Wednesday, March 11, 2015

MG Review: The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

20980662The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
Published: November 4th, 2014
 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Middle Grade Fantasy/Adventure
Pages: 448
Format: Hardcover
Source:  Public Library



From Goodreads:  'It is said the Bintheyr Map to Everywhere will take its possessor wherever he or she needs to go...' 

Master thief, Fin, is unusual - when he's out of sight, everyone forgets he exists! He needs to find his mother - the one person who might remember him.  Schoolgirl, Marrill, boards a pirate ship in a car park and is carried off to another world. She needs to find her way home. Fin and Marrill are on a wild adventure to find the Map to Everywhere, but can they escape the Oracle - a dark and powerful wizard who seeks the map to fulfill a terrifying prophecy?"




My Thoughts....

Reading The Map to Everywhere is like going on an adventure, filled with all these different interconnected worlds.  I just loved the premise of the Pirate Stream, which is this magical waterway connecting these worlds at "some place and some time." The settings of the Gibbering Grove to the Crystal Shadow Wastes each were unique and presented new challenges to the pair.  There is also this rich vocabulary of nautical and map terms, pirate lore and fun characters.  Throw in a few wizards, and danger and you have a fun adventure. I adored all the gorgeous illustrations, with small ones at the beginning of the chapters and the full page ones that were just phenomenal.  Just imagine images like the one on the cover ever few pages.  The authors writing style and use of word play, even the way in which they structured the text in one of their chapters, really added to the overall story.  I mean the map is called the Bintheyr Map (been there map), such fun.  Fin and Marrill really are the ones that shine in this story.  You really feel for this master thief that was left at an orphanage when he was four.  Not remembered by anyone, until he meets Marrill. Their friendship is really sweet.  Overall, a very fun pirate adventure story that would make for a great read aloud.  



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful cover! I can't wait to read this one. It sounds awesome and I loved reading your review. Seriously- I hope I get my hands on it soon. :) Thanks for sharing!
    ~Jess

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  2. You have to love a good pirate adventure! This sounds like a lot of fun. I liked Carrie Ryan's zombie YA series (well, at least the first and third books), so I'm glad to hear the transition to MG went well.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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