Review by Leah39 -- The Crystilleries of Echoland

[Leah39]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Crystilleries of Echoland" by Dew Pellucid.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid was an amazing story read by B.J. Harrison for Audible. Will Cleary was a boy living in Alaska who is about 2 weeks shy of his 13th birthday. The story opened by talking about the gravestone book, a book about more than a thousand people who had mysteriously disappeared without a trace, including Will and his twin sister Emmy who vanished when they were 2. Will was the only person who ever reappeared, and he did so after a week, riding on the back of a wolf, with a falcon flying with them. The wolf and falcon had stayed with Will ever since as pets. Will’s parents never gave up their search for Emmy. Will’s pets revealed a secret to him and he learned about an alternate but parallel world called Echoland. The people in Will’s world were known as Sounds and they had semitransparent reflections in Echoland called Echoes. Echoland was a beautiful place that sounded like a snow-filled wonderland, but it had a dark and scary aspect to it as well. The law of death stated that if a Sound died, the corresponding Echo must die as well, and so evil forces hunted down Sounds to be able to kill the Echo. Will wondered if this was what might have happened to all those missing children in the gravestone book. In his quest to find out if his sister was still alive and try to rescue her, Will had to meet people, trust his instincts, and face untold dangers.

There were many things that I enjoyed about this audiobook. I loved that the characters had to use their brains and teamwork to solve challenges, rather than relying on brute force. The protagonists had strict moral codes and stuck to them even during the most intimidating experiences they faced. Will and his friends faced bullies, but they didn’t fight back as expected and feed into what would be a losing battle with bullies or bully weaker characters. While stories with a moral are more fitting for younger readers, I think young adult fiction can also set a good example that doing the right thing can be a reward in itself.

It was hard to find anything that I disliked about this audiobook. However, if I put myself into a young adult’s mindset, it could be challenging to understand some of the words used, such as lucent, cupidity, and prescient. In a positive light, it could encourage younger readers to look these words up and expand their vocabulary. If I’m being truly honest, I actually had to look up at least one of those words myself.

I gave this audiobook a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The story had me enchanted in a way I haven’t been with a young adult book since the Harry Potter series came out. The characters were creative: the protagonists were endearing and likable, while the villains ranged from mildly disagreeable to downright scary. I noted minimal errors in word use, as it was an audiobook rather than a printed book. The chapters were short and it was easy to stop and resume later. The narrator spoke clearly and his different tone and accents for various characters made it easy to distinguish who was speaking since there was a lot of dialogue. This was a fun and interesting audiobook with a lot of action.

There was absolutely no profanity or sexual content, although there were some aspects of the story that could be a little on the scary side for younger readers. This would be a great audiobook for adolescent or adult readers.

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The Crystilleries of Echoland
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I always felt one of the joys of reading fantasy books was that I learned new words I would never have had a chance to come across in normal life. In that sense, I loved that Pellucid included those less common words in her book, because that's how bigger vocabularies get built. This was definitely a fun book, and it was wonderful to listen to. Nice review.

[Leah39]

I always felt one of the joys of reading fantasy books was that I learned new words I would never have had a chance to come across in normal life. In that sense, I loved that Pellucid included those less common words in her book, because that's how bigger vocabularies get built. This was definitely a fun book, and it was wonderful to listen to. Nice review.

Thank you!

Growing up, I read all the time, and if I didn't know what a word meant, my mother wouldn't define it for me. She'd make me look it up in the dictionary. I credit her for improving my vocabulary far past that of my peers. Nowadays it's much easier to look words up using an e-reader, of course, but if I don't know a word I never gloss over it.

[Aniza Butt]

The idea of a parallel world is great, and the world building was amazing. But i couldn't relate to the characters. It felt that the character building wasn't good enough. Glad you like the book. Thanks a lot for the review.

[LinaMueller]

I intend to read The Crystilleries of Echoland ASAP. Thanks for your great review, Leah39. Well done.

[Leah39]

The idea of a parallel world is great, and the world building was amazing. But i couldn't relate to the characters. It felt that the character building wasn't good enough. Glad you like the book. Thanks a lot for the review.

I definitely think that some of the characters could have been fleshed out a little better, but I'm holding out hope that the author is setting the stage for another book with more elaboration and more detailed backstories!

[AnxiousSocks]

I'm so impressed by your review. Anyone mentioning an enchantment comparable to Harry Potter gets my serious attention
The characters sound smart and interesting, which is so important to me when I read a book. Thank you for this review!

[Ekta Swarnkar]

I haven't tried an audiobook before but from your review, it sounds like you enjoyed it. I hope to try it soon. Sure, it is a nice review of a nice fantasy.

[Leah39]

I intend to read The Crystilleries of Echoland ASAP. Thanks for your great review, Leah39. Well done.

Thank you! It’s definitely worth it!

[Leah39]

I'm so impressed by your review. Anyone mentioning an enchantment comparable to Harry Potter gets my serious attention
The characters sound smart and interesting, which is so important to me when I read a book. Thank you for this review!

Thank you! This book is right up there with HP in my opinion. I think you’d really enjoy the story - it’s a great one!

[Leah39]

I haven't tried an audiobook before but from your review, it sounds like you enjoyed it. I hope to try it soon. Sure, it is a nice review of a nice fantasy.

This was a great audiobook to start with! I still prefer regular books, but I’d listen to an audiobook on a long car ride. Definitely give this book a shot.

[Mr Benj]

It's wonderful to note that Chrystellies of Echoland was such an awesome book to read.

Especially with a theme of adventure, which can make a book captivating ( Events of risk and the likes).

Thank you for this review.