This is the first book that I have read by Allan Stratton and it was impressive. I read this book in one sitting. In some ways it is a classic coming-of-age story, but it is the coming of age of both a boy and a girl. Both Angela and Hans have a past they are running from. But Hans also has a past that he is unaware of. Together they end up on the road. They are running from a terrible evil that is looking to exterminate them both. Sometimes it is what we don't know that is the most important and will become the pivot point in our lives. And that is the case in this story. This story had an evil arch duke, a young countess, a young man, a necromancer, a Wolf King with numerous beasts, a hermit and hermitage on a mountain side, and more. The story unravels at a breakneck pace. It was a race from evil to the hermitage of Peter and then back to the capital. This was a great read and youth will love the adventure.

The Good Stuff * Fabulous opening chapter - will grab the kids (and adults) attention right away * The banter between Angela and Hans is delightful * Angela is a fantastic heroine - feisty and brave, yet compassionate and hilarious * Hans is a perfect companion for Angela and they work so well together * Wonderful adventure story full of nasty villians and wacky secondary characters * Lots of scary and gross bits will attract the middle school boy reader * Young kids save the day -- kids eat that sorta thing up * Humor and scary stuff - what's not to like * The secondary characters are just as well written as the main characters * Has a fairy tale, quest feel to it with a hint of Peter Nimble thrown in * Good messages of friendship and forgiveness The Not So Good Stuff * Some of the more complicated language may turn off the more reluctant reader which would be a shame Favorite Quotes/Passages "Tonight, the raging wind had promised a shipwreck- two or three, God willing - so Knobbe had scrambled down the steep cliff path to the beach, hoping to plunder the bodies of the drowned." "Don't play your baby tricks on me," Knobbe warned. "Your sort are all alike. Sneaky,little schemers, out to make a fellow weak." "Angela rolled her eyes at Hans: a hermit speaking in riddles was as irritating in real life as it was in storybooks." "Shush. Who knows the future. Do the best you can and never regret a kindness. To live a coward is not to live at all." Who Should/Shouldn't Read * I would say for the stronger middle school reader due to more sophisticated language * Not for the sensitive reader as there are some scary bits * Adults will enjoy just as much 4.5 Dewey's I picked this up at the 2012 OLA Superconference and my copy is signed

This is the first book that I have read by Allan Stratton and it was impressive. I read this book in one sitting. In some ways it is a classic coming-of-age story, but it is the coming of age of both a boy and a girl. Both Angela and Hans have a past they are running from. But Hans also has a past that he is unaware of. Together they end up on the road. They are running from a terrible evil that is looking to exterminate them both. Sometimes it is what we don't know that is the most important and will become the pivot point in our lives. And that is the case in this story. This story had an evil arch duke, a young countess, a young man, a necromancer, a Wolf King with numerous beasts, a hermit and hermitage on a mountain side, and more. The story unravels at a breakneck pace. It was a race from evil to the hermitage of Peter and then back to the capital. This was a great read and youth will love the adventure.