Synopsis: How can twelve-year-old Gabriel find his missing father, who seems to have vanished without a trace? With the help of Paladin—a young raven with whom he has a magical bond that enables them to become one creature—he flies to the foreboding land of Aviopolis, where he must face a series of difficult challenges and unanswerable riddles that could lead to his father... or to his death.
Review: This was a book that I almost put down before I hit the halfway point. It seemed like two stories happening at the same time but had nothing to do with one another. I was getting confused an annoyed. What does a talking raven have to do with a walking desk? And why does no one think that either thing is weird?! But I am so so SO glad that I kept reading along. Because once the connection between the two ideas was made, this story got good.
This is a middle-grade mystery/fantasy novel that is based upon riddles. Ravens love riddles. In order for a raven to trust another raven, they have to first solve a riddle. Lucky for Paladin, Gabriel is a world class riddle solver. He can also talk to ravens and more (but those would be spoilers so I won't go any further!)
Though this story did have a good plot, the characters really made it for me. You have Gabriel, a boy whose father has been missing for years. Pamela, a 12 year old girl with an annoyingly controlling mother who makes her practice the violin 3 hours/night. Abby, the girl across the street whose shoes never match and hair is always crazy. Last but not least you have Somes, who has the saddest story of all throughout this book. He starts off as a bully but finds a way into your heart once you know more about him and his life.
I would definitely have loved this book in about 4th-6th grade. Pick it up, read it with your kids, recommend it to teachers to have in their classrooms!
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