Monday, 19 September 2016

The Secret of Sinbad's Cave by Brydie Walker Bain (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 January 2015, 186 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Book summary
Nat Sheppard’s world is turned upside down on the first day of the school holidays by the discovery of a secret room containing cave maps with clues to an ancient treasure. But Nat and her friends soon discover they’re not the only ones chasing the jewels. Professional treasure hunters are on the trail – and they’re prepared to eliminate anyone in their way.

Nayu's thoughts 
This is an incredible Lara Croft like adventure for a courageous girl, her siblings and their friends. When I first started reading this I can't have been in the right mood as I wasn't keen on it so I stopped reading. Months later I gave it another go, spending several hours lost in the magic of the New Zealand based adventure. 

Nat, her family and friends face a lot of danger. I think it's one adventure story where there are a spectacular amount of injuries to the heroines. I love Nat's gentle nature, how she faces her fears when there is no other choice. I love the mysticism of the Aborigines, how they are crucial to help Nat's dad believe in what was going on. Unlike many stories where something happens so adults are left out of the loop, Nat's dad wasn't excluded from the adventure: in his own way he provided a lot of support, with some occasions of being strict to protect his children.

My favojrite character of all wasn't Nat though, it was her younger sister Kathleen. Anyone with 2 broken legs to their name, who is a fine actress when it comes to creating distractions, who has a sense of adventure and hates being the youngest is a great girl in my eyes. She meets some non-humans who make a huge impact on her, and I'm eager for her to see them again. This actually reminded me of the Adventure series by Enid Blyton, it has that classic feel and is so much fun! The enemies are ruhless and I'm thrilled there are at least 2 more books - definitely one for the reread shelf! 


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