Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Spin-off with brave girl best for loyal Septimus Heap fans.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Tod is 12 and finally old enough to hear the secret of her people, the PathFinders. At a special dawn ceremony, her father reveals that their ancestors were renowned for navigating something called the Ancient Ways, paths they no longer remember. Because of their skills, they were even sent to the stars. And, even crazier, many of the PathFinders today could still have gills like their ancestors who traveled in fluid through space. This is a lot for Tod to take in, and she has little time to process it before her father goes missing from his fishing boat one day. He leaves a note behind telling Tod yet more secrets. Her long-deceased mother had magical abilities and wanted her to study magic. Tod hops on a ship to meet Extraordinary Wizard Septimus Heap, not knowing that her village is in serious danger. Fires burn down most of the houses and most of the villagers go missing at the hands of strange nocturnal snake-like creatures called garmin. But Tod still has a chance to help them when the garmin start abducting people near the Magical Tower and Septimus finds out they're sneaking around through the Ancient Ways. The kidnapped will need Tod's help as a Pathfinder to navigate through the labyrinth of tunnels and save them on time.
Is It Any Good?
For a book about people called PathFinders, this oddly meanders a lot; it lacks a clear structure and objective for its heroic characters until close to the end. Which can be pretty hard on the reader, especially those not fully engaged in the Septimus Heap world already (this reviewer read the first four Septimus Heap books and still got a little lost).
If readers have read all previous books and are loyal fans, they'll really like Tod regardless of story structure problems. She's a brave tomboy character who has some pretty cool skills to contribute if she decides to study magic.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about loyalty to your favorite series. What are your favorite series? Do you think you'll always be a loyal fan? Are there any series you stopped reading?
What's the secret of the PathFinders? What did Tod's mother want for her? What do you think this will mean for Tod's magical education?
If you could have secret underground ways to get places, where would your tunnels go?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Mark Zug
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Katherine Tegen Books
- Publication date : November 23, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 480
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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