Penelope Gilbert and the Children of Azure

From my 11 year old daughter.
This is a great book and very entertaining!
Every time you think it’s all over there is another plot twist. There are all great characters and though out the book you keep getting more! I can’t wait to read the second!

An exciting adventure book for kids.

Some young people discover that they have superpowers at the same time they discover someone wants to destroy all those with powers.

Lots of science fiction/steampunk elements make this a fun story, but although the kids get themselves in lots of trouble, they also seem to get out of the same trouble with little to no real worries. Everything they need to solve their problems seems to show up just when they need it.

I think this would be a fun book for most middle school kids to read, and the characters are real and believable.

This is an absolutely wonderful book.

Rich in characters, story and imagination.

It starts off as a reasonably standard story of 'special' children that have some sort of magical powers, that are being hunted by some unknown evil organisation.

It all seems very diabolical and mysterious, but not very clear nor original.

However, the plot then twists and projects us into a wonderful hidden world in the skies.

From here the story really takes off.

Not only that, all the unexplained, even unreasonable plot elements suddenly make sense.

For me. this, creating and following a logical story line, is essential. And Emily A. Stewart has totally gained my trust as a writer of fantastical worlds.

As a parent, I'm sometimes concerned about the books my son picks up from the library. I want honest, wholesome, age-appropriate content, but just don't have time to pre-read everything. Enter in Emily Steward and her publisher Clean Reads! My 9-year-old son "literally" DEVOURED this book (pun intended), and was begging me for the author's next one (which, by the way, is already in his hands, hot off the press!). He was so hooked, he hid under his sheet with a flashlight to finish it. And all the while, I could rest assured that nothing violent or unseemly was entering his impressionable young mind.
In fact, my son's interest piqued my own curiosity and I've started reading it myself. Creative, inventive, with a tasteful melding of sci-fi, fantasy, and the not-so-predictable awkward tween protagonist make this story a fun read for adults and kids alike!

Like a slow spiral, the story draws you in little by little. Then everything changes! The twists of plot come faster and faster as the story of Penelope and her friends leads the reader through unexpected worlds and adventures. By the 2nd chapter there are enough surprises to keep even the hesitant reader interested in what will happen next. I recommend this book for the young and the young at heart. For me, it was an enjoyable light read. For my grandkids, ages 8 - 12, it was a fun adventure filled with humor, bad guys, magic, and a few mysteries. I recommend this book to read with your kids, especially. Can't wait for the next installment!

Penelope Gilbert is a great heroine - relatable, smart, and funny. Kids and parents are both sure to love her. This book is a fun children's read that I would recommend for any classroom or school library. The tone of the book is just right, with no talking down to the reader or boring narration that kids will want to skip over. I also particularly enjoyed the illustrations!

As a child I enjoyed reading books with the characters around my own age going into an adventure. It was an added bonus for me if those adventures included fantasy, science fiction and friendships. This book was wonderful because it relates to children in their own world, and then brings them into another one with just enough detail for them to create a picture in their own imaginations. Great Story!

Liked the mix of male and female characters, all with well rounded personalities. A world is created with a reasonable explanation for its differences...you'll see what I mean. Loved the different settings.
Sometimes the language seemed a bit odd for thirteen year old characters. I pictured them 11 or 12. Even then, it's not how modern kids would talk, but it totally fits in the world created here. There is a bit of violence that surprised me, but nothing we haven't seen before and it serves to make some of the "bad guys" bad. Great interwoven storylines, intrigue, and on the edge of your seat action. There's plenty of humor, too. I recommend to adults with youthful hearts and 11-13 year olds. They'll love the suspense and the twists and turns.