The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones

The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones

Children's/Middle Grade Fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

Maxwell Unger has always loved the night. He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his Gran after dark. He loved the stories she told him about the world before the Destruction--about nature, and books, and the silver owls. His favorite story, though, was about the Owl Keeper.Max's Gran is gone now, and so are her stories of how the world used to be. The forest is dangerous, the books Gran had saved have been destroyed, the silver owls are extinct, and Max is no longer brave. But when a mysterious girl comes to town, he might just have to start being brave again. The time of the Owl Keeper, Gran would say, is coming soon.

First Thoughts: I LOVE OWLS!! As I am typing this I am wearing my owl pj's. Yup. That's right. I am an adult and I have owl pj's and I am not ashamed to say it! Anyway, I received this book off of GoodReads as a First Reads and what got me of course was the owls. I don't read children's books anymore, not since Harry Potter (in the beginning) so it was definitely the owls that got me.

Writing Style: I have to say, I love Christine. Her writing made it easy to fall into the story and get lost in it. The characters are children and I think that she captured how children act in real life in this book. I felt everything that I was supposed to feel like anger and betrayed. Christine created a new world.

Characters: Poor Max. I am definitely a night person like him but to be allergic to the sun? That would suck! Throughout the book I felt his pain through the writing. Reading the things he lost and what was happening to him. If anyone needed to be a hero it was him. Rose is my favorite character though. She is so spunky and so sure of herself, for a twelve year old that is pretty cool. Especially with her being in the situation that she was in, she never showed fear and kept going. She is one brave girl.

Final Thoughts: The only reason this book took so long was because this was the busiest week of my year. I lost sleep because of this book. The only time I had time to read it was at night and I just couldn't stop. I have a feeling that this book could actually be the next Harry Potter. Now, I'm not saying it's sort of like the same story because Christine's story is no where near the same. What I am saying is that kids will fall in love with this book just like I did when I was a kid with Harry Potter. That is how fantastic this book really is. (This makes me wonder if there is a sequel in the works. I can't find if there will be anywhere but I sure hope there will be because I would not hesitate in buying it)