The Book Knights – J.G. McKenney

The cover depicts what appears to be a simple goblet…or the holy grail. I believe this symbolizes the final page of the Grail Tomes. The colors chosen give a medieval times feel to this book, suiting it very well. The background even has the appearance of leather texture.

Let me begin by directing your attention once again to the last paragraph of the summary…

THE BOOK KNIGHTS is an Arthurian YA fantasy adventure in which knights wield words as weapons, librarians are wizards, and books can change the future.

How could this not pique your interest? The idea that words are actually magic and wield such power reminds me of J.K. Rowling’s famous quote.

 The theory behind this had me swooning. I am always ranting about the power of words and how much power a librarian has at their fingertips…this book brings it to life as an Arthurian tale. Arti does not pull a sword from a stone…no. Instead, she wields a pen and is meant to save the world by rewriting on the final page of the Grail Tome.

Though I did feel there was decent character development in this novel, I was disappointed by the world development. I feel there were many aspects of the world that were not fully explained.Where is the rest of the world?!? We only hear about “the isle.”  How does the fate of the entire world rest in this small place? Does the rest of the world also in the same predicament where books are being burned? Is Morgan Fey having her henchmen gather books from other continents to burn? I am just left lost with such a lack of world-building here.

I would have loved to learn more about the power of the Grail Tome and how writing on the last page can rewrite the future. Is it similar to the television show Once Upon a Time?

I loved that show by the way. If you have not seen it..check it out. But basically…there is a good and bad “writer,” if you want to put it that way. Almost like a good and bad witch. Both fighting over who will write the final page in the book.

The pace itself is an issue as well. I believe this story takes place over the course of two months. However, the last third of the book focuses primarily on the last three days or so. The story seemed to take place really quickly, leaving me almost unconnected to some of the characters at the end. I feel the relationship between Arti and Gal was the only one that really stuck. I did not really connect with other characters, most of my time was spent wondering what Arti was going to do. I want more side stories, backgrounds, and development as the story progresses.

The overall plot and premise of the book are amazing. I really love the Arthurian fantasy with a twist. It pulled me into the book and honestly, it is what made me stay. There is great action and let’s be honest…who doesn’t love a magical twist on King Arthur’s tale?! I will mention that this book is at the younger end of the spectrum for YA novels, maybe 10 to 14-year-old range. I was not aware of that prior to reading this.

I did enjoy this book, though there were many aspects I felt could be improved. The ending did make it seem as if there would be a sequel. Maybe it will tie up many loose ends and give some much-needed information. I would like to read it just to see where the story goes and if it is an improvement on this novel.