Ariel's Journey

I gave this book to my horse-loving niece and she loved it so much I decided to read a few pages for myself. I was hooked. This book held my "grown woman" attention and was a huge hit with the 13 year olds as well. The characters are so well written and the dialogue is true to life. I really enjoyed the story and recommend it for both kids and adults.

At first I was a little skeptical of the plot in Ariel's Journey... I mean, teenage girls traveling back in time to Iceland with magical horses? However, after finishing the book, I'm a BELIEVER! The story moves along at a nice pace and the characters are very well-developed. Kane and Wood give special attention to the little details that make each character endearing, such as Andrea's wild "morning hair" and the unrestrained enthusiasm that twelve-year-olds Kim and Darcy share for pretty much anything that comes their way. This story not only encourages "girl power" and teaches young women that they DO have the inner strength to accomplish great things, it is also rather gritty and realistic in surprising ways. The girls actually charge into battle wielding swords and there is some blood and gore! Ariel's Journey achieves a perfect balance of adventure, dialogue, romance, and female bonding. I have to admit that I became very attached to the characters and was sad when they arrived home, ready to resume their normal lives in modern society. Luckily I can take comfort in the fact that book #2 is coming out soon. I can't wait to see what happens next with Princessa, Skessa, Ariel, Hela, and Kedja and their brave young riders!

I enjoyed Ariel's journey! was an easy read, very interesting and informative. I especialy enjoyed the unexpected twist in the story. I also felt it was a real life relationship learning tool for tweens that will read the book. Its a tough time for girls in this real part of their lives and this book tells what can happen when you can put those things aside. The authors did a particularly great job in character descriptions of both the girls on the journey and the horses that were their friends.

This is a perfect book for the pre-adolescent through teen reader. Enjoyable for the adult reader as well. It has everything from horses to action/adventure to time travel. Boys and girls alike will enjoy reading about the icelandic horses featured in the book and the conflicts, and ultimately friendship, formed by the girls in the story. Leaves readers hoping the next book in the series will arrive soon!

Ariel's Journey is a book about teen conflicts that are resolved after they realize that there are more important things than how one dresses better than another or has better "things" than another. It is a story about two of the girls' love for their Icelandic horses and how a conflict with other girls in their horse club makes a mom come up with a clever way for the girls to resolve their differences. As the girls are on their trailride, they are magically transported to the past in Iceland with a problem to solve. Through great adversity the girls band together and form a bond to last a lifetime. I can't wait for the next book!!