Once there was reading...

So I'm on to my second book of my 'book a week' challenge and I've realised that getting through one book, every week for an entire year is going to be quite the quest.

Last week I was wandering through my local library when an interesting cover caught my eye.

A book written by the legendary author of the 'How to Train Your Dragon' series, it has been the subject of a lot of fuss by the reading groups across social networks. I can understand why. The plot moves quickly but not fast enough to lose it's readers. The world woven is so beautiful and so vivid that it's almost as if you can reach out and touch it. The only weakness lies in the fact that she's so wrapped in the story she's written, the choice of character names can be a little daunting.
The two central characters, Xar (pronounced 'Zar') and Wish are excellently contrasted against each other and yet very similar.
The variety of language is just right: not too heavy, not too simple. The story is strong and I like the fact that it ends without clear morals being shoved down a reader's throat.

At 388 pages it already appears as though it may be the opening of a whole new series of stories. I hope so. I've never read the 'How to Train Your Dragon' series, but if its even half as good as this has been then I find I may have no choice but to steam through it!

I'll be posting a little more about my actual challenge in the next couple of days. In the meantime I highly recommend that you indulge in a little bit of magic, just once!

Book Title: 'The Wizards of Once' 

Author: Cressida Cowell

Published: 2017

Suitable for: children from 7 upwards.

Some interesting words used: 'distinctive', 'pursuit', 'meandering'. 

Favourite line: "Turning back time is impossible... ...but I can do it, for I am the God of this story and thus have rather more Magic than perhaps is quite good for me."