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ella_elle_la's review against another edition
4.0
I had made a bet with myself. Half of me said I would never make it past book three the other half said book seven. I'm starting book five now, so we'll see if the other part was right.
vreads3's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite, but Shannon Hale always lands the emotional notes just right. Her vivid descriptions of deep feelings and fast action are some of my favorite fantasy writing and that still held true in her contribution to this series. A bit diluted compared to her other work but that's probably due to the intended audience and platform.
michaeljames122's review against another edition
4.0
This 4th book of the Spirit Animals series may be my favorite of the bunch after the opening book. Perhaps that's because it's set in the winter wonderland of Arctica and we're just coming out of our own winter wonderland in Wyoming, or perhaps it's because it was the most adventurous book of the bunch thus far.
The characters are off to gather the talisman of Suka the Great Polar Bear, as if polar bears aren't giant and terrifying already. The Conquerors always seem to be one step behind them, which begins to seem suspicious, and of course there's several plot twists and turns along the way.
The characters are opened up even more (especially Rollan) and the plot definitely thickens, particularly at the end (as should be expected).
"And with that simple gesture, Abeke didn't feel worried anymore. The strangeness of the town, the long journey, and the strained welcome all faded for her in the power of one genuine smile. Something in Abeke warned that she shouldn't be quite so trusting, but she just didn't believe bright smiles could hide dark hearts."
"Life is full of loss. I have learned that what matters is how we fill the hole that the loss leaves behind."
The characters are off to gather the talisman of Suka the Great Polar Bear, as if polar bears aren't giant and terrifying already. The Conquerors always seem to be one step behind them, which begins to seem suspicious, and of course there's several plot twists and turns along the way.
The characters are opened up even more (especially Rollan) and the plot definitely thickens, particularly at the end (as should be expected).
"And with that simple gesture, Abeke didn't feel worried anymore. The strangeness of the town, the long journey, and the strained welcome all faded for her in the power of one genuine smile. Something in Abeke warned that she shouldn't be quite so trusting, but she just didn't believe bright smiles could hide dark hearts."
"Life is full of loss. I have learned that what matters is how we fill the hole that the loss leaves behind."
aotora's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This series keeps being amazing - this might be my favourite book from the entire series. A lot of it is travelling and I am normally not a fan of travelling books - but this one was fine. It was so full of tension and action that I couldn't wait to see what happens next. First part is them going on another quest to find the next talisman - which is keeping with the video game theme - they free and beat the next great beast - which is a huge polar bear this time around but since Jhi is also a bear she manages to calm her down and speak to her. They get the talisman, travel back and then we get to the last part of the book - they find the bad guys, Rollan sees one of them and realizes that it's his mother - he also learns that she is under the influence of the substance the conquerors uses to heal the bond sickness- so he meets her, learns that it's her and learns that she is under the control and cannot help attacking him. She nearly kills him and they barely escape alive - I loved the tension and action and even though this series is meant for younger kids I think that this one should be meant for slightly older kids- it's not that graphic but the final battle almost feels too intense for a book meant to be read by 8-12 years old. This one is amazing though and I love that we keep getting more and more character growth and that we learn more and more about each main character as each book is finished.
caw34's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Each book is relatively engaging, but I don't really get the overall "goal": collect the talismans and then what? Also each book has been the same: need to find animal, struggle to find animal, struggle to find talisman, struggle against Shane et al for talisman, either keep talisman or lose it dramatically/painfully to Shane. Repeat.
Each book is relatively engaging, but I don't really get the overall "goal": collect the talismans and then what? Also each book has been the same: need to find animal, struggle to find animal, struggle to find talisman, struggle against Shane et al for talisman, either keep talisman or lose it dramatically/painfully to Shane. Repeat.
mudder17's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 - 4 stars
This wasn't a bad addition to the series, though I think I liked some of the earlier ones more. There was a lot more battling and I think I'm just not quite as interested in that. But the story line with Rollan was pretty interesting. The budding romance did seem a bit forced between him and Rollan, but perhaps that's because this is a MA book? Like I said, it wasn't a bad addition, but I'm looking forward to the next one. To me it's very interesting that this series is written by multiple authors. I'm curious how much collaboration there was between the authors.
This wasn't a bad addition to the series, though I think I liked some of the earlier ones more. There was a lot more battling and I think I'm just not quite as interested in that. But the story line with Rollan was pretty interesting. The budding romance did seem a bit forced between him and Rollan, but perhaps that's because this is a MA book? Like I said, it wasn't a bad addition, but I'm looking forward to the next one. To me it's very interesting that this series is written by multiple authors. I'm curious how much collaboration there was between the authors.
mudder17's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 - 4 stars
This wasn't a bad addition to the series, though I think I liked some of the earlier ones more. There was a lot more battling and I think I'm just not quite as interested in that. But the story line with Rollan was pretty interesting. The budding romance did seem a bit forced between him and Rollan, but perhaps that's because this is a MA book? Like I said, it wasn't a bad addition, but I'm looking forward to the next one. To me it's very interesting that this series is written by multiple authors. I'm curious how much collaboration there was between the authors.
This wasn't a bad addition to the series, though I think I liked some of the earlier ones more. There was a lot more battling and I think I'm just not quite as interested in that. But the story line with Rollan was pretty interesting. The budding romance did seem a bit forced between him and Rollan, but perhaps that's because this is a MA book? Like I said, it wasn't a bad addition, but I'm looking forward to the next one. To me it's very interesting that this series is written by multiple authors. I'm curious how much collaboration there was between the authors.
espieee's review against another edition
4.0
I think these books are great for ages 8-10, but this book was a bit more 11-14. I mean, it wasn’t too violent, but between this one and the others before, there is a difference. :)