Fablehaven

I liked Fablehaven. I did not love it. It was fine. Don’t get me wrong; it had a lot of interesting ideas. I loved the idea of having preserves for magical creatures so they didn’t go extinct. I loved the idea that there are extremists who want to let chaos into the world and have survival of the fittest. However, I did not love Seth, and I did not love the pacing.

So here is my issue with Seth. He never listens. I get that he is an adventurous boy, but Brandon Mull takes it to an extreme I feel is unrealistic. Every problem they have would not have happened if Seth hadn’t done something stupid. After the second time, it just feels like the author doesn’t have any other ideas of how to start a conflict. To be fair, Seth does begin to learn some lessons by the end of the book, but from my experience, those same lessons should have been learned earlier. (Watch the YouTube video below for my in-depth, full-of-spoilers review for more information on why I feel this way.) Brandon Mull sets up the possibility of conflict from other sources, but he doesn’t capitalize on it. Although I’ve only read the first book, so maybe those set-ups are for something later in the series.

Overall, I do think it is a great read for actual 12-14-year-olds, which I’m pretty sure are the intended audience. I also feel it has great potential to be a fantastic series. I guess time will tell as I read the rest. My advice is if you’re looking for a book for your kids or students, by all means, get this one. If you’re an adult who likes YA, maybe it’s okay to skip it.

If you want to buy it, you can find it here.