Book Review: The Shadow Keeper by Abi Elphinstone

Book Review: The Shadow Keeper by Abi Elphinstone

The Dreamsnatcher, published a year ago, was Abi Elphinstone’s debut novel. The Shadow Keeper is the sequel and is also about the characters Moll and Gryff.

This is the plot of the first book:

“Twelve-year-old Molly Pecksniff wakes one night in the middle of the forest, lured there by a recurring nightmare – the one with the drums and the rattles and the masks. The Dreamsnatcher is waiting. He has already taken her dreams and now he wants her life.

Because Moll is more important than she knows… The Oracle Bones foretold that she and Gryff, a wildcat that has always been by her side, are the only ones who can fight back against the Dreamsnatcher’s dark magic. Suddenly everything is at stake, and Moll is drawn into a world full of secrets, magic and adventure.”

You can also watch the magical trailer for the first book here:

As you can see, the story is a dark and mysterious one full of magic. The second book, The Shadow Keeper continues where The Dreamsnatcher ended.

“Moll Pecksniff and her friends are living as outlaws in a secret cave by the sea, desperate to stay hidden from the Shadowmasks. But further along the coast lies the Amulet of Truth, the only thing powerful enough to force the Shadowmasks back and contain their dark magic. So, together with Gryff, the wildcat that’s always by her side, and her best friends Alfie and Sid, Moll must sneak past smugglers, outwit mer creatures and crack secret codes to save the Old Magic. With more at stake than ever before and the dark magic rising fast, can Moll and her friends stop the Shadowmasks before it’s too late?”

Both books are so captivating! The tension and drama captures the reader and takes you into a magical world that Abi Elphinstone describes so brilliantly and vividly. The thrilling twists and turns and the fast pace of the story keeps you wanting to read more and more — these books are definitely page turners that will probably keep your kids up reading late at night.

The characters we get to know in the first book deepen in the second as we get to know them more closely and watch the friends’ bonds tighten as they are faced with difficult situations and decisions. I don’t think the story will end here though and I hope that we get to see more books in this magical series by Abi Elphinstone.

I would recommend these books to boys and girls aged 10-14 and adults who are young at heart. The Shadow Keeper will be published on the 25th of February 2016.

What other people have said about these books:

• ‘Reminded me of the very best of the Harry Potter books’ — Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild
• ‘A thrillingly wild adventure – bold, breathless and beautifully told’ — Jonathan Stroud
• ‘No one does edge-of-seat action like Abi Elphinstone’ — Emma Carroll

Buy the books from Amazon.co.uk or any other good book shops that sell children’s books.

We were sent these books for this review. As always, all my reviews are 100% honest and all thoughts and opinions are my own.