The Crowns of Croswald: A Magical Fantasy Adventure for Tweens and Teens Ages 9-13, Grades 4-7 (Croswald Series Book 1) (Croswald, 1)

Ivy Lovely knows nothing other than her duties as a scullery maid. For years, she has toiled away in the kitchens along side the Scaldron dragons, whom bake food in their mouths. When a smaller dragon gets sick, Ivy tries to hide the fact from Helga, the head of the kitchen. But things happen and both Ivy and the dragon are thrown out. Little does Ivy know that she was placed, there under a magical barrier, to protect her from the people who will do her harm. Once she passes the barrier, her powers awaken and Ivy is thrust into a world of magic and her life is about to change forever.I read this with my son and I have to say, we both thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it! The world building was magical! We have the Scrivenerists, these are the ones who have a photographic memory and record and draw everything they see. They are assigned to a royal family when they graduate and have to record their whole lives. Ivy is put into this category, which she loves because she loves to draw. Then we have the princesses who have the magic from their stones in their crowns. Different stones produce different magics. Then we have a fantastical array of magical creatures, from dragons to little creatures that produce light and are used in lanterns. I think both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the magic and the creatures come to life with the authors descriptive writing. I could clearly see all that was unfolding and I so want this to become a movie!!I also loved the characters. Each was well written and developed. Ivy was such a wonderful character and she was my sons favourite. She had a hard time growing up and its made her all the more lovable because of it. She is smart, brave, compassionate and loving. She is the perfect heroine for kids!! I would love to see more like her in the middle grade books.In all, this was a great read. If you love Harry Potter, then you will love this because it evoked the same kind of feelings from me as I had when reading Harry Potter! It is a magical story filled with action, adventure, unique characters, unique magic and plenty of mischief from the characters. The author has created an amazing world and one I can't wait to dive into again. Highly recommend.

Bought this for my granddaughter. She loves it.

The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night is the first in new a middle-grade fantasy series. It’s full of whimsy, adventure, and most of all, MAGIC.This book follows Ivy Lovely, an orphan living in the borderland of the magical world. Destined for a life of working in the castle’s kitchen, Ivy has dreamed of change to pursue her education. But, it isn’t until she is mysteriously invited to study to become a Scrivenist (a magical storyteller/recorder), that she thought that her dreams would come true. From the first moments in Croswald, things become weird. Ivy can feel that everything is wrong. Secrets start to come to the surface. Only Ivy can find the truth… and they might just change her life.There were a lot of elements of this story that I loved. The setting was interesting. The characters were a lot of fun. The plot was adventurous and quite enjoyable. I kinda went into this book expecting what the outcome was, but I was pleasantly surprised with the twists and turn along the way.I think that the setting was my favorite part of the story. The Halls of Ivy is a castle-like magic school, where royals and scrivenists study alongside each other. There were so many little details that just made this location so whimsical, between the full tea bar in each dorm room (YES. YOU HEARD ME!) or the performing jester in the dining hall. Also, I can promise you that this book will make you very hungry. There is a lot of yummy food in Croswald!Ivy as a character was an interesting one for me because at the beginning I wasn’t super into her as a character. She seemed a pretty average, but as the story went on, she grew on me. That being said, I think that my favorite characters where actually Fyn and Rebecca. Though they were both side characters, these two were just too much. I just loved the friendship aspect of this book. And without them, you know Ivy would not be where she is by the end. Also, Ivy has a little dragon at school with her and he is the cutest.The downside of this book for me was some of the writing. I got passed it, but there were points, especially in the beginning that felt a little choppy. Maybe with a tad bit more editing, this could have been avoided. As the book went on, I noticed this less and less. Just be wary that the writing might be a little confusing sometimes.(ALSO, I’ve heard a lot of people call this similar to Harry Potter, but as I never read those, I’m not the best to compare the two.)I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I had a lot of fun with this read and can’t wait to jump into the squeal (which I have already purchased). I think that if I was in the target audience, I would have adored this story! I highly recommend this book to any middle-grade readers!

I bought this book for three of my grandchildren.

Christmas gift for my granddaughter, who reads all of the time. I bought the four-book series. She's well into the first book, and really likes the characters and story.

Part Cinderella, part Harry Potter, part Alice In Wonderland, I couldn’t put this book down.Full of plot twists and mysteries to unravel… plus the whole destiny thing. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Not what I expected for preteen girl. Returned this item.. Too much fantasy and un-Christian.

This story remind me a little of Harry Potter with fun, unique characters, a school, a magical mystery, and many new words to learn like glanagerie. Fun reading