Book Review-The Owl Keeper

By Christine Brodien-Jones

Illustrations by Maggie Kneen

Published by Random House Children's Books

Released on April 13, 2010

Source- Random House

4.5 Stars-I really liked this book. Go pick it up.

Five years ago, Maxwell Unger was diagnosed with a rare and mysterious illness making him allergic to sun particles. Max had always loved the night, but now, at almost twelve years old, it was all he knew. During the day the shade were drawn, clipped tightly together, in order to avoid the sunlight.

Before Max was brave, he used to do things like go out into the forest with his gran after dark. He would listen to her stories about the world before the Destruction-about nature, and books and silver owls. But his absolute favorite, the one story that he love more than any other, was the one about the Owl Keeper. It was the Owl Keeper, according to his gran, who in times of darkness would appear to unite the owls and sages against the powers of the dark.

But things are different now. Gran is gone, and so are her stories of what used to be. Max is afraid now. The forest is dangerous. The books are destroyed. The silver owls are extinct (or so the Hight Echelon would like people to believe). But Max knows better.

With the help of a mysterious girl who appears under his owl tree, Max is forced to reach inside and find his bravery once more, because the time of the Owl Keeper is coming soon. (taken from press release about the book, received from Random House).

I am so captivated by the cover. It's beautiful. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are just as intriguing. Get ready to be swept away into an amazing world where nothing is what it seems, and as the darkness is taking over the world, the hope of many rests on two eleven and twelve year olds.

Max and Rose live in a world that has been taken over by The High Echelon. They have destroyed everything that was good in the world, and have killed off most of the animals, altered the weather, which destroyed much of the world and in the year 2066 they are now altering people. Books have all been burned, people go missing, families aren't what they used to be, and people's memories are fading. Now The High Echelon is about to destroy the last hope anyone has to fight the darkness, Max. Except for Max doesn't know that he's the last hope. At least not yet anyway.

You can read more of my review on our Children's Book Review Blog here-http://tinyurl.com/35ka8w2