Wednesday, 2 March 2016

The Pearl Orb by Elizabeth Ball (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

January 2016, Pegasus Publishers, 99 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: some major peril

Summary from Pegasus Publishers
Do you believe in fairies?

Annabel is looking forward to an unexpected few days away with her Auntie Kate. Tired from the journey, she falls asleep on the train and drifts off into a magical fairyland.


Her dream becomes a reality when she feels a jingle in her pocket and finds a pearl orb, a gift from the travel fairies, which will alert her to any danger.


Her holiday is going well until a boat trip turns into an adventure she was not expecting.


Alone on the boat, below deck, the pearl orb jingles in her pocket and she knows she has to hide from the two intruders who board the boat. They are up to no good, and realising their mistake take drastic measures, which could be disastrous.


Will Annabel be brave enough to save the day, with the help of the fairies in the sea kingdom?

- See more at: http://pegasuspublishers.com/shop&book=pbthe-pearl-orb#sthash.u6YufMaw.dpuf
Do you believe in fairies?

Annabel is looking forward to an unexpected few days away with her Auntie Kate. Tired from the journey, she falls asleep on the train and drifts off into a magical fairyland.

Her dream becomes a reality when she feels a jingle in her pocket and finds a pearl orb, a gift from the travel fairies, which will alert her to any danger.

Her holiday is going well until a boat trip turns into an adventure she was not expecting.

Alone on the boat, below deck, the pearl orb jingles in her pocket and she knows she has to hide from the two intruders who board the boat. They are up to no good, and realising their mistake take drastic measures, which could be disastrous.

Will Annabel be brave enough to save the day, with the help of the fairies in the sea kingdom? 

Nayu's thoughts 
It's exciting when Annabel gets a magical orb which shows her if people are good or bad to help keep her safe. While wanting to know what was wrong with her mother, something that's never revealed, I loved this story. From the summary I thought she might be with the fairies all the time, or have adventures in their world so was happily surprised by what did happen.

I loved how hard her aunt tried to make her comfy while her mum was in hospital, with cake baking and playdates with a new friend. I was slightly amazed that Annabel kept her orb a secret from her friend, as I thought it might be something they could bond over. It's got other powers besides seeing into people's hearts which added to the excitement of her tale.

The themes of stranger danger and getting help from an adult when difficult situations occur was clear but not preachy, if that makes sense. Although I had no idea how Annabel would escape the situation on the boat, which was slightly shorter than I'd expected, I sensed that Annabel would be ok. I was more worried about the brief encounter Annabel has at the beginning of Annabel's tale, that man gave me the heebie-geebies, especially concerning his true intentions. Hopefully the intended age group won't know exactly how evil people can be, as those details aren't suitable for children to know. 

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