Rating: 5 Stars
Malamander by Thomas Taylor is a magical middle grade fantasy story that will sweep you up. The author has created an imaginative world with interesting and endearing characters that is sure to please any age reader. Hands down the best middle grade book I read this year.
Herbert Lemon, aka Herbie, is the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel that is part of the small community of Eerie-on-the-Sea. When an item is left or lost at the hotel it comes to Herbie and it is his job to reunite the lost item with the owner. He sees all kinds of lost items including one Violet Parma who one winter’s day slips in through the hotel’s cellar window. Violet may just be the most unusual thing in Herbie’s collection of unusual things.
Violet has come in search of her parents that went missing when she was a baby, while guests at the hotel. She tells Herbie that she has come hundreds of miles to enlist his help finding her parents. When Herbie insists, he is a finder of lost things not lost people, she rebuffs him saying he is a “detective” and the only one she knows who can help her.
Of course, with Violet comes a lot of things not the least of which is the mystery of her parents’ disappearance. There is the man with the hook that is after her for unknown reasons and the monster, called Malamander, that appears on the beach at night in winter. These are just two more of the mysteries surrounding her. Herbie will have to be a very good detective to figure out this puzzle.
Love this story! It has an interesting plot with enough twists to hold any readers’ attention. The magical elements that abound in the book are many and include a mermonkey who tells you what book to read at the local book store and there is Lady Kraken’s, the hotel owner, cameraluna that she uses to see what is happening in town and a host of interesting people to round out the plot.
The characters were very well done, especially so for the intended audience. Herbie and Violet are just the type of characters that will have you cheering for them. The supporting ones, such as Mrs. Hanniver owner of the Eerie Book Dispensary, lend the story more mystery and allure and enhance the plot to perfection.
This is the perfect story for middle graders and adults alike. So entertaining and the magical astrosphere in the book along with the characters make for an outstanding book. It is age appropriate for all readers and I highly recommend to all lovers of magical adventure tales.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.