Spirit Animals: Book 1: Wild Born
Written by Brandon Mull
Reviewed by Ian H. (age 11)
This story starts out at a nectar ceremony. A nectar ceremony is a ceremony in which a few kids at eleven years old drink nectar and try to call a spirit animal. This is not always assured. A spirit animal is a lifelong companion that will stay with you forever. Bonding with your spirit animal is important. Harnessing the friendship can let a spirit animal turn into a tattoo on your chosen area. A spirit animal also enhances your abilities as a human. Four forgotten spirit animals must now be called by four special people to save the land of Erdas from the Reptile king, also called the Great Devourer. I learned that when you have power, don’t be greedy and want more power. I also learned that I should never underestimate the power of my friends and enemies. I don't want to spoil it for you, so read this book to find out what happens.
I didn’t just like the book, I loved it, and to think that there are more books in this series makes me ecstatic. The reason I thought this book was awesome was because the thought of having an animal as your best friend gets me excited. Having an animal that can enhance your abilities, bonding with them to get more powerful, and dreams about your spirit animal gives you an epic full of friendship, doubt, and disloyalty. My favorite scenes were the nectar ceremonies. This book is a little different than many other books because it told the story from different points of view. One reason I couldn't put down this book was because every part of the story was essential.
I recommend this book for a wide variety of audiences—animal lovers, action lovers, and any kind of reader except for romance readers. My favorite parts are when something striking happens and that leads to the unexpected. I found this book to be interesting throughout the story. I would say that this writing is only sometimes elegant, but not very much. I only found it to be elegant when some people were talking, but that is about it.