Official Review: The Witch of the Spring by Tom Blanton
Posted: 09 Feb 2021, 14:36
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Witch of the Spring" by Tom Blanton.]
In The Witch of the Spring: An Arthur and Marya Mystery, the second in the series by Tom Blanton, teenagers Arthur and Marya are excited for Marya to return to Coronada Springs, Texas to spend Christmas with her grandmother and visit Arthur. However, their fun is interrupted when the 400-year-old book they discovered the previous summer is stolen from Don Pedro, the man they gave the book to. Don Pedro calls on the Texas Rangers, and Arthur and Marya assist Sergeant Victor Morales with the investigation. They soon discover a legend about a spring that was cursed by a witch. They also uncover a possible connection to the Aztecs. Will Arthur, Marya, and Sergeant Morales find the book? What was the thief's real motive? And who is the witch of the spring?
This book combines mystery, magic, and a little bit of history to create a fun and exciting story that quickly jumps into the action and keeps a fast and steady pace throughout. It is listed as a young adult book, but I think readers of all ages will enjoy this story. I certainly did, and I plan to buy the previous book and future installments in the series.
This book can be read without reading the previous one, but there are a lot of references to events in the first book. While I never felt confused, I did sometimes feel like I was missing something because it wasn’t fully explained. Mostly though, I was just intrigued and left wanting to read the first book.
The characters were my favorite thing about this book. All of them were well written and believable, and there was a nice variety of personalities. The dialogue was also realistic. I only wish that I’d been able to get to know Arthur’s other friends better, but hopefully they will be seen more in future books.
One thing that bothered me, and was my least favorite thing about the book, was Marya’s disbelief that the mystery could involve Aztec myth. Given the descriptions of their last adventure, which they both said involved magic, I was surprised that she was so unwilling to believe.
The main problem with this book is the editing. I found a lot of punctuation errors, such as misplaced commas and missing quotations. However, they were not so frequent that they interrupted the flow of the story. Another minor issue was that there were some moments where I wasn’t sure who was speaking.
I am taking away a star for the problems I mentioned, but they were minor, and I really enjoyed the story despite them. The author also included some informational notes about various things in the story at the end of the book and an Aztec pronunciation guide, which I appreciated. With all of that taken into account, I am rating this book 3 out of 4 stars.
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The Witch of the Spring
View: on Bookshelves
In The Witch of the Spring: An Arthur and Marya Mystery, the second in the series by Tom Blanton, teenagers Arthur and Marya are excited for Marya to return to Coronada Springs, Texas to spend Christmas with her grandmother and visit Arthur. However, their fun is interrupted when the 400-year-old book they discovered the previous summer is stolen from Don Pedro, the man they gave the book to. Don Pedro calls on the Texas Rangers, and Arthur and Marya assist Sergeant Victor Morales with the investigation. They soon discover a legend about a spring that was cursed by a witch. They also uncover a possible connection to the Aztecs. Will Arthur, Marya, and Sergeant Morales find the book? What was the thief's real motive? And who is the witch of the spring?
This book combines mystery, magic, and a little bit of history to create a fun and exciting story that quickly jumps into the action and keeps a fast and steady pace throughout. It is listed as a young adult book, but I think readers of all ages will enjoy this story. I certainly did, and I plan to buy the previous book and future installments in the series.
This book can be read without reading the previous one, but there are a lot of references to events in the first book. While I never felt confused, I did sometimes feel like I was missing something because it wasn’t fully explained. Mostly though, I was just intrigued and left wanting to read the first book.
The characters were my favorite thing about this book. All of them were well written and believable, and there was a nice variety of personalities. The dialogue was also realistic. I only wish that I’d been able to get to know Arthur’s other friends better, but hopefully they will be seen more in future books.
One thing that bothered me, and was my least favorite thing about the book, was Marya’s disbelief that the mystery could involve Aztec myth. Given the descriptions of their last adventure, which they both said involved magic, I was surprised that she was so unwilling to believe.
The main problem with this book is the editing. I found a lot of punctuation errors, such as misplaced commas and missing quotations. However, they were not so frequent that they interrupted the flow of the story. Another minor issue was that there were some moments where I wasn’t sure who was speaking.
I am taking away a star for the problems I mentioned, but they were minor, and I really enjoyed the story despite them. The author also included some informational notes about various things in the story at the end of the book and an Aztec pronunciation guide, which I appreciated. With all of that taken into account, I am rating this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Witch of the Spring
View: on Bookshelves
