Whipeye Book Review

A few weeks back, I had the fortune to be invited by Mother Daughter Book Reviews for a Book Blitz for Geoffrey Saign’s WhipEye, the first book of the WhipEye Chronicles saga. At first, due to the name of the book and the book cover (yes, I know… petty, but well), I was not drawn to the book and I almost passed on it. I’m so very glad I didn’t!

WhipEye is a fantasy adventure where the world of animals and nature exists in a parallel world — a place where all animal species have decided to retreat to because mankind is depleting the natural resources of our world and driving all wild life to extinction. There are powerful magical animals that decided to stay in this world and care for all life, and also guardians in the form of humans that care for animals. These guardians are supposed to keep the balance of nature and men, but one of them goes awry and tries to use the magical power endowed to him in order to drive mankind to extinction and save the wildlife. That is the basic mythology of the story. However, the adventure happens when Sam, a 12 year-old asthmatic girl, whose mother passed away a year before, is thrust in the middle of this magical battle in order to save her only friend: a parrot who has been enslaved by the evil guardian.

The book is wonderfully written, and the fantasy world it explores is rich, detailed and lacks no detail. At no point did I step out of that world. It has some very vivid and violent parts, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for younger kids, but I feel it is perfect for any tween crowd, and older lovers of fantasy. While Sam struggles and battles to save this world from the evil of Magnar, the guardian, she also confronts her own inner demons in order to get her life and will of living back.

As a lover of fantasy myself, I recommend WhipEye wholeheartedly. And I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the WhipEye Chronicle series.

NOTE: I was provided a free copy of the book for this review in exchange for my honest opinion.