Legacy of the Claw

Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Bailey has been accepted to the prestigious Fairmont Academy in Aldermere where he hopes that he will finally find his animas, a unique bond with an animal that almost everyone has by the time they are his age. The Dark Woods that surround the school seem menacing, but Bailey senses mysterious happenings occurring there and that something or someone is watching him. He and some new friends begin to venture out at night, which leads to some scary and wondrous adventures as well as the threat of expulsion by the school administration. The story has elements reminiscent of the "Harry Potter" series, including a unique school game called Scavage, teachers who are not always what they seem, and encroaching dark forces. This novel about a murdered king, his ambitious and unscrupulous daughter who seeks to overturn the animas bond and make the animals subservient to the humans, her missing brother, and a legendary "child of war" is a fun page-turner with interesting characters and unexpected plot twists. Readers will be propelled toward the next volumes in this entertaining new series.—Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA