The Black Reckoning

Reviewed by: Kara Reiman - Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 7, 2015

Review

The third and final book in the Books of Beginning series, The Black Reckoning brings us a significantly darker chapter in the lives of the Wibberly siblings. Each child has been the star of one of the books, and this one features Emma, the youngest, who is left to deal with the book of death and saving the world from the evil Dire Magnus. This world features multitudes of magical creatures, including wizards, witches, elves, trolls, and giants. Fans of Harry Potter and those looking to move up from the Spiderwick Chronicles would be a good fit for this series. Featuring themes of empowerment for children, and chalk full of problem solving skills, this series is great for children searching for their own independence. In each character's novel, they experience a huge character arc, and Emma is no different. She goes from someone who needs others to take care of her to not only taking care of herself, but taking risks with her life to protect everyone else. The one downfall to this book is that the author does not include hardly any back story, so if you haven't recently read the others, some of the details won’t make sense, and the whole plot relies heavily on what has previously happened. Other than that, the writing flows quickly and includes a good mix of narration and speech. Recommended for grades 5 & up.

Overall Book Score: excellent