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Publisher: Elder Tree Books
Series: Keeper of the Keys Chronicles, Book 1
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)
A cursed traffic light. A rip in the fabric of the world. A possum sorcerer injured on a quest for revenge.
Kai and Ellie embark on a journey to return the sorcerer to his home. Entangled in events that could destroy the world, Kai must choose whether to accept the role he was born to play, but isn’t sure he wants.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Flight of Blue is about a boy who finds out that his parents are both Guardians. They seal up tears that could allow the Realm of Darkness to enter and destroy the world. In a chance meeting with a talking opossum sorcerer and a messenger that can turn herself from bird to human, Kai finds himself in a world he never could have dreamed of. What's more, he finds out that they're all relying on him to help a rip in the world, because he may be the person prophecised to save the world. With his best friend Ellie and his dog Sebastian, Kai takes on the responsibility of saving the world from the Realm of Darkness.
This novel is action-packed and takes turns with being serious and funny, which I greatly appreciated. No kid's book can be great without humor. I loved the relationship between Kai and Ellie; it seemed very real to me, and I knew they always had each other's backs. I also enjoyed how Howard is able to keep an adult presence throughout the story, but leaves it to the kids to fight the major battles. In most middle-grade novels, the adults are either completely absent or too present, but the author found a balance between both.
I would have liked the pacing the be a little slower. On the one hand, I liked how things just happen one right after another, and the reader is thrown in the situation along with Kai. Like Kai, we're unable to get our bearings or think straight because crazy things keep happening. However, I do think that there should have been a few pauses during the conflicts so we can absorb the severity of the situation. It also would have been a good chance to get out of Kai's head and explore the world a little bit more. I'm also not a fan of dialogue-heavy novels where most plot points are revealed through conversation, and Flight of Blue is that. Aside from those two things, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Regardless, this is an imaginative story that any kid will love. Talking animals, magic, and a secret society living with us in the world, protecting us from the Realm of Darkness. This is the sort of fantasy book kids live for.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
