Monday 23 March 2015

Emerson’s Attic: The Blue Velvet + Smoke and Mirrors by Kathleen Andrews Davis, (Children’s, 9 years + 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

book #1

book#2
 January 2014 & June 2014, Amazon media, 124 pages & 140 pages, Ebook, Review copy

Content: moderate peril, tissue needed, humour, 

Summary from Kathleen's website
The Blue Velvet
Emerson Amelia McBride is a normal American teenager; she goes to school, plays soccer, and roams the mall with friends. Her life is just like any other 14-year-old's until one day, while cleaning the attic, she is suddenly jerked back in time.
​Where is she and why is she here? Is this a dream or is this her real life? These questions and many more follow Emerson into a new life in a new land.
Smoke and Mirrors
Walking home from school 14-year-old Emerson McBride thought it was just another beautiful fall day, little did she know how wrong she was. 
There’s a secret in the attic of the old Victorian house where she lives, and her best friend Sarah has gone up to the attic to look for a Halloween costume.

Will the same thing happen to Sarah that happened to Emerson the last time she was in the attic? Will Emerson get home in time to save her friend?

Nayu's thoughts
This fun time travelling series isn't too scary, which is a huge plus in my book. That isn't to say there weren't lots of holding my breath moments, but sometimes with these kind of reads there's an at times overwhelming sense of doom that the character will never return to their own time. It has to be said book 2 was a bit creepier than book 1, but then I'm not a fan of spooky things.

Emerson, with a little help from new friends, fits in well in the past. She helps solves the dilemmas faced by using her modern day way of thinking. I liked both books equally well, the first book because I get introduced to Emerson, and I both did and didn't want her to return to her home in the future because she got on so well with a few characters. I equally enjoyed her second adventure because it's always exciting reading a book when I already know the characters, since it's like seeing friends again.

I liked the way that Emerson ravelled back and forth in time, and how much attention is paid to the details of what she feels and sees. Emerson learns so much from hopping back to the past, lessons which she can apply when she gets back home. I have to point out the lessons aren't overly obvious – they are written in such a sweet way readers will also take something away too.

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