The Shadow Returns

The Last Firehawk #12

by Katrina Charman, Judit Tondora (Illustrator)

Tag's greatest enemy has returned to Perodia! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! The Shadow has come back to Perodia! Skull, his evil army of rats, and The Shadow are now hiding in secret as they plan their next move. Tag, Skyla, and Blaze need to find The Shadow quickly before it turns the creatures of Valor Wood into its army of spies. But their friend Bod is still trapped in the Underland! Can Tag and his friends rescue Bod before it’s too late? The Shadow’s dark magic is growing stronger… With nonstop action and adventure, this fully illustrated series makes a great introduction to fantasy and will have younger readers on the edge of their seats!

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Chapter Books, Adventure

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2023

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skull and some of his minions have made it to Perodia and brought the Shadow with them. Tag, Skyla, and Blaze are trying to find where Skull is hiding. In the process, they accidentally return to the Underland and take the opportunity to see if they can rescue Bod, but something has happened to the Ember Stone along their travels. It is their only hope of defeating the Shadow. Can it be fixed?

This book is working on building suspense. I was pleasantly surprised by how things turned out with Bod. The book ends with a glimmer of hope, but some big new problems and challenges to overcome. I like how the friends work together and encourage each other. Skull and his fellow rats are menacing, but aren't too scary for the target audience.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There is violence threatened, and a scuffle, but a blast of magic usually works to scare bad guys away before anything gets too bad.
Ethnic diversity: N/A characters are all animals, some mythical ones
LGBTQ+ content: None
Other: There are some tense situations so super sensitive readers may need to know that things will end up ok (and need to wait for more books to come out to know this) before they dive in.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care for this one as much. It was darker than the others. And I was disappointed when I looked up #13 in the series, and apparently, there's not a 13th one planned. But #12 definitely ends on a cliffhanger. Disappointed with how it all "ended." Overall, it's been a good series to read aloud with my boys.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to the kids.

[PottWab Regional Library]

A

[Ryan Korth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed the series ends without knowing what happens