- I don't see many books about gnomes, and even rarer still to see them as good POV characters. Plus, pet sitting and there's a wolf on the cover - How could I resist?
- Pepper Neely is a gnome, which are quite different than most tales have you believe. I loved finding out about it all, their abilities and their relationships with the other paranormal species. I have a theory about the witches and gnomes past history, that I'm very curious to see what happens next.
- Her family lives in a nice middle class neighborhood, though nowadays they seem richer as poverty rises. Traditionally strict and loving, they're magically normal. School, rules, groundings, chores, homework...with a few cave explorations, pet sitting jobs, and the magic thief running around.
- Pepper and her best friend Luna are adorable together, how they make their relationship work and manuever to hang out. It's too bad Luna was rather bland, besides her magic. I'm hoping like Pepper, this adventure will give them the needed boost to put more pep in their step.
- I liked that the narrator, Barbara Goldie, sounded right for Pepper Neely. Sounding so young is impressive. However, she spoke so slowly, that I sped it up twice as fast (which I never do). I didn't have this issue with other MG books I've listened to, but maybe it's intentional for kids or better read on paper.
- There was plenty of downtime between plot progression and I wish Pepper had been a bit more rebellious for more action. I was expecting a mystery busting duo that made plans and laid traps, but felt they more mundane, like two goody-two shoes stumbling into it all.
- I don't know if it's the narrator or the story or both, but even sped up and given how short it is, it felt like it dragged a bit, hence the four stars.
Recommended for kids wanting stability of family and friends with magic, pets, and a mystery afoot. Wholesome, reassuring, and nice confidence boost for girls feeling the pressure of growing up different like Pepper.
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Runs Sep. 3rd-10th⎮Continental US Only
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This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon