The Emerald Tablet

The Emerald Tablet, P.J. Hoover
The Forgotten Worlds, Book 1

First of all, this book is all the more exciting for me because I've met P.J. Hoover! Back last November, when the Princess of Unicorns was in town, we dropped by BookPeople and there was an author event going on... and Ms. Hoover was one of the authors. I would say that we chatted for a while, but the truth is the Unicorn Princess did all the talking and I just stood there looking dopey, at least until Ms. Hoover directed us to her blog-- ooh, that's the magical word! I couldn't get her books that day (this was before the new bookshelves-- there was no space!), but I requested it from the library in my reading frenzy over the Christmas break. I've now zoomed through the first two books in the trilogy (review of The Navel of the World coming next week), and will be reading The Necropolis this week.

Mild spoilers after the jump.

The bookmark
I got at the
meet-&-greet.

So the book is YA fantasy, and it starts with Benjamin and his friend Andy finding out they aren't who they thought they were when they are invited to summer school. New friends, new adventures, new rivals, and all sorts of new discoveries ensue for them in the course of the summer months.

I loved it. Yes, the "Whaddya mean, I'm not ____?" is a common theme in fantasy, but I don't mind. The story is very fun, and Ms. Hoover has a great voice in her writing. And while I saw one plot twist coming, there was another that was a complete surprise. I'm always delighted by those. I did some speculating for book #2, and got it completely wrong... but that's part of the fun.

My favourite quote (because it's kinda true for me, too): "Their entire lives they'd grown up being the smartest kids in the class, never having to work hard for a grade, never having to stay up late reading or doing homework. In short, school had been way too easy-- too easy that is until they came to..." (Yes, that's really where I'm leaving you. I said mild spoilers.)

The Emerald Tablet is technically a YA/MG novel, but it's good for adults, too. I definitely recommend it for a fun read by yourself, or as one to read with the kiddos.

Has anyone else read this series? Did you like it?