Raven Saga Volume 1

Wen is living at home with her grandmother, who is keeping her from seeing the outside world using a magical barrier in order to protect both of them. One day, a prince collapses in the woods near the barrier, and Wen is drawn to him, so she crosses the barrier to help him. During this, a strange boy comes with his flock of ravens and kidnaps Wen’s grandmother. Wen convinces Prince Corliss and his trusty companion, Theo, to come help her on her quest to help her grandmother. On this journey, she discovers things aren’t as magical as she believed, and there is a lot of danger she can get into. Even as things get rough, Wen is determined to unlock the mystery of her past and the boy with the ravens with her new friends.

What I Liked: This book starts with a beautiful illustration that introduces you to Wen and her grandmother. This beginning sequence informs you that Wen isn’t allowed to leave the outside world, and how much she longs for this. In these beginning pages, you get a chance to see some of the things that Wen enjoys, such as working with the animals and reading. You also get some humorous scenes as she spots a cat wearing clothes and decides to try putting her animals in clothing.

This book is easy to get through, and the illustrations help move the story along. The sweet illustrations provide a great contrast to the dark illustrations when villains are introduced to the story. The different colors that are used for Wen and the villains do a great job of distinguishing the roles that each character plays in the story.

The pacing of the story is great as you find certain mysteries out quickly, such as the curse that the prince has, yet other things are left for later. We get an idea that there is something mysterious about Prince Corliss’s companion, Theo, which makes you want to read more to learn more about who he is.

Final Verdict: Raven Saga Volume 1 is a cute fantasy story that incorporates humor and mystery to build an intriguing plot. Young adults ages 14 and up will enjoy reading as Wen discovers things out in the real world, and find it humorous that there is so much she doesn’t know, so she appears as a naive child. This book is perfect for Disney fans as the art is reminiscent of Snow White, and the story is similar to Tangled in the aspects of Wen being locked away and experiencing the world for the first time.