The flap copy: Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?
Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so--and Aldwyn is happy to play along.
He just has to convince the other familiars--the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert--that he's the powerful cat he claims to be.
Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are capture by the evil queen of Vastia.
On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure--an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor--is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.
The authors: There are two! They're screenwriters who have been working together for years and years, and they started to write The Familiars after Adam asked Andrew, "Are you familiar with what a familiar is?" (You can tell that they have fun working together just from that question.)I'm afraid that I can't tell you which is which. I can't...because I get them...mixed up. *hangs head, ashamed to be so bad with names* They both have names that start with A! And J in their name also! Very confusing!!
Here's what they have to say about themselves. Maybe you can figure out who is who.
My thoughts: I know, I know. I'm kind of behind the eight-ball on this one.
I mean, The Familiars came out many moons ago. All the way back in September, in fact. And I dutifully bought it that month, just as soon as I found a copy in stores. I placed it happily in my TBR pile.
And then, I ignored it.
It had nothing to do with the book itself, and everything to do with me.
You see, despite all the wonderful things I had heard about the Familiars, I'd forgotten something about myself: I'm not a huge fan of animal protagonists.
*cringes away from crowd of readers and writers who threaten to throw me out of the Guild of Children's Authors*
Wait, wait! Hear me out! I'll be the first to confess: I have really weird tastes. Not just in novels. But in everything. For instance, I love brussels sprouts, but I hate Nutella. I won't even eat it in a crepe.
*breathes a sigh of relief as the crowd dies down, even if they're all still eyeing me distrustfully (can't blame them though. What kind of weirdo doesn't like Nutella?)*
Other readers rally around the Warriors series, or rave about the Redwall novels, or cite Charlotte's Web as their favorite book, or gush all about The Tale of Despereaux. Me, not so much. When we were little, my little sister would happily watch The Adventures of Milo and Otis over and over again. Me, I would get so bored that I would leave the room to read someplace and then come back when it was my turn to pick the VHS tape.
Books with animal main characters have been a staple of children's lit forever - or at least since Hans C. Andersen wrote "The Ugly Duckling." But they just weren't my thing.
So, now you know that me taking so long wasn't Epstein and Jacobson's fault. And you also know what they had to overcome when a reader like me actually stopped procrastinating and opened their novel.
BUT I LOVED THE FAMILIARS!!!
Seriously! I mean, magic cats, soothsaying frogs, an evil queen, a voyage through exotic locales, a little confusion over a grey-haired witch - what's not to like?
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| This is the UK cover. Which I think I might like even more than the US cover. Because Gilbert - my fave - is on there twice!! Someone else loved him too!!!! |
I even loved Aldwyn despite not being much of a cat person. But I have to say that my favorite, FAVORITE characters was Gilbert, the tree frog. He tries sooo hard to be a good familiar, but a lot of the times, he fumbles. You can't help but love him for how hard he tries.
Okay, I can't resist sharing this, but I don't think it really spoils anything.
At one point, our three animal heroes are in peril, and everybody's starts to get nervous. Especially Gilbert:
"Is anybody else's tongue sweating?" asked Gilbert. The others just looked at him blankly. "Okay, I guess it's just a frog thing." (200)
Awesome. When I first read that, I literally started giggling out loud. Which was embarrassing, because I wasn't alone at the time.
But yes, ladies and gentleman, Moral of the (long, rambling) Story: Even if you haven't read it yet, it's still not too late. Go find the Familiars and jump in to Vastia. Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert won't disappoint. (Especially Gilbert. :-P)
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| Image credit goes to Peter Chan & Kei Acedera. This was one of my favorite illustrations in the whole book. Found this pic on The Familiars website, though, so I'm thinking that the authors added the nice touches of color. |
