I am so incredibly grateful that my kids take after me and love to read. Ana has not truly read any mystery stories yet so when I had the chance to review The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe & Jerry B. Jenkins, I just knew that she would enjoy it. Thanks to Shiloh Run Press for sending this way awesome book to us, it was an amazing adventure that Ana LOVED!
The Glass Castle 
Avery has been kidnapped. And it is her thirteenth birthday. She has no idea who has taken her and she is concerned that her younger brother, Henry, may be in trouble too. After much confusion and fear Avery learns that the castle that she is being held in belongs to the King.
Along with her new found friends Avery sets out on a journey to understand why she has been taken, along with many other children that are thirteen. What is so significant about being thirteen she wonders.
The king is growing old and he is very concerned that he will not have anyone to replace him upon his death. His new wife would love to produce an heir for him. The problem with that though is the king’s first wife gave birth to a son, but he disappeared many years ago. No one knows his whereabouts and numerous rumors travel the castle about him.
A solution to the lost son? Get rid of ALL of the orphans in the kingdom.
Except Avery and her friends will not go away quietly, they have plans to blow this whole conspiracy out of the water. If only they don’t get caught first.
What We Thought of This Book
Ana loves to read (she is 11) and as I mentioned before, this is one of her first mystery books. At first she was a smidgen overwhelmed by the size of the book but once she began reading it, she couldn’t put it down. She read in the house, she read on the drives to our land, she read before bed, and as soon as she got up in the mornings. She read A LOT. At one point I specifically told her that she was NOT allowed to read after lights out. This is only the second book that has tempted her to read after bedtime. She was completely caught up in the story!
As she read, she shared what was going on in the story (I love that my kids share the books they read with me!). She was completely enthralled by the mystery that was taking place in the book. Ana enjoy the characters and she quickly began rooting for Avery. The antagonist in the story was well written, as it didn’t take long for Ana to recognize who was the “bad guy”.
Ana told me to share, “That if I didn’t already know what was going to happen, I would read the book all over again.” So, it goes without saying, that my girl was absolutely a fan of this book. She finished reading and one of the first things she said was, “Great! Now I have to wait until October to find out what happens!” I foresee a book purchase coming soon at my house!
As for me and my opinion of the book. I am a big fan of the cover art and I adore hardbound books. The text was a good size for young readers, just enough words on a page to make it feel like a “big kid” book yet not so overwhelming that it was too much. The book has 251 pages and has 41 short chapters, each between 4-7 pages in length. I would say that a competent reader could get through this book in a matter of days.
It was full of good ideas, suspenseful moments that encouraged Avery to be brave, a wonderful quality to have as a young child. I loved that the “bad guy” was just bad enough to dislike but not bad enough to hate.
Since Ana enjoyed it so very much, I am well pleased that we were able to review this book. And for my girl’s benefit, I am excited for the next book to come out as well! It is a good read for any budding mystery lover.
Visit my fellow Crew members to see what they thought of this book:
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I hope you enjoyed this review and that you visit again soon to see what else the kids and I have to share with you.
In His Grace.
Callie
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