#MGTakesOnThursday – The Storm Keeper’s Battle

#MGTakesOnThursday was created by Mary over at Book Craic and is a brilliant way to shout about some brilliant MG books!

To join in, all you need to do is:

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence.
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

The Storm Keeper’s Battle by Catherine Doyle, cover art by Bill Bragg, published by Bloomsbury

I was lucky enough to request and be approved to read an early copy of this on netgalley in exchange for an honest review. However, I have also ordered and paid for the finished book. All views and opinions are my own.

This is the final book in Catherine Doyle’s Storm Keeper trilogy. You can read my reviews of the first books, The Storm Keeper’s Island and The Lost Tide Warriors here and here.

If you haven’t read books one and two, start there. It’s a wonderful, immersive trilogy that deserves to be read in order. Honestly, you’ll get so much more from it by starting at the beginning!

Here we rejoin Fionn as Morrigan prepares to attack the island.

She’s as dark, despicable and determined as ever, with a growing army of dead-eyed Soulstalkers, powerful magic and two fearsome brothers at her side.

Fionn meanwhile is grappling with grief and his role and responsibility as Arranmore’s Storm Keeper, which – to put it tactfully – isn’t going brilliantly; things look pretty bleak and pretty much everyone on the island would agree.

I love the dry bluntness of the opening chapters as we see the islanders’ feelings about Fionn-as-Storm-Keeper-and-potential-saviour. They range from putting a brave face on to mild trepidation to disbelief to anger, but safe to say no one’s feeling too optimistic.

Likewise, I love that plans fail. Things go awry. Mistakes are made. And blame is laid. It feels so much more believable and real than so many adventures when things just have a way of working out.

One of the things I really love about this series is the way it manages to be permanently pessimistic whilst still somehow conveying a sense of the very faintest hope.

Unlike much MG where hope is very much the light at the end of the tunnel, shining brightly, guiding the way; here it feels more like that first watery ray of sunshine following a storm, doggedly fighting a way through against the odds.

And this is a fair reflection of our reluctant hero Fionn too. I think Fionn is a brilliant character. Unsure, under pressure and feeling out of his depth, he nevertheless grits his teeth and tries his best. They say bravery is not being fearless but feeling fear and doing it anyway. Fionn the Brave indeed.

And his fabulous friends and family make for a fantastic supporting cast. I love the way this series is truly an island affair. Yes, it centres on Fionn, his immediate family and best friends, but it’s a community effort to defeat Morrigan and its joyous to read.

The relationships depicted are true to life in their complexities; there’s mixed feelings, bickering and falling out but there’s a love and loyalty that outweighs it all. And this is the message that runs strongest through these books – one of friendship, of family, of community, of teamwork.

I’ve mentioned before that I love books in which the adults play more involved and supportive roles (rather than being absent, dead or incompetent) and this is something these books do BRILLIANTLY! Never overshadowing the children, they support them superbly.

Roisin in particular is a wonderfully curmudgeonly source of comfort and strength for Fionn and subtly takes over from his grandfather’s role admirably without seeming to do so.

Being the final book in the trilogy, the brilliantly original magical systems and world are already firmly in place, making way for all the action.

And I mean it when I say all the action.

This isn’t dubbed a Battle for nothing. It’s fast-paced, relentless, tense and nerve-wracking. There are some blistering battle scenes written and some equally exciting twists, tricks and turns for both the better and the worse up the sleeve!

The time slip style of the magic in the books weaves it’s way into the battle seamlessly and works SO well, as does the use of and legend, folklore and ancient island figures and tales.

Catherine’s knowledge and love of both Ireland and this island in particular shine through in her ability to create a setting so ruggedly real we’re balancing precariously on clifftops and taking a battering from the sea right along with the characters.

Steeped in history, packed with adventure, crackling with magic, nestled in nature, sprayed with the sea and full to bursting with family and friends, this is a glorious end to a glorious trilogy.

My favourite quote from page 11:

“‘It’s a sign of doom. Or don’t you
know your own island history?’”

This book in three words:

Magic. Action. Community.