I received a copy of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergman from Book Publicity services in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Magic is real, Thomas. No matter what happens, always remember that magic is real.
Seven years have passed, and Thomas hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t forgotten the blue of his dad’s eyes either, or the tickle of beard on his cheek as they hugged goodbye. Last moments with a parent are memorable, even if you don’t know that’s what you’re having at the time.
Now, with his 13th birthday rapidly approaching, Thomas’s search for magic is about to take a radical and unexpected turn. At an out-of-the-way shop filled with dusty leather books, a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes offers him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows. The price is high and the rules are strict, but there’s no way Thomas can resist the chance to look inside.
With the mysterious book guiding the way, a strange new world is revealed – a world in which Thomas has a name and destiny far more extraordinary than he ever imagined. But time is short. As Thomas uncovers his secret family history, enemies emerge, threatening to end his rise to power and destroy everything he holds dear.
I was very grateful to receive a review copy of this book as I really liked the premise. Magic, a mysterious book, and the promise of adventure are things I absolutely love in the books I read. Not to mention I’ve been trying to read more middle grade books. Unfortunately I don’t think I was the right reader for this book.
One of the risks of reading Middle Grade as an adult is sometimes you are just “too old” to enjoy and immerse yourself in the story. That being said I am not sure that younger me wouldn’t have had some of the same issues I did with the story.
There were lots of slice of life moments that just didn’t feel necessary. The book starts off so slow and there were places that just dragged causing me to want to put the book down and not pick it up multiple times. It took me months to read this. This book had everything and I’m not sure it helped the story as some characters and situations felt predictable and stereotypical. And the final confrontation was a bit too “comic book villain” for my taste.
That being said. Thomas is a good kid. He has a good relationship with his mom as well as several other adults. The story of The Book of Sorrows and its history was really interesting and I would have loved to read more, though switching between what was written in the book to summaries was a bit jarring for me. I wish it had been one or the other.
While I’m interested to see how the story resolves I don’t plan on continuing the series.
I had a really hard time rating this one, but ultimately went with two stars.
This middle grade fantasy may be a good fit for younger readers (8-12), especially those who have an interest in science, and it is recommended for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
