artemis8's Full Review: Tony Abbott - In The City Of Dreams
There is a wading pool near our home for free for children under 48 inches. My son loves going and across the street is a parking lot. One of the times we went we went into the library and I let him pick out a book for me. He chose In The City of Dreams and I read part of it while he waded in the pool that afternoon.
The book is 120 pages and while it is recommended for ages 7 to 10 years old and I am a pretty fast reader I didn't want my son to turn into a prune in the pool so I didn't finish it in one sitting. The book is divided into ten chapters so it does allow for easy breaking points.
The book is part of The Secrets of Droon series. I have to admit I've not read the others in the series, which according to the inside front cover are Moon Magic, The Treasure of the Orkins, and Flight of the Blue Serpent. But the book does introduce the characters and give enough history that you don't feel too much in the dark or that you absolutely need to have read the previous books to be able to jump into the story.
The relationships between the children in this story, Eric, Neal and Julie must have been built more in previous books, but we know they are friends and the story begins with Eric being extremely ill and the children hoping to return to the world he is being kept in, to save him. But they need to wait to be called, they can't just go whenever they want.
When Julie and Neal finally are called, they see what a horrible state Eric is in, looking deathly pale on a bed. They learn of the place where the residents of Droon think they need to go to save him, Samarindo, a city of dreams. And Neal and Julie journey there with Princess Keeah as well another friend and his bird to help guide them.
There is adventure, flying wolves, a huge dragon, and a fight to get their friend to return to himself, both his body as well as his good nature, since the magic effecting him seems to be turning him evil.
I am not sure the age of the children, but I'd guess around 10. I know they go to school and there are illustrations in the book to help depict them. Tony Abbott does a nice job of moving this story along with his illustrations and text. I will admit that I didn't like how Eric treated his friends, though under the influence of something much stronger than he could control.
The end of the story leaves it open for another book and doesn't provide much closure. I am not sure how I feel about this. From the beginning on this book I can guess that the last book in the series ended in a similar way. I really it creates suspense but it also left me feeling unfulfilled, like (had I bought this) I hadn't gotten my money's worth. I like a conclusion, not a 'to be continued'.
I did like the writing and think this is a good book, but within the concept of a series and a series that you might want to wait till they are all out so you don't have to wait months to read the next one.
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