The Familiars by Adam Jacobson, Adam Jay Epstein Series: The Familiars #1
Published by HarperCollins on September 7th 2010
Pages: 360
Goodreads
Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?
Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so and Aldwyn is happy to play along.
He just has to convince the other familiars the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert that he's the powerful cat he claims to be.
Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia.
On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.(
I thought The Familiars looked like a fun, middle grade fantasy and it's also a debut novel, so I dove right in. A Typical fantasy plot – three human wizard apprentices are captured and the familiars must save them. Definitely full of twists, as Aldwyn has to hide his secret of having no magical abilities. Action-packed with time to build relationships, The Familiars is a great middle grade fantasy that many kids and teens will get a kick out of.
I really loved Aldwyn. He's an alley cat and his story is sort of the old rags-to-riches type scenario. Aldywyn is at the right place at the right time and finds himself becoming a familiar. He no longer need to con a meal daily and finds himself attached to his human counterpart. The other familiars provide a great trio of budding friends: Skyla – a bluejay who is interested in human magic, and Gregory – a tree frog who is mostly concerned with catching flies. Both have their own abilities to bring to the table.
Final Verdict: I think that anyone can see the rag-to-riches and rescue plot lines and compare it to other age-old stories they have read growing up. Also, the humor used in the novel also helps the reader relate to the characters. Definitely was a great read and one I would highly recommend to my students.
Cover Commentary: Very cute. Definitely looks magical. I especially love the title lettering.
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The cover of this book is totally adorable!
This sounds like a really fun book. I love animal stories, so I might just have to read this.
I love to read books and I try to be positive about books but this book was awful. Kalstaff was a dumbledore rip off and the rest of the book just made me mad.
Great review. I’m glad you enjoyed it. This has already been put on my wishlist. It does look like a good one.
Sounds like a book my niece would enjoy. I’ll have to check it out.
So cute and the story of wizard really attract me!
The cover is simply adorable!
This sounds like a really great middle school fantasy and I love the cover. Thanks for the review.
Sounds cute, I’ll have to get this for my sister.
Sounds like a fun one. I bet my daughter would enjoy it.
I didnt know that this is a debut novel. The cover makes the book look like a really fun read.
The cover of The Familiars looks really awesome.
I entered to win this book on Goodreads because I thought it looked really cute. Glad to hear you liked it.
Magical book with some cute animals as its character – this sure sounds like a fun, unique read to me.
I’m going to try my best to get a copy here at ALA! Thanks for the heads up!
This is the first time I have heard of this book — I haven’t read MG in a while, and this seems really great. Thank you for the review!
this looks really cute!
Sounds like fun. I am so glad there are so many great sounding MG books out there.