I found this in my school library at the age of 12. We never had the rest but this series kept nagging at me and I had to google to find it. And I was so happy when I could import a second-hand copy. I finished it today (Age 30) and it still mesmerized me and I cannot wait to find the rest and finish this series. ( )

When Cara and her grandmother are suddenly pursued by an unknown man, the grandmother gives a precious amulet to Cara and tells her to jump through a portal and into a new world, one filled with magical creatures and monsters, including dragons and unicorns. Cara sets off on a quest to take the amulet to the queen of the unicorns, and she and the friends she makes long the way must face dangers and wonders to get there.
It reads like an early outline for a fantasy novel, but one that needs a lot of work. The story idea is good, but it's told in the barest of bones way, with very little in the way of details, and the characters are completely flat. ( )

Cara and her grandmother, whom she has lived with since her mother died and her father left, are on their way home from the library when they realize they are being followed. Cara is surprised and frightened when her grandmother agrees they are really being followed--and that the man is a threat. It's not long before Cara, wearing her grandmother's special necklace, is standing at the top of a bell tower, about to follow Grandma's instructions to wait for the the twelfth toll of the bell, call out "Luster, bring me home," and jump.

She does it, and finds herself in a magical new world.

Luster is a magical place, and she meets magical, wonderful creatures, especially the unicorn, Lightfoot, and Dimblethum, a hairy creature who looks to be somewhere between a man and a bear. Unfortunately, the hunter who was following her and her grandmother has also managed to follow her across, and nasty creatures called Delvers are helping him hunt her. He's after the necklace, or rather amulet, that her grandmother gave her, and wants to use it to bring other hunters--other unicorn hunters--to Luster to wipe out the unicorns.

Cara needs to reach the Queen of the unicorns, to bring a message from her grandmother, and to keep the amulet safe. Along the way, she meets Grimwold the dwarf and recorder of unicorn stories, Thomas the Tinker who can fix almost anything and has a truly impressive wagon, and Firethroat the dragon.

It's a great children's adventure, and Cara is a very believable young girl, brave and smart and quite believably scared by some of the things she encounters and experiences. It's a lot of fun. Recommended.

I bought this audiobook. ( )

This cover is etched onto my brain but I didn't recall any details from elementary school, which made for a fresh reread. Enchanting! Lucky to have the hook up on the rest of the series as I hear they are difficult to obtain. ( )

Nice fantasy adventure for kids, more serious than most of Coville's work, and with a good young heroine. I would only give it three stars because I'm not that into unicorns anymore, but when I was ten I would have thought that it was outstanding. Therefore, I'm splitting the difference. ( )