Finding Angel: Toch Island Chronicles, Book 1 by Kat Heckenbach
(Y/A Fantasy)
Narration:
Jeanne Whitehouse is a good choice for narrating this story. She does a great job with all the women’s voices, from the young to the old, and also with those of the children. Her voices for the principal male characters are right on target. With some of the less-central males, she sounds a little feminine and with others, her narration is noteworthy and fun to hear. She handles the accents required in a manner that falls nicely on the ears. The youthful sound of her narrating makes it easy for readers to feel they are in the mind and thoughts of Angel, the teenage point-of-view character. In addition, there is a wide variety of young people in this story with varying attitudes, and Jeanne is able to convey them all. Her pacing is perfect.
Book Review: Finding Angel: Toch Island Chronicles, Book 1
Kat Heckenbach has created a wonderful and unique world of magic. Her fantastical creatures are unusual, exciting, and they stimulate the visual senses. She’s not afraid to invest nature with new and enthralling attributes: both the positive and the negative kind. It would be great if a separate book were available with colorful images of her fantasy-land and its flora and fauna.
Her storyline transports readers into a place where natural science and magic collide to make listeners experience the combination in ways they probably haven’t thought of before. Like all great books, Finding Angel shares real-life, easy-to-assimilate knowledge through little facts listeners may not have known.
The main characters, Angel and her friend, Gregor, play off each other, well. They are honest and unpretentious. Readers can associate them with people they know or have come in contact with. Both of these individuals are mature enough that no heavy character development is necessary. As a result, listeners get a story that focuses on introducing them to the wonderland known as Toch Island and that entertains them with the battle between right and wrong that takes place there.
There is a part toward the end of the story that is tied up too neatly for me, or perhaps, it is simply a matter of what I would like to have seen happen. Nevertheless, Finding Angel is a great young-adult fantasy.
There is no profanity or sex in this book. With its strong, multi-dimensional leading characters, it’s filled with compassion, action, and adventure, all painted throughout with the author’s own brush strokes of magic. If you’ve been looking for a new fantasy that you can escape into, I recommend listening to this audiobook.
Listen to a sample and download it now.
Bibliography: Finding Angel: Toch Island Chronicles, Book 1 by Kat Heckenbach
Length: 9 hrs. 19 minutes (unabridged)
Publisher: ©11-16-2012 kathryn heckenbach