The Storm Keeper’s Island
Summary:
“Fionn Boyle comes from a long line of brave seafarers, people with the ocean behind their eyes. But he can’t help but fear the open sea. For years, Fionn’s mother has told him stories of Arranmore Island, a strange place that seems to haunt her. Fionn has always wondered about this mysterious island, and from the day he arrives he starts noticing things that can’t be explained. He can sense the island all around him, and it feels like the island is watching him, too.
Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies. The time has come for his grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down. But as Fionn and the other descendants of Arranmore’s most powerful families fight to become the island’s next champion,
Review:
The Storm Keeper’s Island is a story of magic and adventure as Fionn is introduced to Arranmore Island home of his seafaring family for generations. When Fionn and is sister stay with his grandfather for the summer, Fionn gets more than he bargained for as he learns that the island is full of magic and that one family. controls it all. Meanwhile a dark force underneath the island has been reaching out to Fionn, hoping for his help to re-awaken and become powerful again.
I really enjoyed this fantasy novel with magic all its own, but still set strongly in a world I understand (which is exactly the type of fantasy I like to read). I liked the characters and their back stories – each rich enough to understand their motivation, plus a villain that’s dark and mysterious leaving the reader ready for the next installment.
But above all, I loved the setting a small island off the coast of Ireland with flowers that grow in a blink of an eye, ancient trees, mysterious sea caves and the scent of the ocean blowing through the grass. I loved how the Storm Keeper stored the magic in candles – each evoking a specific memory, time and place and each the very scent of the island. Keep your eyes peeled for the second book in the series coming out this summer – The Lost Tide Warriors!
Final Thoughts:
If The Storm Keeper’s Island was made into a candle it would smell of the sea, of generations of history, of family love and of bravery in the face of the storm.
Important Info:
Title: The Storm Keeper’s Island
Author: Catherine Doyle
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Publication Date: July 1, 2018
Page Number: 320 pgs.
