Review: Have Book-Will Travel by Kfir & Yonatan Luzzatto

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Pine Ten, LLC
First in a possible series
*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Max fears that his family will disapprove of his friendship with Darla, a common girl from the village outside his uncle’s fortress walls. That's why they meet secretly to read together from an old book, which she has found in a dusty room near the fortress laundry where she works.

They read about a lost lake and feel adventurous when they slip out of the fortress to go swimming there; but the trouble begins when they find that, in the meantime, the fortress has been sealed and they can’t get back in. It’s lucky that they have the book with them, to guide them through the many dangers that await them on their way back home…or perhaps it is the book that is the source of their troubles.

In the end, it is the power of the friendship that Darla and Max have forged, and their courage, that see them through a series of breathtaking adventures.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book I wanted to read it. A boy and a girl on an adventure with a book that can transport them to wherever the book describes? Sounds like my kind of book. This book exceded my expectations and was exactly as it promised to be.

In the beginning of this book we meet Max a thirteen and a half year old boy who is moving into a fortress that his uncle is the commander of. The fortress is dreadfuly boring and he doesn't want to do his studies. He entertains himself by wandering the vast fortess. That's how he finds a huge room full of random junk and a girl. With a book. They get to know each other and bond over reading the book together despite their very different lives. They decide to go find a lake the books says is not far from the fortress. From there the plot takes off. Almost as soon as they get to the lake they get into to trouble and are transported some place else. After that they are constantly getting in trouble, captured and nearly killed and have to constantly move somewhere else in an instant. I loved reading about their adventures and they were always moving and trying to get back home and it kept me on my toes.

Lucky for them they had plenty of allies on the way that made up for all the enemies they made. I really liked the people they encountered. Max was a really cool character to read about. He was brave and changed a lot through out the book. Darla was cool too. I liked how she was always there for Max and likewise. They made a really great duo and I hope they become more than friends ;).

The ending was very open-almost a cliffhanger-and I seriously hope there's a sequel. I'm hoping for more world building. It seemed very fantasy-like and I want to learn more about the world. I also am hoping for more of the side characters from this book to make an appearance. All in all I though this was a fun, fast paced book. It seemed a little rushed at times but that just helped keep the plot moving.
4/5 stars.

-Marissa