Reviews

El Guardián de las Tormentas by Catherine Doyle

gunilla_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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teeread_it's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Oh, I ended up really enjoying this book. I want to go back to Arranmore Island as soon as possible.
Fionn has grown into a cautious and nervous 11-year old who is deathly afraid of the water though both his parents are from an island.
His mother is struggling with life after losing her husband to the sea before Fionn is born. Now, right before Fionn’s 12th birthday she sends him and his older sister to the island to stay with their grandfather. Here Fionn’s starts to see strange things and learn more about this island and its connection to his family. It is full of magic and wonder and is an intriguing story for all ages.

baileymalaylee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

really good honestly my main gripe is that 11 year olds do NOT talk like that

titus_hjelm's review against another edition

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3.0

I still read to my 13 year old. It's a nice evening ritual, although I'm not sure how much the teen remembers of the stories anymore. The setting on this one was nice, with some Celtic mythology thrown in, the characters three-dimensional, and some great sentences here and there. In other words, a fine specimen of what I guess they call middle school children's lit. But... just that little bit too childish for us.

mariathesun's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hawkia75's review against another edition

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5.0

This superlative low fantasy reminds me of Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series. Eleven year old Fionn and his older sister Tara travel to the secluded and magical Irish island Arranmore to spend the summer with their grandfather. Fionn worries about being brave and living up to the image he has of his deceased father while discovering the backstory that sets up the next two installments. Wizard battles, time-traveling candles, soulless minions: it's all here. I'll be reading for the flying horse I know is up ahead, though!

disturbed275's review against another edition

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3.0

Good concept, but I didn't connect with the MC (although the relationship with his sister was done well). The climactic moment was a little underwhelming too. I feel like this barely scratched the surface of this interesting world. Maybe the sequel will be better?

abbielester's review against another edition

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5.0

Catherine Doyle's fantasy series begins with this wonderful Celtic adventure. It's a great fantasy, but it's grounded in the real world with an annoying older sister, a grandfather struggling with memory loss, and the pain of a lost father. I loved it all, and I can't wait to find out what happens next! Fantasy fans will fight for this one! This book is inspired by the author's experiences growing up on the real Arranmore Island in Ireland, and now I'm sad I didn't go there when I was in Ireland myself.

Read more at Bookish Adventures.

tammyhai's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this one aloud to my fourth grader (I read to him every night and I hope this tradition will continue for a long time!) and a. Irish accents are incredibly difficult and I'm so glad no one recorded me butchering their beautiful lilt and cadence and b. it took us forever to get through the book because SOMEBODY kept falling asleep within the page! The last 20 pages had him enraptured though and we managed to finish the story during the start of our family vacation. This was such a great book for young readers, plenty of adventure, snippets of humor, a twisty little mystery that had my guy's jaw hanging at the reveal, it was a lot of fun. But I think I may have enjoyed it more than the 9 year old.

neriumblack's review against another edition

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4.0

Vauhdikas seikkailu vanhanajan lastenkirjojen hengessä, mutta tuotuna nykypäivään älypuhelimineen, tubettajineen yms. Maaginen saari, kahden mahtavia taikavoimia omaavan menneisyyden henkilön vaikutuksesta muovaantunut, toinen edusti hyvän ja toinen pahan voimia.

Fionnin ja Taran isä on kuollut ennen Fionnin syntymää ja äiti on muuttanut pois saarelta, joka vei hänen miehensä. Äiti myös sairastaa masennusta tapahtuneen johdosta. Sisarusten isoisä on Myrskynvartija, mutta mitä se tarkoittaa paljastuu Fionnille pala kerrallaan. Isoisän muisti alkaa reistailemaan ja se huolettaa Fionnia. Arranmoren saari on levoton - on tullut aika valita uusi Myrskynvartoja, mutta kenelle tuo titteli siirtyy?

Tässä oli jotenkin samanlainen tunnelma kuin Susan Cooperin klassikossa Yllä meren, alla kiven.