The Emerald Atlas - John Stephens - 4 stars

This book was for a friends Middle Grade Read-a-thon and also one of the books I had to read in one of my pick 5 challenges for this year. This is a middle grade fantasy book, but I found that it read just a little older than that and I liked that.Synopsis

These three siblings have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And — if an ancient prophesy is correct — what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

I absolutely loved the plot of this story. I thought it was well thought out. I found this book to be very adventurous, exciting and so action packed. So many great elements make up this amazing story. There is magic, time travel, mystery, and a little darkness mixed in. In the beginning it was just a bit confusing as the story is getting set up, but it does settle down and then I found it to be a very fluid read, easy to follow and understand. Readers instantly get entranced with this magical world and all of its components. What a great tale is told here.

The characters are amazing. I loved them so much. I find them to be well developed and strong, each child with their own unique personality. They are very relatable and believable, and this is what makes them so likable. I think Emma was probably my favorite character because she reminds me of my own daughter. She has a very strong opinion of things. Kate is a leader, and she does that very well too. She stumbles a long here and there but that makes her more believable. There are also some great antagonist in this book, frightening creatures and humans alike that make you fume with hatred for them. Amazing!

I recommend this book to anyone, even though it is middle grade, I think there is something for everyone. Mystery, time travel, magic, fantasy and much more. If you like a time traveling adventure jump aboard, you wont be disappointed. I am super excited to continue with this story.