Title: Galadria: Peter Huddleston and the Rites of Passage
Author: Miguel Lopez de Leon
Publisher: Wakestone Press LLC
Format: PB, Kindle
Length: 230pgs
Genre: MG, YA
Source: Review copy provided by Author & Wakestone Press
Pub. Date: March 2011
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Peter Huddleston lived a boring beige life in a beige town with his decidedly beige father and stepmother; he awoke each morning desperately intending to blend in and be like everyone else. But something always seemed to get in the way of those heartfelt intentions.
With his prized boomerang constantly in his fingers, Peter blunders from one
disastrous misunderstanding to another, until his exasperated parents bundle him off for the summer to visit his aunt Gillian at her home, Hillside Manor.
Peter quickly learns that Hillside Manor is no ordinary summer retreat, and that his mother s sister is anything but an ordinary woman. Within its vast walls, and 3,000 rooms, the wondrous Hillside houses many ancient secrets, including the fact that it serves as a gateway between our world and the mysterious Galadria, a realm where Peter s family currently rules. Peter has been summoned to Hillside to learn that he is the only heir to his royal family, and to determine if he is prepared to prove himself by facing the perilous Rites of Passage .
The rites are not the only challenges Peter will face during his summer of intense tutelage at the hands of his aunt and her strange and fascinating entourage. Peter is also embroiled in a lethal dynastic challenge as his aunt s heir, inheriting the enmity of Knor of the House of Shadowray, a cruel noble who ruthlessly covets the crown of Galadria for himself.
Armed with his trusty boomerang and several magical trinkets, Peter gamely faces innumerable dangers in this eccentric and privileged world. Aid comes from strange and unexpected places, as Peter is relentlessly pushed and tested to his breaking point. His escalating successes put him in evermore risk, and catapult him closer to a deadly confrontation with Knor, and to a grizzly realization that he might not survive the summer!
Book description taken from GoodReads.com
SpadesHighReads' Review
This book is Ah-May-ZING!!! It's a wonderful middle grade read. If your not easily turned away from books that are aimed towards the younger age group and your young at heart, you'll love Galadria: Peter Huddleston and The Rites of Passage.
Miguel L. De Leon did very well to have me adore at least one if not all Galadria's characters. I want a quirky monty for myself *pouting* Where can I have one!!?? LoL
Right from the start at around page 3 I was already snickering; Galadria is filled with humorous tid-bits that won't ever get you feeling bored. I enjoyed the way the Author used the color beige to overly emphasize the dullness of how Peter's life is. It helped to create how marvelous and magical the manor compares. It was light hearted and I couldn't help but to keep turning the pages until I got to the end. I felt like a child all over again where I was read to at bed time. There were even times when my eyes were near to tears. =)
What threw me off at first is when I read in the excerpt about the boomerang for a main object/weapon. But how it was utilize in the story was perfect for Peter's tale.
A massive manor, exotic animals, eccentric characters, unearthly trinkets, action action and more action, a strong story line that compels you to read till all hours of the night. What more could you ask for!? =D .....for me? My very own white tiger please.
Thank you Miguel and Wakestone for this opportunity of having a glimpse into Galadria and Hillside Manor.
I can't wait to read book #2.
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Miguel Visits Willowbrook Middle School
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