I won this ARC from a First Reads, Goodreads contest shortly after I started using my Goodreads account more actively. Oddly this is the same time I found out about the book blogging world. It took quite some time for the ARC to arrive – in fact it arrived just one week before the actual book was to be released. Given how fat this book is for middle-grade fiction, it took me quite some time to finish it – 20 days in fact. Now normally 500 pages wouldn’t phase me, but I was in one of my moods of wanting to craft rather than read and I didn’t fancy the idea of a “children’s” book at the moment.

So my thoughts on this book – I enjoyed it, I really did. There was plenty of mystery, action, riddles to solve, snarky humor and my favorite thing – MONSTERS! Who doesn’t love a good bit of monster action? I know I do – heck I collect them! Plus it’s so nice when a book keeps you guessing right til the very en- d.

There were often moments when I couldn’t get at all what might happen next. It was full of plenty of unexpected moments and had just enough hints here and there for you to have those “ah hahs” and know that the scene is being set up for later on and that perhaps that bit you ought to hang onto and remember. I really liked that and I think the younger audience will enjoy that. It helps you to get into the story and think you are solving the puzzles right along with the main character.

Now with all that said - I didn’t really start enjoying it thoroughly until one third of the way in. I think I was turned off to the fact that it was so thick for the genre it is aimed at. I kept thinking while reading it that its target age group didn’t seem to fit quite right. I have two twin nephews that are 9 years old – I don’t think they could pick this hefty book up until they were at least 14 which is the tail end of the age range it is categorized in. Though I do think they would enjoy it if I read it aloud to them (accompanied with all the funny voices of course).

One concern I had was I don’t think the mental images of most of the characters were built well enough. I could only successfully conjure up mental pictures of three of the characters. A few times I went back to the physical descriptions of the children so I could better get a mental grip of them again. The small bits of back story you got on each character helped add mystery to the story but I often wished there were a bit more by the time the book ended. One in particular I felt lacked in background so much so that it made it difficult for me to latch onto her emotionally (Crystal).

In the end, I would definitely recommend this book to readers that enjoyed the Harry Potter series. I really like the main character Sky a lot as well as his supporting cast and think he was a well rounded out character. He had a good balance of redeeming qualities and flaws which made him very endearing. I definitely plan to read the next one in this series! ( )

All Sky's life, his family has been moving from place to place, never staying long enough for him to make real friends. So, his best friend is his monocle-wearing uncle Phineas, who has taught him to solve puzzles and set and elude traps, and attempted to teach him botany. He has also taught Sky more esoteric knowledge--of monsters, and how to hunt or avoid them.

Sky's parents have always insisted that monsters aren't real. Now that they are moving back to Exile, where his parents lived before he was born, Sky will discover just how real monsters are, and some secrets about himself, as well. Pity that the worst monster of all the Arkhon, will be released on the world in just three days, unless Sky can find a way to stop it.

Return to Exile by E. J. Patten is a middle-grade fantasy novel, the first book in The Hunter Chronicles. It's filled with fantastical monsters and exciting adventure, and characters with plenty of secrets of their own. With his uncle missing, Sky must decide who to trust and solve the riddles his uncle left for him, if he's to find Phineas and prevent the Arkhon from escaping its prison.

Patten is a bit wordy, initially. The first few chapters read like he was trying a bit too hard to make an impression, rendering the first few dozen pages something of a chore. Once the story picks up, though, you'll find it hard to put the book down. There are mysteries and problems to solve right up until the end, and there's always enough going on to keep you interested.

The world of Return to Exile is very well-realized, with a variety of monsters, plants (some monstrous), and monster hunters, forming a coherent world and history. If anything, Patten has created a world that's too interesting--I found myself wishing that I could read some of the in-universe books like The Evil Echo of Solomon Rose, so as to learn more about the history of the world. Hopefully, we can look forward to more details in future entries in the series.

Return to Exile is a great middle-grade fantasy book. It goes on sale September 6, 2011 in both hardcover and electronic formats.

Disclosure: This review is based on a free advance reader's copy. ( )

It is Sky’s twelfth birthday but it is the worst birthday ever. His uncle Phineas goes missing and he has to move to Exile. Now he feels like something is wrong. When he follows his father onto Phineas’ property, he is attacked by creatures that he though were just stories in books that Phineas gave him years ago. A shifter and three cloaked people save Sky from these creatures.

The next day, Sky learns that kids his age are the ones that saved him and they have no knowledge of what they are fighting. They have created their weapons from the trash dumped in caves below Phineas’ property. Sky is a great asset to them since he knows about the creatures that they are fighting.

The hunters that Sky grew up learning about are no longer around. Now the kids are going to have to work together to keep the prison from being unlocked and deal with the disappearances of local children all the while relying on Sky and his stories. Sky also has to work with Errand, a boy that can help him talk to the monsters with his hunters mark but Sky is the only on that can see him. But Errand abandon’s Sky when Sky needs him that most.

I loved this story. All the hunters that are supposed to keep the regular people safe have disappeared and left the kids to use trash to make tools in their fight against the monsters. Sky gets his eyes opened about what defines a Monster. And the ending leaves it open for several more books to come.

I got sucked into the book and couldn’t put it down. This is geared to younger teens but any one of any age will enjoy it. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys fantasy and young adult books.

I received this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. ( )

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eturn to Exile was an excellent mix of characters, tension, monsters, mayhem, and humor. While I didn't find it to be "scary" per se and some things were a bit predictable, it was a well paced read that I could not put down and read it in one sitting. Seriously, I stayed up until 3:oo a.m. to finish this book, I had to know how it ended.

Sky was a great kid, so full of heart even though the world seems to work against him. He is rescued by classmates who have taken it upon themselves to protect the town from monsters. These four mini MacGyvers have cobbled together body armor and effective weapons from garbage. They really don't know what they're fighting and are pretty much flying by the seat of their pants. One character, Hands, is turned onto vampire romance novels by his grandfather as a source of monster fighting techniques. (As a vampire romance reader myself, I found these bits very funny.) Sky has an older sister who just seems horrible at first, but you get to like her. (Loved Hannah and Tick in the final battle.) There are adults, who unfortunately work at Sky's school, that hate him. They're not deliciously evil teachers like Snape, they are vile and you want to beat them over the head with a chair. (Really, the more Miss Hagfish talked, the more I gasped in outrage.) Sky's monster books and bestiaries are a bit absurd but add some fun. The fight scenes in Return to Exile are great and some of the funniest I have ever read. Patten has created some great monsters and Rocco's small illustrations were a nice touch. It was at times a bit predictable, but never so much so that it ruined the story.

There were some things that could be negatives. There was a bizarre bit with the janitor and I hope it's explained in the next book, otherwise it's totally pointless and weird. Also, some of the technical talk about plasma and force fields was a bit too much for me. My brain generally turns off in those situations, but it's something I would mention to a student. Basically you could skim those few bits and be ok.

The Return to Exile is a great middle grades book and a good fit for the age group. (I'm not sure how much adult readers will like it, but the majority middle and high school audience should enjoy it.) It had some of the best fight scenes ever and I loved the mix of seriousness and humor. I would recommend this book to readers who liked the Percy Jackson or Alex Rider series. I'm looking forward to the sequel. I give it 5 out of 6 stars.

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