I'm not sure why this book seemed so bad to me. With a few books I have felt that I was missing something the author had hidden, but I could not feel that this book even contained anything to be missed! I've never had such a hard time with a book, and I generally can read the most mature literature. I like Cooper's writing style, but of all the books in her series, this is my least favorite. The order of events and the mystical things that happen leave the reader waiting for them to make sense, but they never do! Perhaps this book will work for me someday, but I much preferred the prequel, Over Sea Under Stone. Too bad it couldn't help make Dark is Rising make better sense.