This book is full of excitement, danger, and thrills. It is a powerful opening to the Berinfell Prophecies series, and kids and teens will eat it up... and then anxiously wait for the sequel.

Seven young teens around the world begin to discover that they now possess unusual talents that they didn't have before. But that's not all. Their talents draw the attention of mysterious neighbors, beautiful librarians, quirky janitors, and freaky strangers who don't have their best interests in mind. Who can they trust?

There are so many great things about this book- it's hard to list them all. What struck me most was the incredible world-building that went into the background. Most of the story takes place in our world, present-day, but there are brief glimpses into another time and place that is carefully colored and brought to life. The culture of the Elves is fascinating, and their struggles with the forces of the Spider King are masterfully presented, bit by bit, so that the reader always wants to find out more. And even the scenes that take place in our world -such as Paris or Scotland- were painted so vividly that I felt like I could see the events happening right in front of me.

Another thing I liked was the fact that several key, heroic roles were filled by librarians, teachers, and bookstore owners. Not only do I find this positive view of adults refreshing in the plethora of moody YA fiction out there today, but I also work at a library with real librarians, and I know they would be tickled by such shining characters. Cheers to authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper!