The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens will snatch you away with a promisingly agile beginning of three siblings Michael, Kate, and Emma, who are taken from their parents one snowy Christmas Eve. After enduring many miserable orphanages they are taken to Cambridge Falls, where they stumble upon a world they were never supposed to know about.
John Stephen’s style in Emerald Atlas is both witty and clever, similar to that of Lemony Snicket. And fans of J.K Rowling, C.S Lewis and Philip Pullman will be staying up until midnight to get to the end. The characters are very in-depth and unique but plausible at the same time. You will feel sorry for Kate, feel the burden on her shoulders, and will compare Michael to people you know. Emma, with her cheekiness and bad temper will either be hated or loved. But either way, you will be hooked and want to read more.
Just by taking a look at the cover and the blurb it is easy to think that it is a magical children’s book intended for eight-ten year olds but you will be surprised at the complexity and depth of the storyline and the strong characterisation. This makes reading for the older children all the more interesting and realistic but the younger children might be confused by all the time travel or spooked by some of the graphic detail. I would recommend the reader being at least ten years old.
The Emerald Atlas is an amazingly original and wonderful novel and would recommend it to any children of both genders of ten or older. This book is a must-read, for an epic fantasy book like this is very rare these days.