Welcome to my stop on the tour for Root Bound (Emma and the Elementals Volume 1) by Tanya Karen Gough. Root Bound is an upper Middle Grade fantasy adventure recommended for ages 10+. The tour is to run February 3-14 with reviews only. Be sure to check out all the details and the tour schedule on the tour page.
Root Bound is a fast-paced, action fantasy novel about a young girl finding her place in
the world through a series of adventures involving magical creatures, and a journey to the centre of
the earth. Root Bound is both a topsy-turvy riff on traditional literary children's fantasy and an
allegorical coming-of-age tale.
Emma and her father, a jazz musician, are always on the move, travelling from place to place as her father’s work demands. Their new home, however, is different. There’s a frightening woman who lives down the hall: she bears an uncanny resemblance to a witch. A mysterious light comes from her apartment, and a small boy seems to be trapped inside.
School in this town is no happy place either, with an odd principal and a gang of girls who make tormenting Emma their special project. And strangest of all is the fact that there seem to be brownies - basement brownies, in the air vent in her bedroom. They are searching for the Wanderer, a powerful being who can help free the Crown Prince of Under from the black magic prison that holds him. Emma travels through the brownie burrow to the valley of Hades to visit with the goddess Ceres, following a series of clues that lead her across the sea of memory to the centre of the world. There, on an inhospitable rock floating in a sea of steaming lava, Emma must find a way to free the prince, release her mother from the sea of memory, and restore magic to both the brownie burrow and the human world above.
My Thoughts :
Emma and her dad move around a lot. He is a musician and has to go where the jobs are. When she pulls up to their current house she thinks it looks an awful lot like a face. Its almost like its alive, but that isn't possible?? She thinks its tiredness and forgets all about it. On the way up to their apartment they meet an old lady. Emma takes an immediate disliking to her and vows to avoid her.
In bed one night Emma hears strange noises coming from the vent. She thinks she can hear voices but they sound very small and far away. Next thing she knows, shes looking at some small people. The Brownies live in Under (Underneath the house). Humans aren't supposed to be able to see them so why can Emma? The Brownies explain to Emma that the house is alive with the magic from Under but there's an evil witch who is destroying all the houses and thus destroying Under. They are looking for The Wanderer to help stop the Witch and save under.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. When I read the synopsis I knew I had to read it with my boys. They love fantasy and this sounded good.
I felt for Emma, her father is always working and she is lonely. She hates always being the new girl and tries to fly under the radar. At the school this time she gets picked on by the "popular" kids. When the Brownies come, at first she thinks its a dream but when she sees them again she has to face the fact they are real.
The Brownies were very witty and funny. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments with the Brownies and I thoroughly enjoyed them!! My boys thought they were the best part of the book :)
Overall Root Bound is a fun book. Its quite slow to start but once Emma meets the Brownies the story starts speeding up and gets much better. There's magic, mayhem and Mythology all mixed up into one awesome read.
About the Author:
Tanya Karen Gough owned and published The Poor Yorick Shakespeare Catalogue from 1997-2007, earning a strong international customer base of world class academics and high school educators.
Tanya was also a contributing editor for the Internet Shakespeare Editions at the University of Victoria (BC), audio advisor for the Sourcebooks Shakespeare textbook series, and theatre reviewer for Playshakespeare.com. Tanya grew up in New Hampshire and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Author Links:
$25 gift card to bookstore of choice, or $25 in books from TBD. Open worldwide.
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Read terms and conditions before entering giveaway.
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You are welcome. Its a fun book :)
ReplyDeleteMy niece would love this book!
ReplyDeleteShe would! My boys really enjoyed it :)
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for hosting a tour stop and sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI did Candace. The Brownies were so funny!!
DeleteI haven't heard of this one before, but I love magic and mayhem, so I will be checking it out! Great review. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Its a really good book. I enjoyed it ;) Thanks!
DeleteI am a 62 year old grandmother and I would love this book. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com
ReplyDeleteIts really good! I enjoyed it and would recommend it!
Deletethanks for the giveaway and lovely post btw! :)
ReplyDeleteIts a tour wide giveaway :) Thanks, I enjoyed the book!!
DeleteThis sounds cute! (except for the part that Emma is always alone) but the brownies and story line sounds entertaining.
ReplyDeleteIt was Ana. It was a refreshing read and I loved the brownies ;)
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