She was only calling for her dog. It was
dusk and strange imaginings always occur within centuries-old cemeteries,
right? Yet, upon seeing ‘green eyes’ within a huge dark shadow then feeling a
blast of ‘hot fetid air’ and the near graze of a ‘sail-sized leathery wing,’ 15-year
old Frankie wasn’t so sure this was imagined. When a young stranger ‘wearing
fancy dress’ appears out of the dark mist within the old cemetery and speaks,
“Did you summons my griffin?” she runs for her life!
These words, spoken
in Chapter 1, plunged me excitedly into a cannot-put-down,
do-not-want-it-to-end extraordinary story! Julia Hughes has masterfully woven
an intricate and thrilling YA fantasy tale of a girl with ordinary teenage
issues suddenly being catapulted into an intriguing, perilous adventure
involving beings from a twin world called, Ella-Earth. Frankie’s uncanny
ability to call forth a griffin and The Rider from this parallel universe will
ultimately serve her family’s tragic circumstances in a unique mysterious way.
Ms. Hughes must have a very magical muse in her mind whose wisdom to weave such
an intelligent and heart-warming story is beyond brilliant.
Frankie
is not one of the cool kids at school. Julia Hughes has created a most engaging
and fascinating character that appears to be rather ordinary, a girl who is
struggling to maneuver through the throes of middle adolescence towards the
early side of adulthood. I was
delightfully engaged during the segments involving Frankie’s encounters and
foibles at her school as she oftentimes reacted to others in either a sassy or
a respectful way; with either a fearless or a demure stance. She makes
discoveries about friendship and enemies, and the humanness of teachers; and
wrestles with a realization that the boy of her dreams might not be one who is
human.
So what makes The Griffin Cryer extraordinary? 15-year old Frankie’s
coming-of-age maturity is evidenced by her reactions to ordinary yet often,
intense, life events yet they are in counterpoint to the daring challenges that
she takes on with The Rider and his marvelous griffin. There is a harmonious
flow to the script as it moved me to and fro from Frankie’s rich, zesty
day-to-day life situations into the perils undertaken with The Rider and his
griffin; ones that involve the recovery on earth of the Ella Stone, a crystal
powerful enough to protect a membrane that separates Earth from Ella-Earth,
keeping both worlds from colliding.
Throughout my read, it often felt as I was in
the story itself, walking in Frankie’s shoes. Some of the most vivid,
exceptional segments are those between Frankie and her mum; those in which
Frankie takes flight with The Rider on the griffin; and those in which her mind
descends into her comatose brother’s nightmares, seeking to bring him home from
the dream world in which he is lost.
An outstanding story for all who are young at heart, The Griffin Cryer takes center stage on
the top shelf of my favorites’ bookcase, alongside Julia Hughes’ other
delightful, masterfully written novels. Each excites the kid in me yet also
engages my mind in the most interesting, thought-provoking ways.
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