Rate this book

Darwen Arkwright And The Peregrine Pact (2011)

by A.J. Hartley(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1595144099 (ISBN13: 9781595144096)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Razorbill

series

Darwen Arkwright

review 1: Kind of an obvious Harry Potter/Narnia/many other children's fantasy adventures into another world rip off. Although I made it about 200 pages in, I did not finish reading the book. I was not that interested in the characters or their plight. I so badly wanted to be drawn into this world, I loved the idea of enchanted mirrors, and traveling through parallel universes with steampunk inventions, odd and terrifying creatures. However, the delightful cover art and chapter pictures, and the hints at a fascinating adventure and new world could not hold my interest. A quibble: Darwen's experiences with his difficult classmates, bullies and hellish teachers seemed extreme, I could not imagine a teacher, even if he is a coach, would watch a kid be pummled and then get mad at him ... morefor not liking football. It was as if every teacher were a combination of Snape and Umbridge taken to the extreme, oh the horrors of rich, Southern private schools is what I believe the author was trying to jam into my eyeballs. I'm very suprised that this is on the semifinalist list for the Mark Twain award. Disappointing for me, but maybe I have to be in elementary/middle school to enjoy it.
review 2: Darwen Arkwright is a proper Northern English boy who finds himself living with his aunt in Atlanta. He is a fish out of water, he doesn't talk like everyone else and he has no idea what the other kids are about. One day in the mall he sees a strange bird and follows it into Mr. Octavius Peregrine's Reflectory Emporium: Mirrors Priceless and Perilous. Mr. Peregrine gives him a mirror that turns out to be a portal to another world. Silbrica is a strange and wonderful world that has all kinds of creatures. There are good things like Moth the dellfey, but there are also dangerous ones like the gnashers and scrobblers and shades. Darwen is also dealing with his new school, Hillside Academy, and the students and teachers there. The teachers are hard on him for not knowing what they are teaching and the students make fun of him for his accent and lack of knowledge. Darwen does make a couple of friends: eccentric Alex and scientific Rich. Together they explore Silbrica and try to discover what is happening there. I thought this was a good fantasy novel that boys especially will enjoy. There is a lot of action and adventure and danger throughout the novel. I guess my problem with the book was the characters. While Darwen, Rich and Alex are well thought out characters, everyone else seems very one dimensional and over the top. The adults especially were a little hard to swallow. However, it is an enjoyable read and I like the world Hartley created in Silbrica. less

Download links for: Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact

Advertising