Friday, August 17, 2018

Blue Unicorn Book Review by Dragonet711





This book transcends age groups, a book with deeper meanings and themes like struggling with grief and learning to believe in yourself but utilizing a vocabulary and syntax more accessible to younger readers. It’s about magic and unicorns with a splash of science fiction, a genre-bending combination of fantasy and science fiction similar to The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey, but intended for a younger audience.

Overall, I found Blue’s journey to save his tribe and meet his destiny very compelling and the worlds of MarBryn and Unimaise immersive. The gorgeous watercolor illustrations add an engaging visual element to the story and aid the simple writing style in pulling the reader along at a quick pace. The visual introduction to the Metal Horn unicorn tribe, the unicorn diagram, the map, and the pronunciation guide after the story are also very helpful.I love that this book is available in coloring-book format. 

While it is intended for an audience of 12-18 years old, the coloring element could entice and calm a reader of any age. Even if we won’t admit it, we all love to color still!I admit that, for a good portion of the book, I thought that the writing style indicated a younger audience, perhaps the younger end of the Middle Grade age group. Still, the twists and action unveiled as the story progresses showed me why the book is recommended for the 12-18 age bracket. I think that even older readers (I’m in my 20s) will be so enthralled by this story and its worlds that they won’t be able to put the book down until they’re finished. 

It’s a great book for anyone, from a twelve-year-old to a ninety-year-old, to take a break from the stress and enter a world in which anything is possible, even conquering evil, so long as you believe in yourself and your loved ones.I noticed a few proofreading errors here and there, including missing words and misplaced quotation marks. The errors aren’t noticeable for many pages but, as the story progressed, I saw more and more of them. I must warn that I am a perfectionist with a Bachelor’s in English, so I may just be hyper-aware of the situation. Overall, the errors didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book.I would recommend The Blue Unicorn’s Journey to Osm to any lover of fantasy, especially those who love unicorns and a relaxing—but stimulating—read. 

Should Durant choose to pursue MarBryn and/or Unimaise further, she definitely has a reader in me.