Reviewed by Kelsenator on
Teagan and her family are an interesting bunch. Her mother is a painter, who writes children’s books, and her art is all about goblins. Her father is a librarian who loves to tell stories and her brother can remember any song he’s heard and just loves to sing. Teagan loves to help others, especially the animals at the zoo where she works part-time.
Things start off by her cousin Finn moving into their place after he has a mishap and breaks his arm. He technically isn’t Teagan’s real cousin, since her mom was adopted, so he hits on her a tiny bit at first. She doesn’t give in, the strong girl!
Then she starts to see things. Little cat-like creatures following her (cat-sidhe) and causing mischief, and her brother seeing a shadow in the house that follows someone. Finn decides to leave after this incident, convinced they followed him there. He’s an Irish traveler, always roaming and hardly staying in one place for too long, possibly to keep the creatures away.
When their father goes missing, they need Finn’s help to get them back so it’s a good thing he finds them just in time. They would need to go into the Mag Mell though, which is kind of like a forest where all the evil goblins live, and which no one escapes if they’re caught. Getting there is easy but getting out is going to be the hard part, with all sorts of creatures that could get them and no real sense of direction inside. Especially when the ruler, Doirich is the one holding him captive.
One of the best things about this book, was the Irish myths and the Goblins and other creepy creatures. I loved the tales that were told, and will be going and looking at my own myth book later to brush up on it more. I loved the character’s names too, I think I’m a sucker for it since I’m part Irish myself (small part, but still). I loved how the goblins were described, but the cat-sidhe was extra creepy and it had me watching my back the day after I read it just in case.
Recommended for young adults who love fantasy!
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 10 July, 2012: Finished reading
- 10 July, 2012: Reviewed