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The Explorers' Club #2
La isla de las brujas
Esta continuación de El viaje al País del Hielo, novela que fue nominada a la Medalla Carnegie, es igual de mágica, estrafalaria y maravillosa que su predecesora.
Tras salir airosa de su primera expedición, Stella Copodestrella Pearl está ansiosa por embarcarse en otro viaje a algún lugar ignoto. En su anterior expedición, no solo conoció lugares nuevos y derrotó a enemigos temibles, también entabló amistad con jóvenes y valientes exploradores como ella y descubrió sus orígenes como princesa del hielo.
Esta vez, sin embargo, no será ella quien llame a las puertas de la aventura, sino al revés. De hecho, la aventura ronda ya su jardín en la forma de un buitre gigantesco y temible, que rapta a Félix y lo lleva a la cueva de la temible bruja Jezzybella, quien años atrás asesinó a los padres de Stella. Ella y sus amigos deberán ir a su rescate a la Montaña de la Hechicera, aunque nadie ha conseguido jamás ir allí y volver para contarlo...
Stella, Ethan, Shay, Habichuela y un nuevo amigo, Gideon Galahad Smythe, experto en pícnics de expedición y (reacio) explorador del Club del Felino de la Jungla, se enfrentarán a lo desconocido y a todo tipo de monstruos peligrosísimos, vegetales furiosos y objetos embrujados en su búsqueda de Félix y quizá, solo quizá, aprenderán un montón de cosas acerca de sí mismos.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2018
About the author
Alex Bell
48 books645 followersAlex Bell signed her first book deal at nineteen and, since then, has written multiple books for both adults and young people. After completing a law degree, she now works for a legal advice charity. Alex lives in Hampshire with her husband, sons and Sphynx cats. She also writes as Alexandra Bell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
August 3, 2020
An extremely fun follow-up to the Polar Bear Explorers' Club. There was more adventure than the first one and I loved the exploration of witches in this too. The bond between Stella and her friends is beautiful to watch blossom, and the message of facing adversity is so fantastic, I was punching the air! Also... LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION?!?! UHM YES PLEASE!!!
December 14, 2018
This is the second instalment in The Polar Bears Explorers' Club series.
If I had to define this book in just one word it would be this: ADORABLE! The characters from the first book return, with their adventures this time taking them to the infamous Witch Mountain, where few explorers dare to tread. These intrepid mini explorers learn more about their moral compass as they navigate the skies and the lands for justice. And as they expand upon their maps of the world they discover they have much to learn about themselves and what is far closer to home in the process.
Just as in the prior series instalment, this was infused with a hefty dose of feminism and was an inclusive read that preached the dangers of hastily made judgements and acceptance of others' differences. I am a forever fan of these characters and will journey with them on any and every future adventure they embark upon.
If I had to define this book in just one word it would be this: ADORABLE! The characters from the first book return, with their adventures this time taking them to the infamous Witch Mountain, where few explorers dare to tread. These intrepid mini explorers learn more about their moral compass as they navigate the skies and the lands for justice. And as they expand upon their maps of the world they discover they have much to learn about themselves and what is far closer to home in the process.
Just as in the prior series instalment, this was infused with a hefty dose of feminism and was an inclusive read that preached the dangers of hastily made judgements and acceptance of others' differences. I am a forever fan of these characters and will journey with them on any and every future adventure they embark upon.
July 16, 2023
Auch der zweite Band um den Entdecker Club hat mir wieder wahnsinnig gut gefallen! Mit Stelle und ihren Freunden begeben wir uns natürlich wieder auf eine Reise - allerdings geht es dieses Mal nicht darum, etwas neues zu entdecken, sondern um Stellas Adoptiv-Vater Felix zu retten, der auf die Insel der Hexen verschleppt worden ist!
Stella hat ja von ihrem ersten Abenteuer im eisigen Norden ein Souvenir mitgenommen, das sich jetzt als gefährliche Überraschung erweist. Das gelüftete Geheimnis um ihre Eltern hatte sie ja sehr erschüttert und die Magie, die sie vererbt bekommen hat, ist eher mit Belastungen verstrickt, als dass sie Freude daran haben könnte.
Dennoch möchte sie sich von nichts aufhalten lassen und ist bereit, alles zu tun, um Felix zu retten. Natürlich sind ihre Freunde alle zur Stelle, um ihr zu helfen und es geht auch wieder viel um Freundschaft und Zusammenhalt. Aber auch um Vorurteile. Vorurteile, mit denen sich Stella konfrontiert sieht, aber auch, die sie selbst revidieren muss. Denn oftmals ist nichts so, wie es scheint, und der erste Eindruck kann sehr wohl trügen.
Auch auf Gerüchte sollte man nichts geben und sich lieber selbst einen Eindruck verschaffen.
Ich liebe ja die kleinen Gespräche, die Stella mit ihrem Vater Felix hat. Nur am Rande, aber mit so vielen schönen Botschaften gespickt, die einfach wichtig sind:
Sometimes ordinary people are the most dangerous of all. Besides, people are always scared of what they don´t understand.
Zitat Chapter 9
... all those mistakes and wrong turns are how we find out who we really are, deep down. It´s how wie strengthen our souls.
Zitat Chapter 22
You did what you could at the time. And all you can control now ist what you do next.
Zitat Chaper 22
Trotz dem empfohlenen Lesealter fand ich es anspruchsvoll, auf englisch zu lesen, und ich hab doch immer wieder einige Wörter nachschlagen müssen. Was mit dem Reader tatsächlich sehr praktisch ist, weil man das Wort markieren kann und direkt eine englische Beschreibung davon angezeigt bekommt :)
Zum Stil kann ich wegen der Fremdsprache nicht allzu viel sagen, aber nach meinem Empfinden ist es mit vielen anschaulichen Details und bildhafter Lebendigkeit beschrieben. Ich konnte mich jedenfalls sehr gut in die jeweiligen Ereignisse hineinversetzen und hab mit Spannung die Reise mit den Jung-Entdeckern verfolgt!
Es gibt einige böse Überraschungen, die sie zu überwinden haben und es mit Zusammenhalt schaffen, oder auch mit den besonderen Fähigkeiten und Stärken einzelner. Es ist ja eine sehr bunt gemischte Truppe, so verschieden dass sie sich perfekt ergänzen und man erkennt, dass gerade ihre verschiedenen Charaktere eine so tolle Mischung ergeben und es nie langweilig wird.
Viele originelle Ideen und eine sehr abwechslungsreiche Handlung ergeben hier wieder eine spannende Geschichte; sogar einige kleine gruselige Momente gab es, und ich bin mit der kleinen Reisegemeinschaft wieder sehr zusammengewachsen. Auch gibt es wieder eine neue Aufgabe, die sie zu bewerkstelligen haben - und somit freu ich mich schon sehr auf den nächsten Band!
Untermalt wird das ganze übrigens wieder mit ganz bezaubernden Bildern von Tomislav Tomic!
4.5 Sterne für ein weiteres Abenteuer mit den Entdeckern - wieder sehr spannend mit vielen originellen Ideen!
Stella hat ja von ihrem ersten Abenteuer im eisigen Norden ein Souvenir mitgenommen, das sich jetzt als gefährliche Überraschung erweist. Das gelüftete Geheimnis um ihre Eltern hatte sie ja sehr erschüttert und die Magie, die sie vererbt bekommen hat, ist eher mit Belastungen verstrickt, als dass sie Freude daran haben könnte.
Dennoch möchte sie sich von nichts aufhalten lassen und ist bereit, alles zu tun, um Felix zu retten. Natürlich sind ihre Freunde alle zur Stelle, um ihr zu helfen und es geht auch wieder viel um Freundschaft und Zusammenhalt. Aber auch um Vorurteile. Vorurteile, mit denen sich Stella konfrontiert sieht, aber auch, die sie selbst revidieren muss. Denn oftmals ist nichts so, wie es scheint, und der erste Eindruck kann sehr wohl trügen.
Auch auf Gerüchte sollte man nichts geben und sich lieber selbst einen Eindruck verschaffen.
Ich liebe ja die kleinen Gespräche, die Stella mit ihrem Vater Felix hat. Nur am Rande, aber mit so vielen schönen Botschaften gespickt, die einfach wichtig sind:
Sometimes ordinary people are the most dangerous of all. Besides, people are always scared of what they don´t understand.
Zitat Chapter 9
... all those mistakes and wrong turns are how we find out who we really are, deep down. It´s how wie strengthen our souls.
Zitat Chapter 22
You did what you could at the time. And all you can control now ist what you do next.
Zitat Chaper 22
Trotz dem empfohlenen Lesealter fand ich es anspruchsvoll, auf englisch zu lesen, und ich hab doch immer wieder einige Wörter nachschlagen müssen. Was mit dem Reader tatsächlich sehr praktisch ist, weil man das Wort markieren kann und direkt eine englische Beschreibung davon angezeigt bekommt :)
Zum Stil kann ich wegen der Fremdsprache nicht allzu viel sagen, aber nach meinem Empfinden ist es mit vielen anschaulichen Details und bildhafter Lebendigkeit beschrieben. Ich konnte mich jedenfalls sehr gut in die jeweiligen Ereignisse hineinversetzen und hab mit Spannung die Reise mit den Jung-Entdeckern verfolgt!
Es gibt einige böse Überraschungen, die sie zu überwinden haben und es mit Zusammenhalt schaffen, oder auch mit den besonderen Fähigkeiten und Stärken einzelner. Es ist ja eine sehr bunt gemischte Truppe, so verschieden dass sie sich perfekt ergänzen und man erkennt, dass gerade ihre verschiedenen Charaktere eine so tolle Mischung ergeben und es nie langweilig wird.
Viele originelle Ideen und eine sehr abwechslungsreiche Handlung ergeben hier wieder eine spannende Geschichte; sogar einige kleine gruselige Momente gab es, und ich bin mit der kleinen Reisegemeinschaft wieder sehr zusammengewachsen. Auch gibt es wieder eine neue Aufgabe, die sie zu bewerkstelligen haben - und somit freu ich mich schon sehr auf den nächsten Band!
Untermalt wird das ganze übrigens wieder mit ganz bezaubernden Bildern von Tomislav Tomic!
4.5 Sterne für ein weiteres Abenteuer mit den Entdeckern - wieder sehr spannend mit vielen originellen Ideen!
March 4, 2021
Wow! These just get better & better! Can’t say much about what’s happening in this one, b/c I don’t want to spoil the events from the 1st book. This had even more adventure & danger than ever! We even have a flying airship thing lol, a genie, witches, trolls, a camel, an adorable walrus, flying sharks-& that’s not even half of it! We have all the original favs, plus a couple new ones-2 girls we meet on the adventure, & I absolutely loved them. Shay & Koa still have my heart, so this book pulled at my 💜 strings. They are the best. More great underlying messages in here. What to do in the face of adversity. People hating what they don’t understand & are afraid of. Judging people too quickly, grouping people together w/others & blaming them for things they had no part in-just b/c of who they are. To always be kind. Never let people make you believe you are less than you are. Felix is just the best dad, & has the BEST advice. These books just make my heart so full. I loved seeing a different part of this amazing world, & am excited to see where the next adventure takes us in the 3rd book. So atmospheric, amazing writing, amazing character & world building. So full of family, friendship, & heart. The last line Shay has in the book, when speaking to Stella..man that got me-in all the best ways. What a friendship. Highly recommend! Another STUNNING cover by Tomislav Tomić, & beautiful full page illustrations sprinkled throughout the book too.💜
March 17, 2019
Ich habe leider eine ganze Weile für das Buch gebraucht, denn an den meisten Tagen habe ich fast nichts lesen können. War nach den sehr guten vorigen Lesemonaten fast zu erwarten.
Trotzdem fand ich die Geschichte supercool und irgendwie niedlich, sie ist auch unglaublich kreativ geschrieben/gestaltet, so wie schon Band 1.
Für Leser von Kinderbüchern absolut zu empfehlen.
„It’s a great pity that we all spend so much time trying to be exactly the same when, in fact, we should be celebrating those things that make us different and uniquely ourselves.“
„It’s devilish hard. Most worthwhile things in life are. You just have to pick yourself up when you get knocked down. And you must allow yourself to feel sad sometimes, and lost, and perhaps a little defeated as well. And you must accept that, sometimes, you are definitely going to make an absolute mess of things. But, the only way we ever fail is if we stop trying. And, ultimately, all those mistakes and wrong turns are how we find out who we really are, deep down.“
„Oh, my dear one, never make decisions out of a place of fear. Nothing good ever comes from that, trust me. Our bonds of love and friendship with other people are not always as simple or as straightforward as we would like them to be, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth it, warts and all. We must fight for our loved ones with everything that we have and, yes, sometimes that means pushing through the fear of being rejected, or looking foolish, or getting hurt, or having our hearts broken.“
❤️.
Trotzdem fand ich die Geschichte supercool und irgendwie niedlich, sie ist auch unglaublich kreativ geschrieben/gestaltet, so wie schon Band 1.
Für Leser von Kinderbüchern absolut zu empfehlen.
„It’s a great pity that we all spend so much time trying to be exactly the same when, in fact, we should be celebrating those things that make us different and uniquely ourselves.“
„It’s devilish hard. Most worthwhile things in life are. You just have to pick yourself up when you get knocked down. And you must allow yourself to feel sad sometimes, and lost, and perhaps a little defeated as well. And you must accept that, sometimes, you are definitely going to make an absolute mess of things. But, the only way we ever fail is if we stop trying. And, ultimately, all those mistakes and wrong turns are how we find out who we really are, deep down.“
„Oh, my dear one, never make decisions out of a place of fear. Nothing good ever comes from that, trust me. Our bonds of love and friendship with other people are not always as simple or as straightforward as we would like them to be, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth it, warts and all. We must fight for our loved ones with everything that we have and, yes, sometimes that means pushing through the fear of being rejected, or looking foolish, or getting hurt, or having our hearts broken.“
❤️.
April 3, 2021
Another adventurous story with our favourite friends! They meet new people (friends and foes). I didn’t love it as much as the first one but was still worth the read/listening.
July 14, 2022
Leyéndolo con mi hija. No me termina de atrapar, me gustó mucho más El viaje al país de hielo. En el final ahonda en temas de la valoración de uno mismo e invita a no hacer caso a las demandas y opiniones, me gustó mucho esa parte, bien escrito y muy claro, va muy bien para una edad en la que los niños/jóvenes sufren por razones de esa índole.
September 22, 2018
A brilliant adventure taking Stella to an island with terrifying teddy bears, witches and witch hunters, poisonous gingerbread houses, and of course, her trusty friends. I love this series. They’re so much more than just adventure stories - there’s a massive punch of meaning. Felix gives some bloody brilliant advice in these books. I utterly devoured this. It’s safe to say I can’t wait for book 3!
January 26, 2025
J’ai eu un petit peu de mal à raccorder tous les fils car ma lecture du tome 1 remonte à un an mais une fois fait’ j’ai peu grandement apprécié la suite des aventures de Stella. J’adore la littérature jeunesse car tout est permis et c’est cela qui fait le charme de cette histoire. J’aime que l’aventure soit simple et avance étape par étape. Les personnage sont attachants et le groupe se développe naturellement. J’ai hâte de lire le dernier tome l’hiver prochain !
May 30, 2022
This was an extremely fun follow-up story to the Polar Bear Explorers' Club. And this one has even more adventure and danger than before. We follow Stella and her new friends on an adventure to the infamous Witch Mountain, where few other explorers dare to tread.
This book is filled with great underlying messages. People hating what they don't understand and are afraid of. Judging people too quickly and accepting the differences of others. What to do in the face of adversity. To always be kind and never let people make you believe you are less than you are. Felix really is an amazing dad and is filled with the best advice for life. I've come to love all these characters and can't wait to journey further with them on their next adventures.
This book is filled with great underlying messages. People hating what they don't understand and are afraid of. Judging people too quickly and accepting the differences of others. What to do in the face of adversity. To always be kind and never let people make you believe you are less than you are. Felix really is an amazing dad and is filled with the best advice for life. I've come to love all these characters and can't wait to journey further with them on their next adventures.
March 30, 2020
Bring on the teddy bear witches
December 4, 2021
The witch puppet Stella brought back from her first expedition is spying on her and it isn't long before a horrifying vulture appears and tries to kidnap her.
Without her ice tiara she's powerless, but her guardian Felix and polar bear Gruff save the day -- and her. She makes it inside the Club and Felix won't let her out again, not until he can bring the witch that killed Stella's parents to justice.
The witch is probably living on Witch Mountain, from which no explorer has ever returned. So Felix works through officials channels first -- but official channels move ex-tr-em-el-y s-l-o-w-l-y and his requests for justice get bandied from one bureaucrat to another.
Then her friend and fellow explorer, Ethan Rook, with the Ocean Squid Explorers Club, arrives. His father has brought a magical cuff that can control the bone-eating vulture threatening Stella.
Then the vulture breaks through a window in the Club and Felix springs into action, jumping onto it and getting the cuff around a leg. He's off to Witch Mountain, and of course, Stella and Ethan aren't far behind.
But first Stella wants to get her tiara. It's her only real source of power, the only way she has of protecting herself or her friends. Because Shay and Koa and Beanie, with his Eidetic memory, come to the Club at her request. The kids set off all kinds of alarms when they grab the tiara and race to the rooftop to escape. They find an unoccupied dirigible and steal it, and they're off to Witch Mountain to rescue Felix.
Except it's not unoccupied, of course. Gideon Smythe, son of the leader of the Jungle Cats Explorers Club, is on board and quite cross they've stolen his Club's dirigible, not to mention failed to realize what a great Picnic Master he is.
This book has so many twists and turns from this point I won't try to summarize them all. Read and enjoy the ride, literally!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Without her ice tiara she's powerless, but her guardian Felix and polar bear Gruff save the day -- and her. She makes it inside the Club and Felix won't let her out again, not until he can bring the witch that killed Stella's parents to justice.
The witch is probably living on Witch Mountain, from which no explorer has ever returned. So Felix works through officials channels first -- but official channels move ex-tr-em-el-y s-l-o-w-l-y and his requests for justice get bandied from one bureaucrat to another.
Then her friend and fellow explorer, Ethan Rook, with the Ocean Squid Explorers Club, arrives. His father has brought a magical cuff that can control the bone-eating vulture threatening Stella.
Then the vulture breaks through a window in the Club and Felix springs into action, jumping onto it and getting the cuff around a leg. He's off to Witch Mountain, and of course, Stella and Ethan aren't far behind.
But first Stella wants to get her tiara. It's her only real source of power, the only way she has of protecting herself or her friends. Because Shay and Koa and Beanie, with his Eidetic memory, come to the Club at her request. The kids set off all kinds of alarms when they grab the tiara and race to the rooftop to escape. They find an unoccupied dirigible and steal it, and they're off to Witch Mountain to rescue Felix.
Except it's not unoccupied, of course. Gideon Smythe, son of the leader of the Jungle Cats Explorers Club, is on board and quite cross they've stolen his Club's dirigible, not to mention failed to realize what a great Picnic Master he is.
This book has so many twists and turns from this point I won't try to summarize them all. Read and enjoy the ride, literally!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
January 26, 2022
A thrilling adventure full of magical surprises. Things are not always as they appear.
Book is very clean - no romance. Chapter 22 does have mention of a man loving another man; this seems to be in all modern books as if an author couldn't just write a book without that information.😒 Chapter 22 also has personal advice about dealing with life not bad but definitely secular 8deas to talk with your child about.
Book is very clean - no romance. Chapter 22 does have mention of a man loving another man; this seems to be in all modern books as if an author couldn't just write a book without that information.😒 Chapter 22 also has personal advice about dealing with life not bad but definitely secular 8deas to talk with your child about.
December 18, 2019
The Forbidden Expedition is a worthy sequel to the first Polar Bear Explorers Club book, featuring favorite characters, quirky adventures with a hint of danger, and entertaining plot twists. If you’re looking for a good middle grade fantasy series with fun quests and lots of imagination, these might be the books for you.
I enjoyed the first installment immensely (Krysta did not, and you can read her review here), and my assessment of The Forbidden Expedition is nearly the same. The premises are actually somewhat similar, in that protagonist Stella and company go on a journey in icy unexplored territory that many people think they should not go on because it’s too dangerous. This book, however, introduces witches, which were not prominent in book one.
Spoilers for Book One in This Paragraph: The theme of discrimination is also still present, though the focus has shifted. In book one, Stella faces pushback for being a girl who wants to join the Polar Bear Explorers Club—which is simply not allowed. In this book, she is somewhat begrudgingly accepted, and most of the explorers’ clubs are now allowing female members, but she begins facing bigotry because it has been revealed she is actually a snow princess—and all snow princesses are supposed to be evil and grow into cruel ice queens. Facing discrimination does help Stella confront some of her own biases, and of course this is an important theme, but part of me also hope that every single book in the series won’t be about some newly revealed reason that other characters unfairly hate Stella.
Overall, however, this is a fun, imaginative adventure. I love seeing more of the world Alex Bel has created, though part of me also hopes that other parts of it will be explored in future. (I get it. The character explore the Icelands because the series is the “Polar Bear Explorers Club,” but there are such tantalizing hints about the other clubs and climates that I want to know more. Spin-off series, anyone?) There are clichés in the books, and they aren’t perfect, but I am definitely going to keep reading.
I enjoyed the first installment immensely (Krysta did not, and you can read her review here), and my assessment of The Forbidden Expedition is nearly the same. The premises are actually somewhat similar, in that protagonist Stella and company go on a journey in icy unexplored territory that many people think they should not go on because it’s too dangerous. This book, however, introduces witches, which were not prominent in book one.
Spoilers for Book One in This Paragraph: The theme of discrimination is also still present, though the focus has shifted. In book one, Stella faces pushback for being a girl who wants to join the Polar Bear Explorers Club—which is simply not allowed. In this book, she is somewhat begrudgingly accepted, and most of the explorers’ clubs are now allowing female members, but she begins facing bigotry because it has been revealed she is actually a snow princess—and all snow princesses are supposed to be evil and grow into cruel ice queens. Facing discrimination does help Stella confront some of her own biases, and of course this is an important theme, but part of me also hope that every single book in the series won’t be about some newly revealed reason that other characters unfairly hate Stella.
Overall, however, this is a fun, imaginative adventure. I love seeing more of the world Alex Bel has created, though part of me also hopes that other parts of it will be explored in future. (I get it. The character explore the Icelands because the series is the “Polar Bear Explorers Club,” but there are such tantalizing hints about the other clubs and climates that I want to know more. Spin-off series, anyone?) There are clichés in the books, and they aren’t perfect, but I am definitely going to keep reading.
November 3, 2018
A year ago, I fell in love with the first volume of The Polar Bear Explorer's Club and its enchanting world. This second book is sadly a bit of a disappointment: the story is not bad, far from it, the world is still interesting but the book has nothing really new to offer.
I remember reading about all the others explorers' clubs at the end of the first opus with a promise of new discovery of worlds and monsters. Instead, we have a lazy repeat of the first book: same characters exploring the same kind of region with the same kind of monsters. In short I had the impression to read the first volume with just a few changes...
But well it was still entertaining and I hope the author will find a bit more of imagination for the next one.
I remember reading about all the others explorers' clubs at the end of the first opus with a promise of new discovery of worlds and monsters. Instead, we have a lazy repeat of the first book: same characters exploring the same kind of region with the same kind of monsters. In short I had the impression to read the first volume with just a few changes...
But well it was still entertaining and I hope the author will find a bit more of imagination for the next one.
August 5, 2023
Wow quel excellent deuxième tome je sais pas pourquoi j'ai mis autant de temps à poursuivre cette saga pourtant j'avais adoré le tome 1. Dans ce tome l'action est au rendez-vous dès le premier chapitre, l'univers est toujours aussi magique et les personnages et créatures encore tellement attachant en plus l'auteur mets à l'avant de belle valeur. Je vais lire la suite avec grand bonheur et cette fois j'essaierai de ne pas trop tarder car j'ai hâte de repartir avec cette belle bande d'explorateurs.
September 28, 2021
Stella and her friends have another mission, this time they have to save her father from the witch who has been after her. However, once again not everything is as it seems and not everyone is what they seem.
February 23, 2019
Enjoyed this even more than the first book -madcap adventure, rule-breaking, friendship and imaginative monsters and perils! The animal sidekicks were firm favourites of mine!
April 19, 2019
This was a really fun read. I went in without reading the first one but it didn't matter. Quirky humorous tale that reminded me of the wonderful Septimus Heap series.
April 18, 2020
Looking forward to pick up the next one.
July 12, 2020
I liked this book, but I didn't think is was as good as the first book in the series.
January 31, 2021
This book was amazing!!!!!! The plot twists, adventures, jokes and much more make this book the best.
August 29, 2026
I wasn't that thrilled with the first book in the series but there was some stuff about it that I did like. So I decided to give this second book a chance to see if things get any better.
There was a new girl adventurer, Cadi, and she's a nice addition to the group. Though she first appears about halfway through the book.
Aside from that, I still wasn't a huge fan of how Beanie (an autistic-coded explorer) was written. The main thing he did in this book was blurt out historical facts about explorers getting killed, which was upsetting and tiresome to his friends. At one point, Stella outright says "Beanie, stop it. No one wants to hear those things." And then not 3 pages later he's doing it again. Was this supposed to be funny? Like "Ha ha, poor Beanie, he's so hyperfixated and clueless, there he goes again with the morbid infodumping! For the tenth time!" It's just disappointing to have such a one-dimensional autistic character who's used as a running gag.
I also thought it was weird that Stella calls her dad by his first name, Felix, several times. It seems counterproductive to the message in the first book about how adoptive family is just as valid as biological family.
At this point, I'm not too sure if I'll be reading the rest of the series. (The library has the whole series as free ebooks so it's not like I would be spending any money on it if I did.)
There was a new girl adventurer, Cadi, and she's a nice addition to the group. Though she first appears about halfway through the book.
Aside from that, I still wasn't a huge fan of how Beanie (an autistic-coded explorer) was written. The main thing he did in this book was blurt out historical facts about explorers getting killed, which was upsetting and tiresome to his friends. At one point, Stella outright says "Beanie, stop it. No one wants to hear those things." And then not 3 pages later he's doing it again. Was this supposed to be funny? Like "Ha ha, poor Beanie, he's so hyperfixated and clueless, there he goes again with the morbid infodumping! For the tenth time!" It's just disappointing to have such a one-dimensional autistic character who's used as a running gag.
I also thought it was weird that Stella calls her dad by his first name, Felix, several times. It seems counterproductive to the message in the first book about how adoptive family is just as valid as biological family.
At this point, I'm not too sure if I'll be reading the rest of the series. (The library has the whole series as free ebooks so it's not like I would be spending any money on it if I did.)
January 3, 2019
I thought this book was funny, adventures and a lot of other good stuff!
It was great!
It was great!
February 27, 2019
This was once again an amazing read!
October 29, 2019
Just as addictive and fabulous as the first! Lived up to expectations
March 3, 2021
4.75
I just love these series! The first book was already a smasher and this one didn't disappoint either. The characters are really the strongest point here. Once again we follow a journey, which is always exciting in this universe! The mentioned wonderful, magical food shows off the author's creativity well. It must have taken a lot to invent all of those things.
I'm definitely going to read the next one in the series too! It was truly a pleasure.
I just love these series! The first book was already a smasher and this one didn't disappoint either. The characters are really the strongest point here. Once again we follow a journey, which is always exciting in this universe! The mentioned wonderful, magical food shows off the author's creativity well. It must have taken a lot to invent all of those things.
I'm definitely going to read the next one in the series too! It was truly a pleasure.
October 4, 2026
It’s good the only thing I don’t like is that at the start I just thought it was about fairys and princesses but it’s not it’s about adventure you just have to keep reading then it’s really good
February 24, 2019
Visit the locations in the book
What a lot of fun this book is!
Now I may not be the intended age range of this book * ahem* but there’s something for everyone here. And a good book is a good book whatever age you read it !
I do advise you to reae the first book in the series though as it brings out even more fun and goodness when reading this one. We meet the characters from the first book and it’s like meeting old friends. What adventure are we going on this time? They’re taking us to the infamous Witch Mountain, where few explorers dare to tread.
What follows is a series of adventures on many levels. The explorers find out about this land, their new discoveries and plenty of mysteries. However, they also find out about themselves in many ways. Justice, feminism, morals – there’s a lot here for adults to and children will enjoy finding out about some serious issues while going on one brilliant adventure. It’s a good book to start many a conversation. Above all however, it’s a novel for having fun, exploring, going on one brilliant adventure and experiencing the freedom and fun that goes with that.
This book is a lot of fun and ideal for children of all ages who have that sense of wanderlust in them – but this book is so good, it will make travellers of everyone who reads it!
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February 20, 2024dnf 32% pág 95 porque me di cuenta que era el segundo tomo JAJAJAJAJ
igualmente marqué todo y parecía una historia muy linda y entretenida
igualmente marqué todo y parecía una historia muy linda y entretenida
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