By Jenny McLachlan, Illustrated by Ben Mantle
4RBooks: 5/6, grades 3-7
Amazon rating: 5/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 4.46/5
Common Sense Media: Not Reviewed
316 pages
Synopsis:
Rose and Arthur are going back to Roar for another visit. This time they are going to visit “the end,” the islands at the far ends of the ocean. “The end” is where they would send things they didn’t want in Roar anymore. They have seen the islands from afar but have never visited them. They plan to take their friends Win and Mitch along.
The trip is an exciting adventure to begin, though they are always on the lookout for Crowky. They assume he is dead but aren’t completely sure. Eventually the come to an island populated by fairies. Created by Rose but banished to the End by Arthur the fairies appear fun and friendly at first, but Moss is not what she seems. She turns on the twins and their group and proves to be as mean and formidable an opponent as Crowky.
Upset with Arthur over being banished to “the end” Moss is determined to make him suffer by destroying Roar and stealing something from him. Arthur’s worst fear is coming true, someone from Roar trying to get into his home, but it’s not Crowky, it’s the fairy.
Parental Guidance: low
Some moments of fantasy monsters and dangerous situations.
Arthur facing the ramifications of previous decisions and the effect they
have had on others.
Arthur and Rose learning how to work with someone they though was an
enemy.
Recommendation:
As a stand alone novel, The Battle of Roar was not quite as interesting and riveting as the previous two books, but as a conclusion to the series it was a very satisfying read. The beginning is very similar to C.S. Lewis’s Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a sea voyage visiting different islands with different adventures. It then turns into a horror trip and rescue mission.
The entire series is fun and imaginative with plenty of opportunities for further discussion by teachers of parents. Appropriate for elementary students and fun for middle schoolers.
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