Skandar and the unicorn thief by A. F. Steadman
Dear Books Lovers,
I am very happy today to be able to tell you about the best book read this year, a middle-grade written by A. F. Steadman called Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. In my opinion it is a phenomenal book, full of adventure, with magical creatures never seen in this way, but also full of interesting themes and blended in the best way with the rest of the story.
Although its genre is middle-grade, in my opinion this is the perfect book for children and adults. I see it a lot along the lines of Percy Jackson and Gregor, but in reality, due to its originality, it is totally a saga – which should consist of 5 books – in itself, which explores a dangerous way in which Unicorns are not docile animals. , colorful and cute, associated with rainbows and sequins as we know them, but they are bloodthirsty creatures that without a person to tame them are uncontrollable, with immense powers.
Speaking of the author’s writing, it’s light and smooth, with no particular things to understand, it’s all written in a simple way, in the third person. The chapters are slightly long, but it’s not a factor that is noticeable when you get lost in the words, a story that is set in England on a hidden island between Wales and Ireland. An island, of which we also have the map in the book, where young people of 13 who are destined to become unicorn riders, go to hatch their unicorn’s egg and train to dominate the 4 elements, water, fire, air and earth.
Skandar, our protagonist, however, will not be a simple rider, he is a tamer of the spirit, a forbidden element, the most powerful, which was declared dangerous after some tragic events that took place years earlier on the island. Skandar will be led to the island by a mysterious rider and will hatch the egg of his unicorn, Scoundrel’s Luck, from this moment on, however, he will have to live an existence in the false, in the lie, because no one can come to know his true nature. , under penalty of death.
He will be able to face this first year on the island with the help of his new friends, Bobby, Flo and Mitchell. It will be thanks to these friends that he will be able to keep his nature hidden and to discover why the spirit is no longer allowed, why everyone is so afraid of it, and more importantly they will discover who is the weaver who threatens their world and all the rest of the continent.
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is a book that I liked so much not only because it is a well written story, but because it sees a character in which I see myself a lot, a character who before this new life had no friends, was made fun of, but he had big ambitions that he eventually managed to fulfill and managed to make loyal friends who love him, and I think a lot of people can see themselves in a character like that.
And let’s face it, Skandar is practically experiencing the adventure that all of us would like to experience while reading. It’s almost like going back to the Harry Potter days where at 11 we all waited for the letter to Hogwards but it never arrived. At 13 we could have faced the incubator test to find out unicorn … These are books that make you dream and let you enter, or rather immerse yourself, in the world of fantasy and detach yourself a little from real life and the problems that surround us.
Only one thing in this book I didn’t understand. There is a scene, when Skandar hatches the unicorn’s egg, in which Flo starts screaming and crying, it’s a situation a bit of hysteria that I still can’t explain today because of the extreme with which it all happened, but otherwise I have never encountered such scenes.
But on the other hand, I can’t find anything wrong in this book, for me it was perfect, and it’s rare to find such a story. This is why I say that the hype for this book did not come out of nowhere, it is a deserved hype and Skandar and the unicorn thief is a book that deserves to be read.
