Cliste Bella: Book Review | Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith by Shaun Hume

“If you do not believe in yourself, Ewan, then you will surely not succeed. Pity in ones own downfalls without the sight to rejoice in your strengths is truly the road to ruin. But if you do decide to pat your own back a little more often, then you will find that you are not the only one who believes it a worthwhile exercise. And there will always be those there to do it for you in times when you may not quite be able to reach.”

Ewan Pendle was weird. Really weird. At least, that's what everyone told him. Then again, being able to see monsters that no one else could wasn't exactly normal ...

Thinking he has been moved off to live with his eleventh foster family, Ewan is instead told he is a Lenitnes, one of an ancient race of peoples who can alone see the real 'Creatures' which inhabit the earth. He is taken in by Enola, the mysterious sword carrying Grand Master of Firedrake Lyceum, a labyrinth of halls and rooms in the middle of London where other children, just like Ewan, go to learn the ways of the Creatures.

I tweeted a few weeks ago about maybe getting ARC's or free books from authors and I got a reply from Shaun Hume who offered me a free ebook copy. Technically it wasn't an ARC anymore but a free book is always welcome.

According to the author his book has been compared to Harry Potter. After reading it I would agree. The book has some elements that are the same - orphan boy who has is in a horrible living condition, getting into a school for "special" children to learn some sort of special skill where magic is only a fraction of it, 3 kids who become friends (here it's 1 boy and 2 girls), Cliques where they are sorted out to eventually depending on their skill, and much more. Even the description of the teachers, lessons, and Brigid the serving girls in the school sounds so much like Harry Potter.

The plot was a little bit predictable after a while and it kinda bothered me that so many of the characters names started with the letter E - Ewan, Enola, Enid, etc. I was waiting for something special to happen to Ewan like maybe discovering a special power he actually has (like Harry with his scar or when he got his wand), but so far it's only all allusions - he healed Betony when he first arrived at the Lyceum and he summoned the White Wraith. The plot around the White Wraith was not explored as much as I wanted to, like could Ewan maybe talk to the Wraith or could any truth be found in how the White Wraiths are created. Most are just rumors connected to the Walking White Wraith legend and the apparent cult following it has.

Another thing I noticed was the excessive amounts of description of either places or the characters eyes. That could work in the beginning but it got a little old and repetitive going into the middle of the book. I also noticed a few typo errors but they were negligible.

To sum it up, Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith is actually a good read for MG books. I would like to read more of it and see which Clique Ewan gets into when he gets to Grade two and what kind of unique adventures he'll go through. Thank you Shaun Hume for letting me read your book.