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Review: Fire in the Star by Kamilla Benko

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Fire in the Star by Kamilla Benko

Fire in the Star (The Unicorn Quest #3)
Kamilla Benko
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 18, 2020

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About Fire in the Star

After a lifetime of being the younger sister–of letting Sophie fight her battles, of following her on countless Experiences and through a fireplace into a magical land–it’s finally Claire Martinson’s turn to lead. And she’ll do anything to keep her big sister safe: resist the wraiths’ cold shadows, experiment with new and dangerous magic, become a thief in disguise.

When Claire discovers that “only a queen can defeat a queen,” she knows she must steal and reforge the ancient Crown of Arden to stand a chance against the darkness that threatens the world and her family. Because Queen Estelle d’Astora, desperate to reclaim her power, will stop at nothing to gain the support of the four guilds–even if it means killing the last unicorn. Claire will need every friend she’s made to help her as the fate of Arden hangs in the balance . . . But the secrets of the unicorns are deeper than anyone could have ever imagined. Does Claire have what it takes to ignite the long-buried magic of this world and wake the fire in the stars? Or will the true salvation of Arden rest on one final and heartbreaking sacrifice?

My Review

What a finale! I love sister books, so this series has been lots of fun to read. I love that it’s the little sister who’s the star of the books, too. I really enjoyed watching Claire find her gifts and her confidence and her place in the world.

FIRE IN THE STAR brings together a lot of characters from the earlier books, but it’s pretty easy to keep track of everyone as the story kind of refreshes you on who’s who as you read.

I also really loved that in the story, Claire and her allies all need each other, need to work together to save Arden. It meant learning to value one another, trust each other, put aside past grievances, and find a way to work together. Definitely a feel-good story in that sense.

This has been one of my favorite middle grade series, and I really can’t wait to see what Kamilla Benko writes next. She’s an author I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to any middle or late elementary school-aged readers.

If you like books by Jessica Day George, you really need to check out The Unicorn Quest series.

Here is my review of the first book in the series, THE UNICORN QUEST.

Here’s my review of the second book in the series, THE SECRET IN THE STONE.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Representation
Claire and her family are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity. The characters sometimes use made up curses like “slug soot”.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl and references to a crush between them.

Spiritual Content
A unicorn healed Sophie and saved her life with its magic in the first book in this series, and that moment is referenced in this one, too. Other characters have magical abilities as well. Claire learns to make gems glow with her magic. Other characters can manipulate plants or metals. Deep shadows called wraiths chase the girls and their allies, trying to stop them. Sensitive readers may be frightened by descriptions of the wraiths… they’re a little bit like the Dementors in Harry Potter maybe? Not quite as scary as that.

Violent Content
Some brief descriptions of battle violence and situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of FIRE IN THE STAR in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Secret in the Stone by Kamilla Benko

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Secret in the Stone (The Unicorn Quest #2)
Kamilla Benko
Bloomsbury Children’s
February 19, 2019

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About SECRET IN THE STONE

Claire Martinson and her sister Sophie have decided to stay in Arden–the magical land they discovered by climbing up a chimney in their great-aunt’s manor. If what they’ve learned is true, the sisters are the last descendants of the royal family, and only a true heir of Arden–with magic in her blood–can awaken the unicorns.

Since Sophie has does not have magic, the land’s last hope rests on Claire. The sisters journey to Stonehaven, a famed Gemmer school high in the mountains of Arden, so Claire can train in the magic of stone. As Claire struggles through classes, Sophie uncovers dangerous secrets about the people they thought they could trust. With Arden on the brink of crumbling, can Claire prove she is the prophesied heir and unlock the magic of the unicorns before it’s too late?

My Review

Sister books are so much fun. Sophie and Claire’s relationship felt super realistic to me. There’s a bit of a competitive edge. Sometimes Claire feels caught in Sophie’s shadow, or like Sophie doesn’t believe in Claire’s ability to be a hero in her own right. And Sophie pressures herself to be the leader and have all the answers because she’s the oldest.

SECRET IN THE STONE took some interesting turns. I don’t want to give things away, but there were two things in particular that I didn’t see coming at all, and they changed the book. I would have been curious to read the next novel in the series, but after those two things happened, I’m super interested to see where the story goes.

I liked that there’s a theme about trying new things and how harmful it can be to make assumptions about other people or hold on to grudges or judgments about others. Generally, each magic group remains separate from other groups in the story. Romances or relationships between people of different types are strictly forbidden. Under this system, magic has started to fade or die, which makes Claire wonder if isolating each type of magic has something to do with its diminishing. I thought that was a cool element to the story and a neat way to start conversation about how valuable it is to have relationships with people who are different than we are.

Overall, I enjoyed reading SECRET IN THE STONE. I liked the sister relationship and the unexpected twists the story took. Click the link to check out my review of THE UNICORN QUEST (book one in the series)

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
I think all the characters are white/straight.

Romance/Sexual Content
Sophie and a boy like each other and blush and act a bit awkward around each other.

Spiritual Content
A unicorn healed Sophie and saved her life with its magic in the first book in this series, and that moment is referenced in this one, too. Other characters have magical abilities as well. Claire learns to make gems glow with her magic. Other characters can manipulate plants or metals. Deep shadows called wraiths chase the girls and try to overwhelm them.

Violent Content
Some situations of peril. One of Claire’s friends is convicted of a crime, and Claire believes she may be sentenced to death. Some characters seem to be plotting to go to war

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Review: The Unicorn Quest by Kamilla Benko

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The Unicorn Quest
Kamilla Benko
Bloomsbury
Published on February 6, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Unicorn Quest
Claire Martinson still worries about her older sister Sophie, who battled a mysterious illness last year. But things are back to normal as they move into Windermere Manor… until the sisters climb a strange ladder in a fireplace and enter the magical land of Arden.

There, they find a world in turmoil. The four guilds of magic no longer trust each other. The beloved unicorns have gone, and terrible wraiths roam freely. Scared, the girls return home. But when Sophie vanishes, it will take all of Claire’s courage to climb back up the ladder, find her sister, and uncover the unicorns’ greatest secret.

My Review

This was such a fun book! At first I expected the story would involve both sisters and possibly be told in alternating viewpoints. I’m not sure why I thought that, but it’s told in only the younger sister, Claire’s point-of-view, and though her sister is a major part of the story, she’s not actually on scene much.

I loved the story world, especially the land of Arden and its system of magic and cultures. Several groups have isolated from each other in the aftermath of a war. Each group has a specialized type of magic. There are the Gemmers, who can manipulate stone, the Spinners, who can control thread and weave stories, the Forgers, who have power over metals, and the Tillers, whose magic relates to plants. I thought those were a kind of unique spin on magic. The story uses them cleverly, too.

Claire and her friends from Arden form an unlikely team, and at first, they set out to find Sophie together. As the story progresses, Claire, who at first seems like a timid girl, the kind who follows in her sister’s shadow, begins to assert her own ideas and act on them. She becomes a lot more confident, even as she faces challenges far beyond her expectations. All in all, I think this is a great book for middle or late elementary readers.

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Cultural Elements
Claire’s family is white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
In the land of Arden, characters use various types of magic. (Briefly described in my review.)

Violent Content
Claire learns about a terrible war that took place in Arden years before her visit in which all the unicorns were massacred because people thought they’d gain immortality with a unicorn heart. She hears sounds of battle around her in a haunted field. No gory descriptions.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.