Common Sense Media Review
By Jan Carr
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kids battle monsters in fun, heroic, action-packed saga.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In THE ADVENTURERS GUILD, best friends Zed and Brock are hoping for exalted assignments at the annual Guildculling, but they get tapped to join the Adventurers Guild. This feels more like a death sentence than an honor, less an elite fighting force than a ragtag group of scrappy soldiers charged with protecting Freestone, a walled city that's "one of the last surviving cities in the world," from marauding, mauling monsters. Also tapped are Liza, a noble, and Jett, a dwarf. When the young recruits are sent outside for their initiation, a monster breaks through the magical field that protects the city. How can they strengthen the field? Is there someone inside the city who's trying to weaken it? As the kids go on a quest to find the "focus" to fortify the magic, they discover their individual strengths and powers.
Is It Any Good?
Battling monsters is loads of fun in this winning combination of fantasy, action-adventure, and humor. The Adventurers Guild starts with stock characters and formulas, and brings them vividly to life. Chapters alternate between Zed's and Brock's points of view, and their strong friendship is at the heart of the story. Zed's small, quiet, and elven, while Brock's brazen and always ready with a smart-mouthed quip. While he provides contemporary, slangy humor, their dynamic shifts in interesting ways. Brock also engages in some romcom-like sparring with Liza, and we wonder if sparks might ignite in future books.
Though the pages drip with monster blood, authors Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos also deal smartly and sensitively with issues of sexism, racism, and class. Liza, tutored in etiquette, is fierce and brave. Zed, half elven, has to deflect prejudice. And since the kids hail from different classes -- servant, merchant, and noble -- issues of class are talked about directly. The book slyly leaves some questions unanswered. As it ends, monsters are still at large, as well as some shady humans we've come to mistrust. Who's good? Who's not? People, magic, and even the choices the kids have to make are not always what they seem in this nuanced series opener.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the fantasy in The Adventurers Guild. Have you read other fantasy adventures? How is this one similar or different?
Which characters did you originally suspect to be evil? What parts of the story pointed you in that direction? Were you surprised?
How are the characters fantasy-like? How are they real? Do you identify with any of them? Do any remind you of kids you know?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Disney-Hyperion
- Publication date : October 3, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate