Eden's Escape

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Author(s)

M. Tara Crowl

Publisher

disney hyperion

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Release Date

September 06, 2016

ISBN

978-1484711866

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Eden's new life on earth begins in New York City under the guidance of her new guardian: Pepper, a petite, bubbly genie alum who's also a Broadway actress. Before she has a chance to settle in, though, Eden is whisked away for a granting--only to find herself trapped in a laboratory. David Brightly, owner of the world's leading tech company, cares more about tapping into the lamp's power than making a wish and starts performing tests on Eden. With Brightly's plasma shield around the lamp, Eden has no way home. Left without a choice, she escapes the lab and goes on the run. After her daring exit, Eden finds herself on the streets of Paris--home to Electra's headquarters. Left in a strange city with a price on her head (courtesy of scheming Brightly), Eden has to keep her wits about her. She dons a chic disguise and flits around Paris incognito, investigating Brightly Tech. Assisted by Pepper and her old adversary Bola, as well as some new friends, Eden embarks on a quest to retrieve the lamp and protect the secrets of the genie legacy.

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The Magic of Paris

November 01, 2016

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4.0

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After Eden's Wish, the title character has been allowed to live outside the lamp while she is granting her 999 wishes. Xavier and Goldie allow her to live in New York City with the genie Pepper as her guardian. The two have a great time taking in the sights, but when Eden gets her first wish, things go wrong. She has been called by David Brightly, the head of an enormous tech firm, and he wants to experiment on her and the lamp to see if he can unlock the secret to endless wishes. Eden manages to escape, but finds herself in Paris without a way to get back to New York. On top of that, Brightly alerts the news that his adopted daughter has been kidnapped-- and flashes pictures of Eden all over the news. Luckily, Eden meets Melodie, a French girl who helps her survive in Paris and contact Pepper to come and get her. Meanwhile, the Electra decide that this is a good time to claim the lamp for their own, so Eden is fighting them as well. The Loyals help, and eventually Eden is able to salvage the situation and return to her wonderful new life on earth.

Good Points

This was even more fun than the first book, and the sights and sounds of both New York and Paris are greatly detailed. Even Delta's decrepit house with huge numbers of birds is amusing. Eden has the background knowledge about both cities from her genie training, as well as a good command of French, so she should be able to travel anywhere!

The characters are my favorite part of this. Eden is a typical middle grade student, but one with a lot more opportunities and powers. Pepper is an energetic and amusing guardian, and Melodie is a worthy companion who gives her unquestioning support to Eden's escapades. Even Tyler and Sasha make a brief appearance, with the romantic interest in Tyler remaining fairly strong.

With a unique premise, evil tech villain, and lots of adventure, this is a great read for those who enjoy magical realism like Kessler's Emily Windsnap books, Mlynowski's Whatever After series, and the classic works of Edward Eager and Mary Norton.

Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 2014 reviews

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Eden's Escape

September 28, 2016

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I had the opportunity to read both ‘Eden’s Escape’ and Eden’s Wish’. They are both installments in the ‘Eden of the Lamp Series’.

This is a middle grade, fantasy series geared toward ages 9-12.

The premise of the series is that ‘Eden’ is a 12-year-old genie in training. She lives in her genie lamp with her two mentors, Goldie and Xavier.

Whenever someone on Earth finds the genie lamp and rubs it, Eden must appear and give them three wishes.

Eden is from a long line of genies. When each genie reaches 999 wishes granted, they get their own wish and live for the rest of eternity on earth.

In the first installment ‘Eden’s Wish’, Eden grows tired of granting wishes and decides to spend to live as a normal human teenager on earth. During her time on Earth, Eden makes friends with siblings, Tyler and Sasha.

‘Eden’s Escape’ is the second installment in the ‘Eden of the Lamp’ series. Eden is staying in New York with genie alum, Pepper. Eden’s life on earth soon takes a turn for the worse.

I really enjoyed both books. Even though it is a middle-grade series, it is written is such a way as to also be enjoyable for teenagers or adults. I loved that the novels were fantasy but the premise was totally different from most other fantasy middle-grade fantasy novels .

When I began reading the novels, I couldn’t help but compare them to the T.V. show ‘I Dream of Genie’. I also couldn’t help but wonder if ‘Eden’s’ name was inspired by the ‘I Dream of Genie’, actress Barbara Eden. Eden’s escape was in fact totally original and totally different from the T.V. show.

I think it is really significant that Crowl made Eden a genie apprentice who, although magical, had flaws. Eden makes mistakes throughout the stories but learns from them. This makes ‘Eden’ very relatable and likable. I also enjoyed the back story to the lamp. The past genie alums were all ‘brilliant and beautiful’ but came in many shapes and sizes and ethnicity. I loved how ‘Xavier’ was described as looking like Clark Gable.

Crowl also did a wonderful jobs with the descriptions. The description of the inside of the lamp was detailed and descriptive.

I think the ‘Eden’ stories have an interesting premise, wonderful characters, and a positive message. I can’t wait for my kids to read them.