The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

417 pages

"A snowy winter's night. Three small children are chased from their home by the forces of a merciless darkness. Ten years later, Kate, Michael, and Emma are no closer to the truth about what separated their family.

The answer lies with an enchanted atlas.

The power of the atlas unleashed, the children are transported to a land ruled by a golden-haired Countess and her army of soulless Screechers. Kate and her siblings soon find themselves on an incredible adventure - one that involves captive children; unexpected allies; bloodthirsty wolves; underground battles; a glittering, ghostly ball; sword-wielding giants; and a quest for three books of unspeakable power." -Dust Jacket

This is a fun kid's book. It started out so-so, not a standout among children's fantasy for me. Until the dwarves made their appearance. They added a great comedic element to the story. Hamish and Fergus had me laughing out loud. It helps that Michael has a fascination with dwarves and knows everything about them, even before he knew they actually existed.

{MINOR SPOILERS}

Kate is the big sister, age 14. She promised her mother the last time she saw her (when she was 4) that she would protect her brother and sister. As they have moved from orphanage to orphanage keeping that promise has made Kate grow up faster than most kids and has been a constant stress in her life. She goes through some emotional healing in this book. I liked that her brother and sister grow up and become more like equals by the end of the story.

Michael is sort of wimpy in the beginning. He gets picked on at the orphanages and has to be protected by his younger sister, Emma. He has a fascination with dwarves and knows everything about them from his dad's book, even before he knows they actually exist. That makes for a fun interaction when they first meet the dwarves and Michael really comes into his own after that.

Emma is a little spitfire. She's 11 in this book. She reacts before she thinks but she also leads with her heart. Gabriel was another favorite character in this book and their relationship is really sweet. He's a big giant of a man but he has a soft spot for Emma. I'm glad that his story turns out okay. I was worried for a minute.

There is time travel in this book which gets a little confusing at times, especially for a kid reading it. The atlas has the power to travel through time and space and Kate has been chosen by the book. At first they need a photograph to travel back and forth but then by the end all she has to do is think about where she wants to go. The story starts out in the present, then travels back 15 years, then another few months before that, then back to 15 years in the past, and then to the present! On top of that you have Dr. Pym who is a wizard. He has been a part of the children's lives since before they can remember because he knows their parents. He is with the children in every time period, so they start out meeting him, then they have to meet him again in the past, then again before that, then their meetings change the future. I know my kids would probably get lost in all that.

The Countess is a great villain. Her secretary is equally vile and the Screechers are scary. The author did a great job making them just evil and scary enough for a kid's book.

I'm getting really tired of having to wait for sequels and this is another one of those. The Emerald Atlas is the first in what I imagine will be a trilogy, with each book dealing with the three Books of Beginning. It looks like there will be a book for each child. I can't find a release date for the second book which means it will probably be awhile. This first book came out last year. It left a few things undone - like you still don't know the fate of the kids' parents - but I appreciated that the author didn't leave you totally hanging and the storyline wrapped up enough not to make the wait obnoxious.