Thursday, March 22, 2012

Book Review: Brigitta of the White Forest

Brigitta is a young Water Fairie on the cusp of learning what her destiny will be in the White Forest, the protected realm of her people. Will she be a Feast Master like her mother? An Inventor like her father? There's no way to tell until the proper markings show up on the tips of her wings. In the meantime, she has to deal with the types of problems facing any maturing young lady including her precocious (and often annoying) little sister who always seems to be hanging around.

One day, while flying an errand, Brigitta and her sister are horrified to discover that all of their family and friends have been turned to stone. In fact, every living being in the White Forest is now this way. Why were they spared from the curse and why did it have to happen now -- only days before the Hourglass of Protection's last grain of sand falls?

With the help of an ancient inhabitant of the dark forest, Brigitta and her sister set out to find the answers to these questions before time runs out and the outside world, with all of it's dangers, comes pouring in.

Smoothly written, Brigitta of the White Forest is a fun and engaging read with an interesting story and unique characters (my favorites were Gola and her familiar, Minq). Author Danika Dinsmore does a fine job in keeping the story moving and avoiding the tiresome over-description that often plagues this genre.


Correction: I removed a part of the above review where I erroneously noted that Brigitta was labeled as a YA novel.


The Accidental Novelist said...

Hi Roger, Thanks for the read and I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

The book is actually middle grade (we market it as ages 9-12). I think Magic Appreciation listed it as YA simply because they didn't have a middle grade category.

Roger Eschbacher said...

Danika -- In that case, I have no criticism at all and shall amend my review.

It really is a fun read, folks!

Daniel said...

You should harass those Magic Appreciation Tour people about adding Middle Grade as a category.

Oh, wait...nevermind. I'll take care of it. ;-)

Nice job on the review, Roger. Short and sweet. I also like that no stars were involved. "Recommended" is good enough!

Roger Eschbacher said...

Thanks, Daniel! Yeah, if you check my archives, you'll see I'm a man of fewer words when it comes to book reviews.

And thanks for adding MG as a category -- if only the ABNA would follow your lead!