MG Takes on Thursday // cats and birds and frogs and magic

Hello, my darling sweet peas!

It’s Thursday and that means it’s time again for MG Takes on Thursday!

MGTakesOnThursday is a weekly feature from Mary at BookCraic to celebrate the love for Middle Grade Books! The steps to take part are here.

The Familiars by A.J. Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

Those early years of neglect had turned him into a bounty hunter: the vindictive ruthless killer of all creatures who walked on four, six or eight legs that he was today

The Familiars, page 11

Quest, magic, animals

I’m very happy to show you The Familiars since it’s a book close to my heart. Many years ago, when she was still little, I got my sister this book for Christmas. She never read the book herself though, not that I can remember at least. Instead we did what we always did, I read it to her (and our baby sister) every evening before bedtime. One chapter a night – if they could stay awake long enough – until the book was done.

When Aldwyn, a young alley cat on the run, ducks into a mysterious pet shop, he doesn’t expect his life to change. But that’s exactly what happens when Jack, a young wizard in training, picks Aldwyn to be his magical familiar. Finally off the tough streets, Aldwyn thinks he’s got it made. 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 telekinetic cat he claims to be. But when Jack and two other wizards in training are captured by the evil queen, Aldwyn will have to use all of his street smarts, a few good friends, and a nose for adventure to save the day.

At the beginning of the year I have reread the book for myself and it was just as lovely as I remember. I think the best way to describe it is that this book has heart. Yeah. It has heart.
The world building is exciting and fun, the characters with different characteristics, strenghts and weaknesses. There is magic and there is adventure, there is so much to see, so many different “people” to meet, there is daring and danger and friendship and caring and lies. This book, this series has so much to enjoy and I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and recommend it.