Wild Born (Spirit Animals, #1)

by Brandon Mull

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

~*Follow all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~

Wild Born is the first in the Spirit Animals middle-grade series (complete with the online game), written by a line-up of amazing writers who have already made their stamp in the world of either MG or YA. I just happened to walk by the series on the shelf at my local library and stopped, attracted by the pretty spines (yes, I'm shallow sometimes). Then I realized that Brandon Mull (Fablehaven series), Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle), and a string of other amazing writers had contributed books...and I was TOTALLY invested before even knowing what they were about!

The story is set in the fantasy world of Erdas - which is clearly based on our world with similar geographical and cultural divides, and in a time where sword fighting and martial arts are common place, and the calvary is supreme on the battlefield. Four kids undergo the coming-of-age ritual of their people, and call forth a spirit animal! That's exciting enough in itself, but these are not just normal spirit animals, but beasts out of legend and almost out of time.

There is a lot of world set-up in this one, but it's presented as the story goes along and I found it fascinating. Also there weren't many scenes where some kind of action wasn't happening as the characters progressed from one bump in the road to the next. I loved it! Especially near the beginning, there was a little more tell vs. show than I like, but it smoothed itself out for the most part.

I love how different all the kids are, and how their bonds with their animals proceed on individual paths. My favorite has to be the nonconformist, Rollan, who wants to do good in the world but refuses to completely believe in the mainstream. Also his spirit animal is a falcon, what's not to love?

The plot is obviously only getting started, but I felt the reunion between the four was somewhat rushed at the end of the book. It's going to be super interesting to see how all these different authors write in the same world and with some (if not all) of the same characters.

4/5 stars. Highly recommend, and these will be going on my shelf at home!

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