Series Review; The Windvale Sprites by Mackenzie Crook

Summary:
When a storm sweeps through the country, Asa wakes up the next day to find that his town is almost unrecognisable – trees have fallen down, roofs have collapsed and debris lies everywhere. But amongst the debris in his back garden Asa makes an astounding discovery – the body of a small winged creature. A creature that looks very like a fairy. Do fairies really exist? Asa embarks on a mission to find out. A mission that leads him to the lost journals of local eccentric Benjamin Tooth who, two hundred years earlier, claimed to have discovered the existence of fairies. What Asa reads in those journals takes him on a secret trip to Windvale Moor, where he discovers much more than he’d hoped to…

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This book is a lovely, light-hearted read that I am certain children of many ages would really enjoy. It is shrouded in mystery and magic and is simply a cute tale that was hard not to find entertaining. There was humour laced with the story as well and I just believe it was a lovely and wonderful book, which is good when you just want to escape for a little while.

After reading just the first page of this book, I was hooked. I could actually tell that this book had a flair of life that I would enjoy. As the story progressed, I found myself pleasantly surprised. I was enjoying the story more than I expected. I admired the description of the Sprites and the journey that our main character takes. I love how much it took me into a completely new world. Alas, before too long the story was over and I had to return to my every day life. Thus, when I heard there was another book, I was excited to be able to return to such a lovely world.

Summary:
These are the recently discovered journals of Benjamin Tooth: alchemist, inventor and discoverer of the Windvale sprites. They chronicle his journey of scientific discovery from pompous boy to mad old man in his pursuit of the sprites on Windvale Moor. The sprites hold the key to eternal life, and Tooth is determined to capture it.

A companion volume to The Windvale Sprites, The Lost Journals will be published with an exciting treasure hunt campaign to find Benjamin Tooth’s lost statue. With clues ingeniously placed throughout the book, readers will love to follow the adventure beyond the written page.Monday 18th April 1768.

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Unfortunately, this book simply did not have the same magic touch that The Windvale Sprites had. It is due to this that it took me a while to get into this book. I was, admittedly, a little disappointed in this book and I fear that ruined some of the enjoyment I could have gotten from it. This book is the prequel to Windvale Sprites and tells the tale of how Benjamin Tooth found the fairies and their powers to stay alive for many, many years. It could very well have been just as light-hearted and lovely as the first book but instead I found it just a little too slow for my tastes.

The book starts with Benjamin at eleven and describes his life until he discovers the fairies. But it was only in Part Three that I really started to enjoy this book, and then it was over before I really had a chance to appreciate it. I believe that younger children would definitely enjoy every aspect of this book, as there was humour laced in all of the chapters as before but I just personally struggled with it. I did still like the book, it just wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting. Definitely happy to recommend this entire series though, especially if you want some light-hearted, entertaining, and humorous books to help you escape the mundanities of everyday life. Or, you know, if you’re a child.