Beyonders: A World Without Heros by Brandon Mull

Jason Walker is working at the zoo when he hears strange music coming from the hippo tank. Jason accidentally falls into the tank and is swallowed by the hippo. Instead of entering the hippo’s stomach, Jason enters a new world where the people are ruled by Maldor, a tyrannical wizard emperor. While searching for a way home, Jason opens a forbidden book that puts him on a quest to find a magical word that will destroy Maldor. Rachel, a girl from his world, joins Jason on his mission and together they gather each piece of the word.

Mull’s story is full of action, intrigue, deception, and suspense. Both Jason and Rachel are characters that many readers would relate to easily, because of their believable responses to each other and to their predicament. Compared to Mull’s previous work—the Fablehaven series and The Candy Shop War—Mull has created a more mature, intricate piece of literature. Beyonders ranks up with such series as The Dark Is Rising, the Prydain Chronicles, and the Inheritance Cycle in creating a lasting impression on fantasy literature. Beyonders is set up to be a trilogy. The second book is Seeds of Rebellion.

(Full review found on The Children's Book and Play Review: https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/CBPR/article/view/19130/17824)