Avalon: Web of Magic – All That Glitters (Book Two)
By Rachel Roberts
Illustrated by: Allison Strom
Published by Seven Seas
ISBN-10: 1-933164-67-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-933164-67-0
Review by Kris
Before I jump into the synopsis and review of this book I have to thank the fans of this series. When you read the comments posted after my review for Avalon: Web of Magic – Circles in the Stream (Book One) you'll see that I got thoroughly spanked because of my idiocy and ineptitude. I did make some mistakes and I am very sorry for that. Emily does follow some of the dogs that she is taking care of into Ravenswood when she runs into Adriane. When I initially read the book I thought she wanted to ask the girl who brought in the cat if she knew what was hurting or killing the
local animals. Another thing I made a mistake on was the fact that Ozzie was never a magical creature and his spell didn't backfire. It was the Fairimentals (very magical creatures made of air, earth, water or fire and live in the magical world of Aldenmore) who disguised Ozzie as a ferret to protect him. When I read these books, I read them all together so many things mushed together in my brain and I misrepresented some of the story. So I must apologize to both the author and the fans for my mistakes and I hope I get this review right, and if I screw it up again don't hesitate to straighten me out! Also to the one reader who was upset I didn't mention Stormbringer, I had planned on doing that in my review for the third book, so have no fear, she'll get her time to shine.
Now on to the synopsis and review of Avalon: Web of Magic – All That Glitters (Book Two)!
The Fairimentals of Aldenmore, to save the magic of the universe, have found their three mages in Pennsylvania. Those mages are the Healer, Emily Fletcher, the Warrior, Adriane Charday, and the Blazing Star, Kara Davies. The Fairimentals also sent them a helper named Ozzie, who happened to be an elf but is now disguised as a ferret. Each of the girls were given a gift, a gemstone that helps them harness their magical abilities. But only Emily and Adriane were given stones and Kara is beyond jealous. She wants a fancy jewel and one that is more powerful that either Adriane's or Emily's. One day at the Ravenswood Preserve Kara stumbles upon just this stone. Not only is it beautiful but she can sense that it is very powerful.
School is just about to begin when Ka
ra's world turns upside down. She has clothes that turn up missing, slimy banshees seem to be foretelling of doom all because of her, she seems to be attracting actual dragonflies (tiny, flying, magical dragons), and a wild cat seems to be watching her. It's so hard to be popular with her fellow students and magical creatures alike. She is at a loss with what she needs to do. She has this magical ability but she can't talk about it with her friends, and the two girls who understand what she's going through aren't popular enough for her to associate with in public. Will Kara be able to manage her popularity with both the magical world and the regular world?
When I first started this series I have to say that I immediately knew that I wasn't going to like Kara. I then started the second book and almost immediately began to despise her. I was always able to relate to Emily and Adriane (they resemble me quite a bit when I was their age) but Kara was always the type of character that I always disliked. She suffers from a ginormous superiority complex and feels that because she's the Blazing Star she deserves to be the best. It's because of that attitude that is now causing her all of these problems (namely the banshees). If she continues with the superior attitude it is foretold that she could become like the Dark Sorceress. She is the witch that is stealing all of the magic from the magical web that she can find, taking the magic from the animals of Aldenmore, and is also looking for Avalon so she can keep the magic for herself. She eventually does redeem herself and I found myself feeling for her, at least a little. I still am not a huge Kara fan but she seems to be trying a little harder to accept Adriane and Emily as friends.
So far I'm finding this to be a great series. It not only has a great message about saving animals and saving the Earth but it also shows that girls are awesome! I feel that this is a good series for late elementary to middle school readers, unless you're like me and love to read books for all ages on the spectrum (one of my favorite books is ABC and 123 by Colin McNaughton, a book aimed at early readers and I'm 30!) Seven Seas is doing an excellent job with the publishing. The books are aimed to spark interest with manga readers and so the illustrations have a very cool look to them. Not only are they publishing this series but they've also started publishing a manga series featuring the Avalon: Web of Magic characters. These are aimed at all ages. I love the idea of expanding the series beyond just the books and I found the manga to be just as fun as the novels.
I recommend this series to girls of all ages because of the awesome message contained within these pages.