What do you think?
Rate this book
Passage to Mythrin #1
The Ruby Kingdom
Mountains, travel, adventure Amelia Hammer wants it all. Instead, her globe-trotting parents have dumped her in tiny, boring Dunstone, Ontario, in the middle of winter with her grandmother and her geeky cousin Simon. Simon isn't having much fun either, saddled with a sulky stranger in black leather and with neon hair.And he has to be nice to her.
But life in safe little Dunstone turns dangerously exciting when Mara comes to town. Amelia is enchanted by this tall, proud, fearless girl, but Simon worries that Mara might be mixed up in something weird. Hes right. Mara is not what she seems, and neither is the shape-shifting assassin whos tracking her. When the cousins take Mara's side in a war for an alien world, Amelia has to spread her wings literally and Simon must find out how far he will go to save a cousin who has become a friend.
But life in safe little Dunstone turns dangerously exciting when Mara comes to town. Amelia is enchanted by this tall, proud, fearless girl, but Simon worries that Mara might be mixed up in something weird. Hes right. Mara is not what she seems, and neither is the shape-shifting assassin whos tracking her. When the cousins take Mara's side in a war for an alien world, Amelia has to spread her wings literally and Simon must find out how far he will go to save a cousin who has become a friend.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2007
5 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Bow
26 books3 followersI was born and raised in Ottawa, the middle child of seven. My family descended from Scottish, Irish, and English pioneers who settled in the Ottawa Valley when it was still mostly uncut forest. I grew up on tales of ghosts, runaway sleighs, and stolen children.
I began writing when I was old enough to hold a crayon, and I haven’t stopped since. Now I have five books published for young people, with more to come. I write what I love to read: stories of adventure, mystery, suspense, and fantasy: stories about ordinary people who get mixed up in extraordinary trouble.
Besides a fiction writer, over the years I have been a librarian, a press reader, a newspaper reporter, and a writer/editor at a university. I live in Kitchener, Ontario, with my husband Eric and a small, fierce cat named Pooka. My son and daughter-in-law are also published authors.
I began writing when I was old enough to hold a crayon, and I haven’t stopped since. Now I have five books published for young people, with more to come. I write what I love to read: stories of adventure, mystery, suspense, and fantasy: stories about ordinary people who get mixed up in extraordinary trouble.
Besides a fiction writer, over the years I have been a librarian, a press reader, a newspaper reporter, and a writer/editor at a university. I live in Kitchener, Ontario, with my husband Eric and a small, fierce cat named Pooka. My son and daughter-in-law are also published authors.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 26, 2012
Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
Amelia is very upset. Her parents have taken jobs in Peru and she has to live in the small town of Dunstone, Canada. She has to live with her grandmother, Celeste, and her cousin, Simon. Amelia believes her cousin is dull and boring, and to be stuck in a small town is the worse thing that has ever happened to her.
The first day in Dunstone she meets Simon's best bud, Ike. They go exploring and see something strange, a blue light, in the gorge by the town. That night, Amelia dreams about flying through the sky and ends up waking up in the attic of her grandmother's house. She goes out on the roof and meets Mara, a tall beautiful girl. Mara is strange but quickly becomes Amelia's best friend -- to the chagrin of Simon. But Mara is not who she seems and is being stalked by an assassin.
A lot of adventures happen over the span of about three days, bringing Amelia closer to her cousin and a lot happier in her own skin.
This story was a quick read and very interesting. I really liked the small town of Dunstone. It felt like a place I would like to live. It had town festivals, which seemed fun, and a lot of caring people. I loved the theme to this story about accepting one's self in life and that being strong is not just in physical attributes but in your character. Many teens try to be other people and put on disguises. It was refreshing to have the main character accept who she is. I'll be looking forward to book two by Patricia Bow, THE PRISM BLADE.
Amelia is very upset. Her parents have taken jobs in Peru and she has to live in the small town of Dunstone, Canada. She has to live with her grandmother, Celeste, and her cousin, Simon. Amelia believes her cousin is dull and boring, and to be stuck in a small town is the worse thing that has ever happened to her.
The first day in Dunstone she meets Simon's best bud, Ike. They go exploring and see something strange, a blue light, in the gorge by the town. That night, Amelia dreams about flying through the sky and ends up waking up in the attic of her grandmother's house. She goes out on the roof and meets Mara, a tall beautiful girl. Mara is strange but quickly becomes Amelia's best friend -- to the chagrin of Simon. But Mara is not who she seems and is being stalked by an assassin.
A lot of adventures happen over the span of about three days, bringing Amelia closer to her cousin and a lot happier in her own skin.
This story was a quick read and very interesting. I really liked the small town of Dunstone. It felt like a place I would like to live. It had town festivals, which seemed fun, and a lot of caring people. I loved the theme to this story about accepting one's self in life and that being strong is not just in physical attributes but in your character. Many teens try to be other people and put on disguises. It was refreshing to have the main character accept who she is. I'll be looking forward to book two by Patricia Bow, THE PRISM BLADE.
March 11, 2013
I did not enjoy this book at all. It was kinda like nothing happened till the last 20 pages. I had to read this for school if it were my choice I never would have read it.
December 7, 2018
This is a fantastic start to the Mythrin series, and I very much enjoyed the read.
The characters in the story are interesting and well developed. I appreciated that they were capable of some level of self reflection and growth, but still also read like the Gr. 8-aged students that they are. There interactions with one another also read as very real.
The setting in a small town in Ontario worked well, especially at the start as Amelia found her new footing after unwillingly being sent there from the large city of Vancouver, BC. As far as I could tell, Dunstone, the town in the story was fictional, but Bow crafted it so well that it almost could have been real (and one or two Ontario towns came to mind as I read the book). Similarly, Bow was deft at creating the entirely fictional world of Mythrin. She included enough details that I felt as if I were in each setting, feeling the cold of the Ontario winter, and warmth of Mythrin along the way.
The plot, too, was well crafted. There was enough action to keep things moving, with enough urgent moments to keep me turing the pages to see what would happen. But, this action was balanced with moments of reflection and discussion that both gave me a rest while also allowing me to get to know the characters better.
Overall, an extremely well-constructed story with very realistic, engaging characters. I am looking forward to reading book #2.
The characters in the story are interesting and well developed. I appreciated that they were capable of some level of self reflection and growth, but still also read like the Gr. 8-aged students that they are. There interactions with one another also read as very real.
The setting in a small town in Ontario worked well, especially at the start as Amelia found her new footing after unwillingly being sent there from the large city of Vancouver, BC. As far as I could tell, Dunstone, the town in the story was fictional, but Bow crafted it so well that it almost could have been real (and one or two Ontario towns came to mind as I read the book). Similarly, Bow was deft at creating the entirely fictional world of Mythrin. She included enough details that I felt as if I were in each setting, feeling the cold of the Ontario winter, and warmth of Mythrin along the way.
The plot, too, was well crafted. There was enough action to keep things moving, with enough urgent moments to keep me turing the pages to see what would happen. But, this action was balanced with moments of reflection and discussion that both gave me a rest while also allowing me to get to know the characters better.
Overall, an extremely well-constructed story with very realistic, engaging characters. I am looking forward to reading book #2.
June 11, 2021
I had to read this book for school....it wasn't great. I was dreading having to read it and it was a very boring book. Although I absolutely love Patricia Bow books , this one was defiantly not as good as all the others!
December 15, 2012
Amelia Hammer must go live with her cousin, Simon, in a small town in Ontario while her parents take off to Peru for work-related reasons. Amy, a city girl, at first does not take kindly to the simpler life in a tiny town but soon events prove to be more interesting that Peru ever could be. Ammy finds a peculiar red ring which seems very special to her. Then later one evening Ammy and Simon find on their building's roof a very tall, pale woman with very long hair wrapped around her naked body sitting in the winter's blizzard cold. At first she doesn't talk much but after sheltering her in a store room they learn she is called Mara and not from this world. Her brother has sent an assassin after her and the teens find themselves right in the middle of the action.
This was one of the better YA fantasy novels I've read this year. The contrast between the city teen and the small town teen showed that real teens come in all sorts of temperaments. The dialogue was realistic and the book was very well written. The plot was gripping and very exciting to see it unfold with a big surprise reveal towards the end. The book ended nicely, wrapping up the plot points in the novel, yet leaves an opening for a sequel to continue with the characters. I have nothing negative to add as I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of fantasy, magic and other worlds.
Email This
This was one of the better YA fantasy novels I've read this year. The contrast between the city teen and the small town teen showed that real teens come in all sorts of temperaments. The dialogue was realistic and the book was very well written. The plot was gripping and very exciting to see it unfold with a big surprise reveal towards the end. The book ended nicely, wrapping up the plot points in the novel, yet leaves an opening for a sequel to continue with the characters. I have nothing negative to add as I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of fantasy, magic and other worlds.
Email This
March 6, 2014
This book was horrible. I mean the plot was so " basic".
Read
March 18, 2014I don't know how to read a book please help
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews