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Book of Oceans (Book Eight in the “Diadem Worlds of Magic” series) by John Peel © 2005 Llewellyn ISBN 0-7387-0748-1 216 pages paperback $4.99 (U.S.) $6.50 (Canada) Novel for ages 8 to 12
Score, Pixel and Helaine have been joined by Jenna, a young healer from Helaine’s home world of Ordin. This present certain difficulties, since Helaine is from the noble class and Jenna is most definitely of the peasant class. Neither one is comfortable in the presence of the other. In fact, they are so uncomfortable that Score (from Earth) and Pixel (from Colimir) have agreed to seek help from an adult regarding the intricacies of female relationships.
Shanara, the adult they consult, and Oracle, a non-living projection who always seems to be the bearer of bad news, both agree that the youngsters need to do something after six months of living in relatively close quarters. Shanara thinks they need a vacation and Oracle thinks they need to get out and flex their muscles, physically and magically.
The world of Brine is one of oceans with no large land masses (hence, the title of this book). Its inhabitants are peaceful, mostly. And, they are not afraid of magic-users as are so many people of the worlds of the Diadem (see my reviews of the previous seven books in this series for more on that).
There are stories within stories, and secrets within secrets here. Shanara are the best friends of the four teens. But what is their motivation? Can they be trusted, and if so, how far?
The four teens are slowly becoming friends, even if the girls still have to work out their difficulties. Neither one is completely sure about the other, but they slowly come to realize that they do have some things in common and agree to work from there.
This story was, in my opinion, rather weaker than the others in the series. The youngsters encountered fewer magical problems (although that may be because they are maturing and learning to think their way out of difficulties). And, the resolutions seemed to come too easily. Quite frankly, I was a bit disappointed with this book. Still, any author can have an “off” book. I look forward to reading the ninth book in the series Book of Reality.
As I said in my review of the first book in this series, this series isn’t about Wicca or Paganism. It is pure escapism for the pre-teen set. It is fun. The books are easy to read and understand. There are occasional challenges for the reader to solve, but nothing too hard.
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