Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Howard von Darkmoor

This book was fun! I enjoyed reading this young adult tale, the first in a series about hidden exotic wildlife preserves and the special caretakers who live on them. Fablehaven isn't like any preserve you've ever heard of! All the creatures that reside here - and the dozens of preserves like it spread across the globe - are just as dangerous as they are endangered and just as hard to see as they are hard to believe in! Although a little dose of special milk really puts a spin on things...

Fablehaven is home to all the fantastical, mystical creatures one would associate with, well, fable. Many of the classical creatures of myth and fantasy lore abide here, including naiads, trolls, ogres, fairies, imps, satyrs and many more, both seen and hinted at. All of it not only right here in the good ol' US of A, but just over there in Connecticut!

Brandon Mull's debut novel (2006 was quite the year for first-time authors, eh?) is a well-written piece of creativity that will enthrall children and interest adults. A tale of discovery and courage, it encompasses the comparison of many things: the results of having rules - too strictly following them and too blatantly disregarding them; the consequences of choice - the differences between self-interest, self-preservation, self-pity and self-lessness; the onus of opportunity - a study of the two-edged sword of opportunity that gives freedom and demands responsibility.

This is a clever story that perfectly scores with its target market and does exactly what it claims to do. I am confident any reader of young adult fantasy fiction will agree that this is a delightful beginning of a series to look forward to. I am glad to add Brandon Mulls Fablehaven to my library and would definitely recommend it to any young-at-heart readers.