13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

Purchased from the iBookstore, read on my iPhone. Published 2010. Print length is 368 pages.

I found this book from the iBooks "limited-time offers" section. Only $3, and Amazon is still selling it for that price.

Tanya is a thirteen-year-old with the second sight, meaning she can see fairies. When they continue to cause trouble for her, her mom sends her to live with her grandma. Tanya slowly finds out about a missing girl and the mysteries the strange forest near the manor holds. She and her cousin Fabian end up entangled in a deadly adventure.

The author creates a very real world from the first page. Her vividness was one of her strengths, for sure. It was a very imaginative world, especially with all the different fairies and magical items. The book had an interesting mystery to it, leaving the reader to wonder about the events surrounding the disappearance of a childhood friend of Tanya's mother.

There were some things that makes me give this book three stars out of five instead of more. For one, the characters speak so formally. You'd think they were 30, not 13. The ending seemed rushed to me. Everything was explained within a chapter. Maybe that's common of middle grade novels, but I wished there were more clues along the way.

I also found it disappointing that Tanya needed rescuing so badly. I liked her, and I realize most 13 year olds would be out of luck in a situation like that, but I don't know. Although it seems like the way Tanya is rescued (read it for yourself and see ;) ties into the sequel. I'm sorry to say I probably won't be reading it. I don't know, I liked it and I don't feel like it was a waste of anything. But I don't really care about what happens to the characters. The adults seemed more like caricatures until the last few pages. I liked Fabian the most out of everyone, but I definitely felt sorry for Tanya through the book.

In short, if you're looking for an imaginative read, check it out! Would probably be best for middle grade, but if you like young adult, you'd probably like it, too.