closer to fifteen, or even fourteen years old. 

The romance in the book was perfect for a middle grade age group.  There was enough to keep me interested, but it was sweet and lightly frosted. 

Just a few more things: 
Did you see the cover?  Brilliantly done.  I love how the red light and the blue light shine into the forest from different directions, giving an image of good vs. evil. 
And the book has a dragon.  Come on, how can you resist a dragon story?

Genre: fantasy, MG
Publisher: Published May 15th 2009 by Cedar Fort

Where I got the book: Amazon