Beyonders Book One - 4 stars

Despite the series' author, I really did not expect to enjoy Beyonders. I was in the aftermath of reading Fablehaven book Five: Keys to the Demon Prison (review in construction), and although Brandon Mull wrote both Fablehaven and Beyonders, I felt connected to Fablehaven so acutely that I didn't think that I would connect with Beyonders.
Boy, was I wrong. And gladly so.

Beyonders book One is, in one word, original. There are not as many magical creatures, properties, talismans, or artifacts as in Fablehaven, but there are definitely unworldly characters and creatures.
I'll wager that most people have never thought of the idea of manglers, lurkers, displacers, etc. All are very real in this book.

Jason Walker is a normal teenage boy. He lives in Colorado, modern-day North America. He plays baseball, goes to school, is a volunteer worker for the local zoo, and has friends. But in this book something very abnormal happens to Jason.
After being hit on the head by a baseball during practice, Jason feels dizzy and disoriented. He arrives at work just in time to clean the hippo enclosure, and sets to work on that. But when he hears unusual music coming through the enclosure -- no, wait...it's coming from the hippo itself! -- and he decides to check it out, he finds himself in a different world.

As I've found out, the story gradually gets more engaging as you read through the book.

As far as the romance level is concerned, I would not rate this book more than a 1 out of 10. Basically, it holds no mention of anything deeper than a friendship bond. There are maybe two bits where the text insinuates something more than friendship, but they're not prolonged.

The gore rating is a bit deeper, but it does not bother me throughout the whole book. There are bloody situations, animal deaths, and torture, but nothing that would provoke any disgust on my part. I am not saying it lets every character down easy, neither am I saying that it strangulates any and every hope of health. If that makes sense at all.
Summing up, I would rate it a 3 out of 10.

Hopefully our readers will take a chance on our suggestions and reviews, and come back happy and satisfied. I'm sure that most of the time, you will.
Happy Reading!

Link to author/Beyonders website: http://brandonmull.com/site/beyonders-books