Book Review: Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull

Fablehaven:Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: March 2010
ISBN: 9781606412381
Source: Library

This is the final installment of the exciting Fablehaven series.  Seth and Kendra and the Knights of the Dawn must beat the Sphinx to the last keys to the demon prison.  They travel to distant and hidden preserves, hoping to get there before the Sphinx and to prevent him from recovering what they already have.  As new twists and surprises arise, it is a time for alliances between all those who want the world as they know it to survive.  Will that be enough?

Things I Liked:
Non-stop action.  I love how many twists and turns the story took.  It was a hard path and not everything went right, which I think is a great thing for a kid's book.  I also love how the ending was not what was expected.  Bad guys are not all bad.  What a crazy imagination Mull has with so many different creatures and magical beings and unique settings.  I definitely think it rivals Harry Potter in imagination.  I used to not like Seth much.  He makes mistakes and acts like a moron.  But, he grew on me and I really enjoyed his humor in this one. Um, I had a lot of quotes I liked:

"Seth continued to mourn for the lost hand.  He could have hidden it beneath Kendra's covers.  He could have tied a string around it and left it dangling from a shower head.  He could have displayed it proudly on a shelf in his room.  He quietly vowed to keep all of these possibilities in mind if a severed zombie hand ever fell into his lap again." p 27

"All right.  Since the world is about to end, why not give an impossible jailbreak one last try?" p 152

"Hello, cell.  How are you?  Still dank and horrible?  Sorry to hear it. Me?  I've decided to take up a new hobby.  Talking to my room.  It's a lot like talking to myself, but slightly more pathetic." p 181

"Making mistakes is part of learning to choose well.  No way around it.  Choices are thrust upon us, and we don't always get things right.  Even postponing or avoiding a decision can become a choice that carries heavy consequences.  Mistakes can be painful - sometimes they cause irrevocable harm - but welcome to Earth.  Poor choices are part of growing up, and part of life.  You will make bad choices, and you will be affected by the poor choices of others.  We must rise above such things." p 279

"I have to believe our wills are stronger than the allure of some fruit," Bracken said.  "To be slain by a troll or a chimera would be sad.  But to destroy ourselves to scratch an itch would be so pathetic I refuse to accept the possibility." p 293-294

"I believe this name makes reference to this moment. No star can abide the light of the dawn, nor has evil ever loved light." p 527

"Some imagine the difference between heaven and hell to be a matter of geography. Not so.  The difference is much more evident in the individuals who dwell there." p 562

Things I Didn't Like:
It seemed a little bit long.  But enjoyable anyway, because I couldn't put it down.  Definitely a good one for both boys and girls and big fantasy fans.

Read-alikes:
Read the first four books in the Fablehaven series
It isn't exactly similar to Harry Potter, but I think some fans will like it as much

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->->
fighting is common, but not gory

Overall rating: ****

 Have you read this series?  What did you think?

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.

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