Darwen Arkwright and the School of Shadows

Darwen Arkwright #3

by A.J. Hartley, Emily Osborne (Illustrations)

The third book in the quirky and enchanting Darwen Arkwright series, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society !

THE FIGHT FOR BOTH OUR WORLDS MUST COME TO AN END.
Mr. Peregrine has been kidnapped! Now it's up to Darwen, Rich, and Alexandra to rescue him. They'll embark upon a journey that will take them deeper into Silbrica than they've ever gone before, and there, on the other side of the mirror, they'll find the strangest sight of an exact replica of Hillside Academy. This is only the first of many connections that Darwen and his friends are about to discover between the human world and the world of Silbrica. And as the connections begin piling up, they'll be forced to confront the most horrifying realization of they've been lied to this entire time.
 

Genres: Fantasy, Magic

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finale to the Beyond the Mirror trilogy was the best one of all. It is quite a chunky book but there is so much happening that it goes really quickly. Searching for Mr Peregrine, the three kids finally find out many truths about what has really been going on. As in the other books, many of the characters are not necessarily on the side they appear to be, either good or bad. I think That Which Eats was my favourite character. It was so powerful and terrifying, but seemed so wise and ancient somehow too.
I kind of like that the book faced up to the consequences of kids running off and having adventures. Sometimes the adults are going to find out and it will affect them, most books just seem to conceal or gloss over these repercussions. Despite the fantasy of the book it's realistic in many ways and the things the kids go through feel true to life.

[Doug S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in the Darwen Arkwright series. Overall and enjoyable read but I'm not sure if it really felt like a conclusion. The stakes didn't seem to elevate to another level and more or less stayed where they were from the previous book. Although there were quite a few highly visual scenes that I can easily picture on the big screen. Maybe one day this series will get it's on movie or tv adaptation.

[Donna Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young adult fantasy.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

We picked this one up at Dragon*Con this year just a few weeks after it came out. My 9yo was so ready to read it. We do bed time reading in addition to any other reading she does and usually do longer, series books for that. We read most nights, but sometimes due to activities, we don't get to. She was sorely disappointed when we had to miss a night of reading this one.

We both thought the Doctor Who Weeping Angels similarity was pretty cool, near the beginning. The Little loved every thing about this and will probably re-read it on her own soon. I found myself confused a lot as to what the rules were for crossing from Silbrica to our world. It seemed to work differently each and every time. It felt a bit like the author was changing the rules up all the time to fit the plot. Other than that, I enjoyed this one very much and recommend it to any parents of elementary and middle school kids.

[Marcus Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book in the series. Wrapped a lot of plot lines nicely, but still left things open for s sequel.

[Clifford Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice finish and the best of the lot! Nice series for younger readers.