The Invisible Order, Book One: Rise Of The Darklings (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
12-year-old Emily has had to take care of her little brother Will ever since their parents mysteriously disappeared. Living in Victorian London, she’s able to earn a little money by selling watercress. This is what she is doing when she suddenly finds herself in a battle between two groups of faeries—up until then, Emily doesn’t even know that she has the Sight. She ends up rescuing a small piskie named Corrigan after the battle…but by doing this, she is drawn further into the faerie world.Emily soon learns that the faerie world has been planning to take over the human world and is determined to stop them with the help of Will and her friend Jack. I enjoyed this book, as it has a bit of everything: history, fantasy, adventure, and suspense. The Rise of the Darklings is the first book in the planned trilogy of The Invisible Order. Those who enjoyed this story might also enjoy The Faerie Wars Chronicles (Brennen). I like this book because it fits so well in a reading ladder (Lesesne, 2010) to develop fantasy fans. Those students who discover fantasy in early elementary school through books like Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series will move up the ladder with a book such as this in upper elementary/middle school. Rise of the Darklings is the first book in a set of sequels and provides a strong plot developed through action and character dialogue. The chapters are not terribly long, and there is some kind of hook at the end of most chapter to keep readers reading. The plot provides the structure that fantasy newbies need so that they can focus on the events and imagine the characters that have just the right amount of description. From this set of sequels, fantasy readers will continue to more complex plots such as Fisher's Incarceron in junior high and early high school, and when they make it to high school, they will look forward to discovering the wonders of Middle Earth in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring. Emily Snow's parents have disappeared, and she and her brother are struggling to eek out a living in London. One early morning as she hurried to the market hoping to make a little extra money, she encounters a strange battle taking place between two groups of very strange creatures she later discovers are piskies, one of many creatures from Faerie. She stops to help one of the wounded and takes him to get aid. This small act of kindness opens the door to her special ability to see the unseeable, and she finds herself, her brother, and her friend, Jack, in the middle of a battle to save London. Recommended for grades 5-8. This novel will appeal to fantasy fans and fantasy "wannabes." I often had readers who wanted to read fantasy, but often they were unable to follow the complex plots. This is fantasy that supports and motivates the reader to finish.
What do You think about The Invisible Order, Book One: Rise Of The Darklings (2013)?
4.5/5. Really liked this one! (Why had I only put 4 stars on GR?!)
—Lamont
