Snared: Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein - ESSENTIAL

Snared: Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein, 306 pages.  Imprint (Macmillan), 2018.  $17.

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some fantasy fighting)

BUYING ADVISORY:  EL – ESSENTIAL; MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Wily Snare has lived his whole hobgoblin life in the underground lair of Stalag, an ancient wizard. Wily’s job is to build the traps keeping all of the adventurers far away from his master.  But when an intrepid group of heroes bypass all of his traps, Wily himself is the ransom!  Now he must venture into the dangerous unknown with a group of strangers – a blue-haired elf, a bald warrior whose right arm has a mind of its own, a moss giant (no, really – he’s made of moss), and his best hobgoblin friend.  Wily begins to suspect he’s not really a hobgoblin and the others push him towards a destiny he could never have imagined.

Epstein has certainly honed his writing skills.  All of his books are must-haves for elementary school libraries.   A great swash-buckling fantasy adventure with excellent steampunk monsters and inventions added in.  Memorable characters and just the right amount of action. Hmmm – it looks like a series, but I have no idea where it will go from here.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS