The Storm Keeper's Island: Storm Keeper Trilogy 1

I have been reading along with my son and we are actually just halfway through from reading this week, but the characters are interesting, the story has us wondering what comes next, and the writing is very vivid and descriptive. These are all great things for a book my son chose for his summer reading project for Pre-AP ELA class. Great choice that is interesting, dramatic, perplexing and fun to read.We aren’t even at the end - but I cannot wait to see what happens. Lots of reading this weekend!

What a wonderful story. The Storm Keeper’s Island follows Fionn, sent to the island of Arranmore with his sister Tara when his mother becomes too ill to care for him, into the care of his grandfather. Fionn’s grandfather is the Storm Keeper of Arranmore. The maker of storms and wielder of elemental magic that protects against the darkness of ancient sorcery. With Fionn’s arrival, this darkness starts to awaken, leading Fionn to face his fears and protect the people he loves the most. The characters are so full of life and vigour, and really help to propel the story forward by making you care about them. Fionn and Tara have a typical sibling relationship full of bickering and fighting that’s only heightened by Tara’s teenage love for Fionn’s island enemy Bartley. It’s obvious they love each other however, and the sibling bond comes into full effect as the story progresses. It was the relationship between Fionn and his grandfather that really stood out for me the most. It’s a relationship full of joy and a love for each other that’s also tinged with sadness and sentimentality as it develops. It’s a passing of knowledge and stories about the island and their family from a master to the apprentice, told with a sprinkling of magic and mystery. Add to this Fionn’s desperate longing to hear stories about his father, a man who died a hero before he was born, and you get a real sense of love between these characters. Fionn’s desire to see his father Cormac is built upon to create a wonderful bittersweet moment that is both subtle and elegantly done to such an extent that it took me by surprise, yet was also so obviously meant to happen. The writing really is outstanding. The secondary characters we meet throughout the story help support and encourage a feeling of community spirit amongst the islanders. You get the feeling that everyone of the island has a strong familial connection to the area, and will do anything to protect it and their ancient traditions. Any outsider would have a hard time integrating into the island life without a host of eyes casting suspicious glances. The island itself could also be said to be a character in its own right. Descriptions are vivid, and really big to mind a feral and wild environment that’s filled with hidden beauty. It has a personality all of its own that welcomes and calls to Fionn and his desire to be free from his familial responsibilities. The descriptions of the weather also add to this overall atmospheric feel, and allow the reader to become deeply involved in the island. The plot is full of mystery and magic. It’s well paced and the world building is well explored and explained properly. It’s simple, to the point, yet also compelling and believable while retaining a uniqueness about it. The writing contains a hint of folktale about it, you could almost imagine it being told over an open fire like tales of the past. Magical, funny, heart-rending, terrifying - and with plenty more adventures still to come, I’m on tenterhooks for the next book. A superb 5⭐️ read.

The cover is awesome and there is magic brust out of every word amazing book .A must-have. A must-read

I absolutely LOVE reading middle-grade and children’s books!I often find that they’re more magical, go deeper, they have far more to say for themselves and they say it in a bigger variation of ways!If you stopped reading these books as you got older then I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out in a big way!.If you wanted to start reading books aimed at younger readers then you could do a lot worse than ‘The Storm Keepers Island’.This is such a charming, magical, cosy, and enchanting book.I loved every single page!.In this tale we take a trip to a magical island where everything is just a bit... strange.Things seem to shift and move, flowers pop up out of nowhere, the wind seems to call out to you, and secrets and mysteries are hidden around every corner!Is there really a cave that grants wishes? Can the weather truly be trapped inside a candle? Are there monstrous creatures living under the waves who protect the island? And can Fionn’s grandfather really control the elements?Just open these glorious pages and find out for yourselves!.Catherine really makes you care about all the characters in this tale.Their personalities are all so varied and fleshed out, their relationships a delight to read about! From the sibling animosity between Fionn and Tara, the love and family bond between Fionn and his eccentric grandfather, and the rivalry between Fionn and his sworn-Island-enemy Bartley!It was all fantastic!.The island itself even feels like its own character! It was so vibrant and alive!I desperately want to visit its shores myself now and have an adventure all of my own!And I can’t wait for the story to carry on so that I can jump back into this enchanting world!.So next time there a storm brewing or the wind is howling at the windows, I suggest curling up with a steaming cup of tea and opening the pages of this fantastic book!

Really enjoyed this. The way the magic is used is very clever. It takes power and mixes and matches it in ways which are really inventive. A great start to a trilogy.