★★★★☆ I was surprsed with how much I enjoyed this! If you’re looking for an easy yet entertaining and really heartwarming book, this is the one for for you!
Whats the book about?
After her parents accept a job opportunity in another country and without cell reception, Alexandra Jennings is shipped off to a boarding school full of snotty, horrible teens. But, on her way to the administrations office of her new school for the next eight months, Alex walks through a door to Medora, a different world entirely. This brand new world is one full of new opportunities, and advancements in technology that her world doesn’t have. At her new boarding school, Akarnae, and with her new friends Jordan and Bear (plus a mysterious stranger who she keeps bumping in to who promises only sinister things to come), Alex is met with a whole new life, new adventures and higher stakes.
Thoughts and feelings
I think I am really glad that I listened to this as an audiobook. This book caught me by surprise with how quickly I got hooked. This is a young adult book, I would say bordering on middle grade but with the main character at sixteen years old, I have a feeling the next ones will feel more solidly in the YA genre. It is like a combo of Narnia and Harry Potter, but with the world combining technological and medical advancements with more medieval activities and skills like equestrian and combat. Basically, Medora felt like a completely new world, yet obviously one that had started off similar to that of Freya (Earth) since there are humans (albeit humans with powers). For sixteen, Alex initially sounded a bit young but I very quickly got used to it and just began enjoying the story.
This isn’t a profound book, but it’s a really fun book. I just accepted the fact the Alex, Jordan and Bear all became friends really quick (which is something that isn’t completely unbelievable, especially since Alex was alone in a new world and they were so nice), and honestly, their blossoming friendship was one of my favourite parts of the book. You know that this is just an introduction to what will be a much larger story, so I really enjoyed reading about Alex in her new school, learning about Medora and just how different it was to Freya. The whole time though, you know that there is something larger at play, and definitely something more sinister than a boarding school for gifted Medorans. Although at the end of the book you get a better idea about the threats and Alex’s part in the whole main ARC of the story, it’s still shrouded in mystery and I am SO glad that all of the books are out and I can just get right into the second one! It was really focussed on Alex and her growth, since at the beginning she was overwhelmed and had literally just made the first friends she had ever had. You really get to see her blossom and grow into who she was meant to be and it was honestly so heartwarming. This book is fun, the world is unique and it’s an easy story to follow and simply enjoy. If you’re looking for an easy read with promise of more to come, then this is definitely something I would recommend, and the audiobook was a really great listen! Have you read this book or this series? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments or over on my Instagram @kell_read ✨