The Tree of Mindala by Elle Jacklee

By: Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2013

Title: The Tree of Mindala

Author:  Elle Jacklee

Published:  September 30th 2012 by Createspace

Page Count:  348

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Soon to be twelve-year-old Miranda Moon's overactive imagination has landed her in trouble again. This time, she's been suspended from school. Since her Halloween weekend just got extended, her parents decide to take her and her straight-laced younger brother, Marcus, to her late grandparents' old cabin. That suits Miranda just fine. She's always felt there was something special about the place. Besides, she has a knack for making the best of things.

But when Miranda finds a curious water globe hidden in the cabin, she and Marcus are catapulted into a world even she never imagined. A world where everybody already knows their family name and magic flows through the trees. A world called Wunderwood. But their arrival happens to coincide with the release of a sinister warlock from a forty-year imprisonment. Thornton Crow resumes his deadly agenda to find the source of Wunderwood's magical power, the Tree of Mindala, and seize it for his own.

As Miranda learns of her own connection to Thornton, she realizes that it's up to her to end his cruel and relentless cycle of death that would steal not just magic, but also hope. With only the cryptic words of a prophecy to guide her, she holds the fate of the entire realm as well as the safety of Marcus and the newly found branches of her family tree in her hands. Miranda's signature optimism is put to the ultimate test when she chooses to carry out the task that will save Wunderwood... or doom it forever.

My Review:

Exciting, adventurous, and heart-warming. That’s how I would describe this novel.

This novel very well written novel has a very nice flow. The pace changes with the action, but in a consistent wave like change. The passage of time is also well marked throughout so that you neither feel like the story is rushing to completion nor dragging on. Not only does Jacklee set the scene brilliantly through her vivid and larger than life descriptions and narrative, she also builds the world that the characters drop upside-down into. This is an amazing world, complete with its own awesome flora and fauna. Each piece of it is individually developed, as well as developed in its place in the world as a whole. There is also a brilliant history laid out for the audience in a very engaging way.

This novel is full of interestingly unique characters. Each one is individually developed to be themselves. Since some of the characters are still growing up, they do change throughout the course of the novel, as would anyone who faced these challenges, but they remain themselves through and through. I love how some of the characters have a vivid imagination that turns out to be the reality lived by others. This cast of characters and their adventures worm their way into your heart.

This is one of those stories that is suitable for and entertaining to those of all ages. There is nothing in it that would be inappropriate for a younger audience, yet it is written in such a captivating manner that I could barely put it down.

Buy your copy online here today!