  | Return to Exile Author: Patten, E. J. | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
On the eve of his 12th birthday, Sky, who has studied traps, puzzles, science, and the Hunters of Legend, realizes his destiny as a monster hunter.
| Illustrator: | Rocco, John |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 18.0 Quiz: 148005 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 6-8 Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 27.0 Quiz: 53942 | |
Common Core Standards
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 6 → Reading → RL Literature → 6.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 6 → Reading → CCR College & Career Readiness Anchor Standards fo
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (-) (07/01/11)
School Library Journal (12/01/11)
Booklist (10/15/11)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (A) (11/11)
Full Text Reviews:
Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2011 An avid puzzle-solver, twelve-year-old Sky can figure out just about any trap his eccentric uncle Phineas lays out for him; for the life of him, though, he cannot figure out the mystery that is his family. Why, for example, have his parents, who think Phineas is crazy, allowed Sky to train under his uncle as a supposed “Hunter” to learn about monsters such as Shadow Wargs and Echo-creatures his parents insist do not exist? Why also do they perpetually keep the family moving, leaving Sky the new kid at six different schools in as many months? And why won’t anyone tell him the full story behind his birthmark-two eye-like shapes on his hand that seem to emit light or bleed depending on the circumstance? The family’s most recent relocation to Sky’s childhood hometown of Exile may hold the answers: there Sky learns that monsters are indeed very real, and, after teaming up with a group of local amateur hunters, he realizes he may have more in common with the terrible creatures than he’d like to think. Blood, gore, and a host of otherworldly creepies mark this debut fantasy thriller that builds upon the premise that there is a monster within all of us. Patten offers up a compelling mythology behind Sky’s existence, but a bloated plot and a cast of mostly interchangeable characters weaken what should have been an action-packed adventure. Even the monsters seem to lose their ability to scare once readers have been subjected to convoluted and ultimately unhelpful lessons regarding the difference between a Whisper and a Wargarou. More cohesive storytelling-and just as much viscera-can be found in Rick Yancy’s The Monstrumologist (BCCB 11/09), but readers keen on nightmarish creatures will find plenty to haunt their dreams here. KQG - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
School Library Journal - 12/01/2011 Gr 5–8—Sky, 12, and his family (über-cheerleader Hannah, home-improvement-challenged Dad, botanically talented Mom) have been on the move forever. The only constant in his life has been his Uncle Phineas, who has provided games and puzzles, plus books and stories about all kinds of strange monsters that no one else has ever heard of, like evil Echoes and thumbless Gnomons. His family's return to the creepy town of Exile is marked with Phineas's disappearance and Sky's continuing dreams of an inner monster named Errand that causes him to behave badly. Complications abound, characters are not who (or what) they seem, and telling the bad guys from the good guys is at times impossible. There is plenty of humor (mostly snarky comments and horrifically bad puns), more than a little violence, but some quieter, more emotional moments as well. By the end, most of the loose ends are neatly tied up, but there are broad hints of more mayhem to come. Middle-schoolers who like untying fiendishly complicated plots will say, "bring it on."—Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 10/15/2011 Sky’s twelfth birthday is a mix. His mother’s delicious homemade goulash cannot overshadow the disappearance of his beloved uncle, Phineas, or the family’s return to the small town of Exile. Sky has grown up reading about the Hunters of Legend, but he never dreamed that they were real until monsters appear in Exile and make Sky their target. Trying to evade the monsters and rescue his uncle from the mysteriously evil Arkhon at the family estate proves difficult for Sky, who has some hidden connection to all the events unfolding around him. Patten’s first novel excels at world building and pacing; the monsters, not typical, are fully formed and vividly drawn, and the human characters only slightly less so. Interspersed with humor to keep an otherwise dark story from becoming overbearing, the balance is just right. Great for reluctant readers and fans of Brandon Mull, this promising debut will leave readers hungry for the next installment in the Hunter Chronicles. - Copyright 2011 Booklist.
