Within the Whispering Shadows Comes A Wonderful Novel

Author: D.E. Night 

Title: The Girl with the Whispering Shadow

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Source: Paperback

Rating: 4 out of 5 paws

Ivy has just saved the world from the Dark Queen and has found out she fulfills a prophecy.  She is quickly whisked away from her school to the town of Belzebuthe.  Belzebuthe is a secret town for only those with magical blood, if you don't already know where the town is you will be unable to be able to find it.  Ivy sets out on a new quest to find the second piece to the Kindred Stone while hiding from the Dark Queen. While she is supposed to be safe within Belzebuthe, something seems to be looming over her head.  She needs to find the magic within herself and more as she beigins the battle of her life.  Will she find the next stone and return the Halls of Ivy before it is too late?

This is the second book in the Crowns of Croswald series and it remains a wonderful series.  This is a series for anyone who enjoys reading whimsical fantasy.  The book picks up right where the last one left off with Ivy learning more nd strives to find the rest of the stones.  D.E Night builds a world that is so imaginitve and unique.  In this series readers see a world where learning, sketching, word usage, imagination and discovery are all important parts of magic.  D.E describes everything in way that it is easy to see the world being painted in front of you as you progress through the book.  In this series magic users (or scrivinist) use quills instead of wands and some partake in a game called Quogo where opponents do battle using quills from former scrivinist.  She has so many creative ideas that makes me want to see where night takes the series.

One thing that I love about the series is while there is a budding romance between Ivy and Fin, that is not the sole focus.  They build their friendship first, the most we've seen between the two characters has been a blush and some flirting.  It is fantastic for a young adult book to show the friendship building side of a relationship rather than jumping into a relationship.  Readers also see a character struggling with finding her place in the world, dealing with feelings of inadequacies, and how she copes with all of the things she faces with the help of her friends, her knowledge, and her own power.  Ivy is a powerful role model that I think young girls need to have.

I have refered to this a young adult novel, but I would recommend it middle grade readers as well.  I lump it as YA because Ivy is a 16 year old girl.There is so much in Ivy that readers of all ages would benefit from.  If you are looking for a good fantasy read, I would give Crowns of Croswald as a series a try.  you won't be disappointed.