Journey From Skioria

Tania is lost, shipwrecked on an unfamiliar shore. With no friends or family, the nine-year-old girl must make her way through the realm of the woodland people to a town she's never heard of. With unexpected allies from the forest, Tania departs on a wild adventure where storms rage and the forces of nature do their very best to end her journey before it has truly begun.I've been wanting to read one of Ms. Wyatt's books ever since I had her character from her Dragon Courage series, Mere, over for an interview a while back.This was a cute story about a young girl who gets separated from her parents on a boating trip and washes up on the shores of a land filled with small folk from three different races. Despite the fact that these three races do not usually get along, Tania's new friends all pledge to do everything in their power to take her safely home, but it is a long journey and many dangers lie in their path.I liked the premise of the story and enjoyed the various characters. It is a light-hearted romp of a tale, and I believe it would be excellent for younger children. I'm fairly certain that my daughters (ages 9 and 6) would enjoy it very much. In this story, there are difficulties to be faced, but no serious dangers. There are obstacles to overcome, but friends to help each other through them. And while Tania does encounter some people with gruff personalities, nobody is truly unkind and there are no darker themes.With the exception of one of the characters who has an ability to fly (that is a racial trait of his people, the Avarians) there is no magic in this fantastical tale, either, so for those who love fantasy but have an aversion to magic, this one might be up your alley.Personally, I never really felt emotionally gripped by or invested in the characters. For an adult reader, the story was fairly simplistic, and I felt that much of the adventure was much too easy and straight-forward. However, I do think that had more to do with the fact that I am much older than the target audience for this book (the MC is only 9 years old, after all). I enjoy MG fiction upon occasion, but I find that I am pickier about it than I am about YA. If I had read this particular book as a kid, I think I would have loved it to pieces. I gave it three dragon eggs because I honestly liked it, but I can't say that I loved it.However, I am still very interested in this author's other books, and plan to read Dragon's Future next. From what I have seen of the first few pages of the prologue, I think I'm going to enjoy it quite a lot!