Review by brianna5556 -- The World of Ato

[brianna5556]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The World of Ato" by Patrick Borosky.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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World of Ato by Patrick Borosky is about an artist named Ato. She is only fifteen years old, and she is a talented painter. She goes to explore some old ruins near her town with her best friend, Reed, where she meets a dragon named Iro. This dragon has a special power: his flames can make any painting come to life! The two quickly become friends, and they use Iro’s power to visit a world that Ato created. Unfortunately, she soon finds out that this world is not as perfect as it originally seemed. Her heart won’t let her leave this world she created to a life of desperation, so she sets out to find the source of the darkness covering the land.

Ato is an interesting character, as she is a child, and this gives her a very different outlook on her experiences. She is both naïve and brave, which can be a difficult character to write, but Borosky has written her beautifully. Experiencing the story through the mind of a child gave a refreshing perspective on events that otherwise would have seemed dire or sad.

The descriptions of places and people were very artistic, which was fitting for the theme of the book. I admit that at the start of the book I found the descriptions to be a bit over the top, as they were often slightly too long, but after a while it became less noticeable.

The story itself is fantastic, full of exploration, adventure and danger, but there was still plenty of space for the characters to develop and properly interact with each other. I especially enjoyed Ato’s banter with Iro. The characters had unique personalities, with flaws that were explored rather than just mentioned in passing, which allowed them to change over the course of the book.

As the main character is a child, this book could be marketed at older children, and many children would enjoy it. Nevertheless, it is perfectly suitable for adults. It contains a strong sense of adventure and childish curiosity, although it also contains some darker themes such as greed and death. Although at first glance it may seem like another normal fantasy story, this book had a unique feeling to it, and both the story and the characters captured my heart.

My rating for this book is 4 out of 4 stars. I found both the characters and the setting to be deep and well written, and the story was original. I would recommend this book to any type of reader, as I think this is a book that can be enjoyed even by people who don’t usually read fantasy books, as long as they are willing to believe in magic for a while. I would definitely read the next book in the series, if he is planning to write one, and I feel like this is a book that I will read multiple times in the future.

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The World of Ato
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[Smiley 25]

I wondered if anyone else would feel like they could read this book multiple times. I feel like this is one of those books that you could read again and find something totally different about it. The book seems to dive into some pretty deep subjects, but you wouldn't necessarily notice that if you weren't looking. I'm really hoping that the author makes a series out of these books and writes at least one more following Ato, Iro, and Reed. The ending certainly seems to suggest this.