The Beyonders

My Rating: 3/5

Goodreads: 4.34

I just finished this series a couple days ago. Overall, I was pretty impressed. I liked it a lot better than the Fablehaven series, mostly because it was a lot more original. The world of Lyrian and the different creatures were quite fascinating. The characters could use a little more depth, but even though I couldn't relate to them as much as I like to, they were likeable enough that I could get into their story. I was a bit surprised that I didn't mind the shift between points of view in the last book, because I usually don't like that when I'm attached to the main characters. In this case, however, it worked, since the lack of attachment I had to the main characters allowed me to care more about the other characters. This did turn out to be a bit of a bad thing due to the number of characters that died in the end, but at least I cared that they died (if that makes sense.) If you like children's fantasy, this might be a little intense for you. I'd say this is more of a teen series, despite the young age of the two main characters. It's pretty epic, but not quite as epic as a lot of adult fantasy novels (particularly Brandon Sanderson's). I'd say it's worth a read, even though it's not necessarily on my favorites list.