Sapphire Flute: The Wolfchild Saga By Karen E. Hoover

This was such a good book! My 12 year old son and I both read it and enjoyed it! I can’t wait for the next book to come out and this book wasn't released yet when I read it! I received an advanced reader’s edition from Valor Publishing Group and was asked to just tell what I thought about the book on my blog. I am not getting paid to do this but I kind of feel like I should pay them for giving me this sneak peak because it was just so much fun to read this book ahead of everyone!

Karen Hoover's novel, The Sapphire Flute, is the first in The Wolfchild Saga. It was released on March 16, 2010, so you can get it on Amazon here.

A brief overview of the book by the publisher: The world of Rasann is dying. The mages in the land have been working together to weave their magic into a net to hold the world in one piece, but those cords are breaking down. They need a white mage, the rarest of them all, to step in and take over where they are falling down, but there hasn’t been a white mage for over three thousand years. Their only hope lies in finding the magic keystones, long hidden, which will bind the world together.
Kayla has been given charge of one of those keystones, the Sapphire Flute, and been told not to play it. Along will come another, destined to play the flute and bring the magic within it to life. She has never met this player, and has no idea where to find such a person.
In the meantime, Ember has discovered a secret – her father had the ability to shift himself into the shape of a wolf, and she has that gift as well. When she takes upon herself her new appearance, quite by accident the first time, she discovers a family she never knew she had.
Lurking behind it all is C’Tan, the sorceress. She wants the keystones for herself, and she will stop at nothing to get them.
“The Sapphire Flute” is Karen E. Hoover’s first publication, and is the first of a series of seven. A new book in the series will be published each spring.

My review...

I think the book was definitely written for teens. It was complex in its own way yet has a simple innocence to the characters. It is basically a Fantasy Fiction book about two girls. One girl comes of age to get her magical powers. She has all kinds of problems with her mom, ends up going on an adventure far from home and luckily meets some people on the way that become her friend and help her get to the right place at the right time. She finds out interesting things about her father and mother which really change her world. I like this character the best. She is set up to really do some interesting things. I can't imagine what but can't wait to find out in the next books...

Parallel to her story is the story about the other girl. She plays a flute and wants to be important in society. She is really talented and has a handsome cool boyfriend. She is also spoiled in many ways. She receives something from the king that changes her life. Can you guess what it is? She also meets up with some interesting, people that help her on her dangerous journey. She really needs some help because she doesn't know much when it comes to ruffing it on a dangerous adventure in the outdoors!

I found the book to have MANY side characters. They had such different and imaginative names that I had to make a list to keep track. The book went back and forth each chapter between the two girl’s adventures. This was a bit annoying but I stuck with it. They have different cultures. There was some new terminology for their native lands, plus all the people around them were interwoven into the story in their own complex way. This book really moved along. This really kept it interesting for me. My advice, pay attention or it gets all mixed up in your head.

This first book in the saga seemed to have a lot of foreshadowing for stuff that will come later in the series...A little hint here and a tad bit there. I think the two girls will eventually meet up so they can accomplish their goals, which possibly is to take out the bad guys and save the world. BUT that didn’t happen in this book yet, maybe it won't. Anyway that is just my guess. There will probably be a few more characters to meet up with and of course there are some smaller bad guys to defeat along the way. One main evil magician, of course needs to be annihilated in the end, but we will see!

I really can’t wait to read what with unfold next! I loved the book! Imagination has no limits. I hope you will love this one too!

Here is the site where you can order a copy of the Sapphire Flute and one to learn about the author here.