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The Water Castle (2013)

by Megan Frazer Blakemore(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0802728391 (ISBN13: 9780802728395)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Walker Childrens

review 1: This novel is about Ephraim Appledore-Smith. He is a middle child and his family has a long, mysterious history in the small town of Crystal Springs, Maine. When his family moves there after his father suffers a stroke, Ephraim quickly gets engulfed in a mystical journey that spans generations. A lot of true-history is woven into this fantasy including the discovery of the North Pole and the quest for the Fountain of Youth. This is a wonderful middle school tale of friendship, family, and adventure that sometimes feels like a cross between Harry Potter and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
review 2: After years of serving on the IRA Book Awards committee, I was interested to see what the members gave awards to this year. The Water Castle is the second nove... morel by Blakemore, and won a honor for Intermediate Fiction. It's the perfect book for intermediate readers. It has a Tuck Everlasting quality but Blakemore works for a more sophisticated take on the science and belief continuum. The search for a fountain of youth takes on urgency as a father's stroke needs attention. But the need for science to trump belief becomes even more critical. A historical weaving of the race to the north pole with some interesting challenges to our beliefs about who was first adds a layer to the novel. Blakemore attempts a lot in this novel and somewhat succeeds but in other hands it might have been better realized. less

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