* While visiting their grandparents, Peter and Julia fall into the garden pond---and land in a world where they're expected to lead a revolution! But whom can they trust? The hooded lords? The ancient monk? The silent slaves? Will they find the courage to face the enemy---and their own destiny? Ages 9 to 12. 208 pages, softcover from Zonderkidz.

Average Customer Rating:

3.5

out of

(4 Reviews) 4

Rating Snapshot (4 reviews)

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

2 out of 367%customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for Chosen Ones, Aedyn Chronicles Series #1

Review 1 for Chosen Ones, Aedyn Chronicles Series #1

This review is fromChosen Ones, Aeyden Chronicles Series #1.

Overall Rating:

3 out of 5

Lackluster, Magic Content

Date:July 14, 2012

Jen Quiverfullfamilycom

Top 10 Contributor

Location:Alberta, Canada

Age:25-34

Gender:female

When Peter and Julia discover a mysterious silver garden outside of their grandparent’s home on a summer visit, they are swept away into a world, which appears beautiful, but hides dark secrets of slavery. Called to think beyond themselves and offer themselves up as leaders of an in-progress revolution, the two siblings discover they possess mysterious powers that they must learn to harness to help those in need.

Fantasy is tricky for a reader like myself who feels that good characters shouldn’t use magic due to the Bible’s admonitions to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately the characters in Chosen Ones (book one of the Aedyn Chronicles) are definitely skirting the boundaries of my comfort levels. While the gifts the children possess could be seen as supernatural giftings, their guide – a holy man of sorts – pretty much admits to be using a type of magic near the end of this first short novel for young adult readers.

If that wasn’t enough to discourage me from reading the rest of the series, I’m afraid the rather awkward writing style would – McGrath’s skill with the pen just isn’t enough to keep me interested in the rest of the series (even if the magic wasn’t an issue).

The Christian allegorical undertones are clearly present – the slaves worship a Creator God who they remain loyal to while being dominated by demonistic man-beings and the children are called to free them so the land of Aedyn can return to glory – there are enough points against this book to put it in my giveaway pile.

Share this review:

+1point

2of 3voted this as helpful.

Review 2 for Chosen Ones, Aedyn Chronicles Series #1

This review is fromChosen Ones, Aeyden Chronicles Series #1.

Overall Rating:

3 out of 5

A pretty good children's book

Date:May 21, 2012

Jessica

Top 100 Contributor

Age:25-34

Gender:female

Quality:

5 out of 5

Value:

5 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

Peter and Julia are spending their vacation at their grandparents' house, waiting for their father to come home from sea. When Julia sees a hidden garden from her window she becomes drawn to it, and she and her brother soon find themselves in another land, drawn into a battle for freedom.

Book one of "The Aedyn Chronicles," this is a good start. It is written for children, and there are illustrations throughout the book. I found that the writing tends to focus a lot more on getting into the action than character development. For me, this was a bit disappointing, but I would imagine this is a very good approach to writing for children... to keep them engaged. Overall, the story was good, and I would recommend this to anyone with kids who enjoy reading.

Share this review:

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Review 3 for Chosen Ones, Aedyn Chronicles Series #1

This review is fromChosen Ones - eBook.

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

What a fascinating read!

Date:February 5, 2011

Kathy Fitzhugh

Location:Vinton, LA

Age:55-65

Gender:female

Quality:

4 out of 5

Value:

5 out of 5

Meets Expectations:

4 out of 5

I downloaded this eBook because of the author, whose other works I had read in theology classes in seminary. To be honest, after the first few pages I thought McGrath had done nothing more than a rewrite of Narnia. However, as the story unfolded it ventured into fascinating new territory. I enjoyed it. I thought the parallels to Scripture were well-written and fit nicely into the story. I did notice that there were a number of typos. I don't know if eBooks have a different editing process, but many of the typos/mistakes should have been caught by a software editing program first, and a person second. Other than that, great book.

Share this review:

+3points

3of 3voted this as helpful.

Review 4 for Chosen Ones, Aedyn Chronicles Series #1

This review is fromChosen Ones, Aeyden Chronicles Series #1.

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:May 12, 2010

Wynd

Top 100 Contributor

Julia and her brother Peter are drawn into the fountain in their grandparent's yard on a silvery night, drawn into another world where they meet an 500 year old monk who knows the legend of 2 children who will come to rescue his people from their oppressors. The story is appropriate for children and early teens, it does not have an overabundance of description or character depth but enough to understand what the land is like and what the people are like which is appropriate for that age. Similar to the Narnia chronicles but perhaps simpler. It moves quickly and has several lessons which are slipped in without preaching or disrupting the narrative. It could be read by a child or read to younger children by an adult. There is some violence involved in the fighting around the castle so perhaps not appropriate for very young children. It is a good delightful story for 9 year olds.

Share this review:

+4points

4of 4voted this as helpful.