Shieldwolf Dawning

From the Publisher: For 13-year-old Samarra, life behind the sheltering walls of the planet Gaia is stifling. But when she convinces her brother, Cassian, to run away to another world, everything they know is turned upside-down. Forced to join the Shieldwolves, an order of shamans, brother and sister find themselves in the middle of an escalating war between two magic factions.

My Review: My first impression of this was “Oh, dear…another sci/fi, fantasy novel for tweens/teens.” While it’s not my taste in genre, as I started reading the book, I started really getting into it. I actually found myself enjoying it! And no, I’m not a tween/teenager anymore. But I like to think of myself as a kid at heart ;)

We are given a story of a girl named Samarra. She is basically a slave to a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Sairfang, who rescued her and her younger brother, Cassian from a car accident in which they were told killed their parents. However, Mr. and Mrs. Sairfang had a hidden agenda. They knew Cassian was special and had a purpose. They wanted to get the secrets he held, so whenever he was home from boarding school, Mr. Sairfang would take Cassian away for a few days to try and extract what information he could. Samarra knew they were up to no good, but there was nothing she could do. She was basically treated as a nobody, while Cassian was the favorite and seen as the son they never had.

Samarra loves her brother and hates to see him in pain when he comes back from those “trips.” The love she has for Cassian exceeds no bounds. She definitely wants to give both of them a better life, and as the story progresses, Samarra finds a green tablet while cleaning out the attic and is curious and turns it on. What happens next changes not only her life, but Cassian’s life forever. After a little convincing, she convinces Cassian that they need to leave Gaia, the safe part of the world in which they lived.

This story reminds me a bit of a cross between Cinderella and Harry Potter. You have a young girl, orphaned, living with a couple that basically despises her, yet keeps her around simply because she’s the sister of Cassian. Shieldwolf Dawning is a novel that will take young readers on an adventure full of cool looking characters, cybot guards, war, talking dragons, and magic. It teaches about loyalty, friendship, and most of all, teaches them that the choices they make, good or bad, are ones they need to live with. And in the end, even if a choice has led them somewhere they never expected, they can be strong in that decision and learn to deal with it while going on with life. Because at some point in time, they will come to a crossroad, and will be given a tough decision. This book is a good gateway into talking about those situations with your child, and letting them know that they are strong and can handle just about anything that comes their way. But they need to take responsibility for those actions and decisions.

As I said earlier, I didn’t think I’d like this book, but it turned out to be very interesting. I do believe young readers (10+) will enjoy it very much due to all the cool things in it and how Nemorin describes what’s going on. It was very well done!

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                                                   ****4 Stars I really liked this book!