ABADAZAD: THE ROAD TO INCONCEIVABLE

review by

Brianna Brolsma

(age 9)

ABADAZAD: THE ROAD TO INCONCEIVABLE

by JM DeMatteis and Mike Ploog

(Hyperion Books for Children)

Reader Appeal: Children Ages 9 and up

Genre: Fantasy / Graphic Novels

Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable is a girl’s diary that has been enchanted and tells the story about her adventures in an imaginary country called Abadazad (which is a place kind of like Oz).

When I saw the cover of this book, I thought it would be interesting because the woman on it looked like a fantasy queen. I also thought the book would be fun to read because it’s half like a comic book and half like a diary. When I finished the book, I decided that it was interesting and I liked it!

The story is about Katie, a teenager whose little brother gets kidnapped by a strange circus performer. Katie finds out her brother has been taken to the enchanted land of Abadazad, so she goes there by saying a spell and holding a magical blue ball that was given to her by an old lady named Mrs. Vaughn. In Abadazad, Katie meets a girl named Martha (who is actually the old lady, Mrs. Vaughn!) and Martha takes her to the palace of Queen Ija where they must begin their search for Katie's brother. The girls have many adventures along the way to the palace.

The story in this book ends right after they get to the palace, so I think it’s a continuing story. (Editor’s note: The second book in the Abadazad series is called The Dream Thief.)

One highlight is early in the book, when Katie’s brother disappears and goes to Abadazad…but Katie doesn’t know that! I also liked when Mrs. Vaughn tells Katie that her brother is in Abadazad. Mrs. Vaughn explains that she went to Abadazad when she was a little girl, too. Another funny part was when Katie got to Abadazad and Martha told her that there were trees with food on them. Katie expected apples and things, but it turned out that the food was pizza and stuff like that!

The only thing that made it hard for me to read this story was that it was hard to pronounce “Abadazad.” (Editor’s note: It’s pronounced: “Uh-BAD-uh-Zad.” You’re welcome. J)

I would recommend parents to buy this book for their elementary kids because it’s a good book with lots of imagination, kind of like the Wizard of Oz. I think other kids my age would like it.

If I gave this book a grade, I would give it an A.

FAMILYFANS RATING:  A

 --BB