Daystar: The Days Are Numbered by Anne Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Daystar is a middle-grade portal fantasy with epic stakes. It follows a cast of several characters, but chief among them are Ansey, a prince from the kingdom of Auberon, and Fern, a girl from our world who stumbles across the dimensions into Ansey’s world.
Something strange is happening in this world. The land is contracting in on itself. Places are closer to each other than they used to be. Frost giants are storming the cities searching for a prophesied king who guards the gate. A band of seven children, some human, some talking animals, are drawn into the conflict.
The world-building in this book was a lot of fun. This is not a typical world. I don’t want to say too much, but it has been affected by an event they refer to as the Englobing.
One of the characters in this book was an autistic boy. I liked this inclusion for a couple of reasons. First it gives autistic kids like my son a character they can relate to, but it can also teach other children about autism, how it affects people, and how to effectively communicate with an autistic person.
While there are battles in this story, the book focuses on non-violent solutions to problems, which is again, a great lesson for kids to learn.
Daystar features some biblical analogy, through more subtle than what you typically find in the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. This was mostly focused on the armour of God from Ephesians 6. I enjoyed this aspect of the book.
Daystar is aimed at primary-school children. I think my grade 5 daughter would struggle with some of the words and concepts, but every child is different. The appeal of this book would, I believe, extend into lower high school, and even to adults who are young at heart.
Daystar is an entertaining and educational read. It provides a thrilling story and enough for the mind to chew on.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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