All the Stars and Teeth, Book 1
By Carrie R. Wheadon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Swirl of cool magical ideas has mermaids, sea monsters, too.
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What's the Story?
In ALL THE STARS AND TEETH, Princess Amora's 18th birthday is finally here. She's ready to show her kingdom that she has control of her special branch of soul magic that only the royal Montara line can wield and claim her place as the next High Animancer after her father. She parades around in her terrifying bone crown and epaulettes and they bring out a murderer for her to kill. She's confident and proud of her skill and ready to show it off until she looks around at all the horrified faces in the crowd. Her confidence and concentration flag and she loses control of her magic and tortures the prisoner without mercy or any understanding of what she's done. Amora is immediately deemed dangerous and locked up, sure that she will be executed shortly. She's desperate for some way out when a mysterious sailor breaks into the prison and breaks her out. He has news for her about her kingdom. There's a serious threat from a far off island that her father the king hid from her, and the sailor needs her magical help to fight against it.
Is It Any Good?
For any fantasy fan who loves magical kingdoms, powerful princesses and mermaids, sea voyages, and sea monsters, this tale will draw you in, even if it still needs some storytelling polish. All the Stars and Teeth could have been set up more cleanly, the magic explained more clearly, and the reveal of what the magic really means to the islands done without an abrupt plunge into a complex flashback (all while the bad guy waits around for her outside a cave, probably bored). But there are moments of greatness here, too.
Amora's jilted fiance, Ferrick, and the mermaid Vataea are both fascinating characters with cool magic who add as much to the story as Amora's mysterious love interest, Bastian. Vataea's magic is the most useful on the sea adventure, and the quest to save her from imprisonment on an island full of wealth and vice is one of the more entertaining parts of the book. Things get more serious than adventurous when Bastian is forced to face his past and Amora awakens to what her magic really means. Both help build toward an exciting finale.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Amora's magic in All the Stars and Teeth. Who is she trained to use it on? Is she always convinced that her magic is a benefit to society?
How does Amora's father he let her down? Why is it sometimes harder to forgive our idols for things they do wrong? How does Amora find some forgiveness?
Will you read the next book in the duology? What do you think will happen to Amora? To the islands and their magic?
Book Details
- Author: Adalyn Grace
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More , Adventures , Brothers and Sisters , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires , Ocean Creatures , Pirates
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Imprint
- Publication date: February 4, 2020
- Number of pages: 384
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: February 11, 2020
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