Island of Myste – Randall Allen Dunn

 

All Yumiko wants is to find her birth mother and solve the mystery of her birth. When a freak storm drives Yumiko and her adoptive parents onto the Island of Myste, she is confronted with centaurs, mermaids and other magical creatures.As the story progresses, Yumiko finds that her arrival on Myste may not have been an accident. 

There were some interesting characters and at least one laugh out loud funny moment. The child villain,, in particular, comes across as a complex character, but did end up getting on my nerves (although that might be my personal preference showing).  I’m looking forward to hearing more about his origin story. The heroine is an inspiring, brave character, but does not seem to have many major weaknesses. 

I loved the world building of this story  and the Narnia-like tone. There was an engaging  origin story and an interesting premise. The main character and main side characters were all people of color, which for me added to its appeal. 

I also loved that this book was overt Christian fiction.  There is a scripture about the Nephilim in the beginning of the book, with a tie in to the story later. The story starts out in our world. During a freak storm, the main character prays and asks God for help. Once they pass through an ocean portal into Myste, it becomes an allegory with a direct relationship to our world. Like Narnia, Myste ties together mythology, human nature, and spirituality featuring the Keeper on the side of light, and gargoyles opposing him. 

 Once they pass through an ocean portal into Myste, it becomes an allegory with a direct relationship to our world.  

 

There were many things I loved about Myste, but the cliffhanger ending was not among them. There is a small amount of story wrap up, but most of the main story questions remain unanswered at the end of the book. So, a good story, but you will probably need to buy all three books to see how it ends. 

Content Ratings

Heat: None. There is no romance at all other than the affectionate relationship between the heroine’s parents.

Profanity: None.

Violence: This book contains no gore, no violence and only a few marginally scary situations. 

Genre: Christian Middle Grade Portal Fantasy

Age: This is a middle grade novel, but the violence is so mild that it is suitable for age 7 and up. If your child is reading chapter books, they should be fine.

Age recommendation: 7 and up, due to the violence.

Available on Amazon