When I first saw about this book I thought it sounded amazing and my younger brother agreed. When Heather Fawcett did an international giveaway for bloggers to receive a copy both he and I were so excited. And when we won? Well, I wanted to get to it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, my brother wasn’t in the mood for a fantasy book when it arrived. He’s reading something about a wheelchair car instead, go figure. But I was happy to pick it up first and I enjoyed it so much. And he’s excited to get to it when he’s in the mood too.
The Language of Ghosts mostly follows Noa, a princess who lives on an enchanted island that travels the seas with her dark magician – in this world a dark magician is just one speaks more than one magical language- brother and their youngest sister Mite. As they travel the seas they find out King Xavier, the enemy who stole the throne, is looking for s mysterious magical language that could turn the tide of the war.
There’s bugs, magic, pirates and cake eating serpents. What more could you want? Other than cake to eat whilst reading this, of course.
I’m not the biggest middlegrade reader but I’ve been finding myself reading and enjoying more of it. I adored Heather Fawcett’s YA duology and I really enjoyed this book too. Though not quite as much. There were no morally grey boys with heterochromia in this one…what? But Fawcett did provide a great and diverse cast of characters. And I guess Julian is kind of morally grey. And also bi and determined to protect his family so I do love him a lot.
Noa was a fun main character. She wasn’t big on adventure and reading. She was all about strategy and seeing the world how it is. She was incredibly smart but gets a little bit reckless. But it worked considering her age. She’s young but she feels just right for a middle grade character in a slightly more political fantasy. I liked her and would have adored her when I was the audience age.
The magic system in this book was fascinating. I love the idea that each type of magic is a language. That those who know the magic can read and understand it. It means there’s so many possibilities within the magic and it’s even said there’s plenty more long forgotten. I’d love to see more in this world and to explore the magic system more as there really are so many possibilities.
This was a great book and I highly recommend it to those looking for a middlegrade fantasy that’s just a little bit different but still as adventurous as the rest. Just maybe a little bit more political with it.
3/5 stars
BUY LINKS:
Lace and Dagger Books 