LitPick Review
As the Christmas season is approaching, everyone is in a festive spirit. But when eerie blue lights illuminate the night sky with no reason of where they came from or why they are even there, the entire town is in a frenzy trying to solve this mystery. Without a doubt, sisters Isla and Mae decide to take on this new mystery by researching all they can about the Northern Lights. As they are researching this phenomena, all their electronics go on the fritz except their iPad, which displays some sort of pattern of lights. Where did these lights come from and why are they illuminating the sky?
As Isla and Mae are researching the lights, they also find out that a group of special agents disappeared near Rydal Cave while they were doing an investigation into UFO phenomena. When their grandfather helps the girls by telling them past history, he also helps them learn how to break the codes they both stumble upon. Could the strange blue lights have to do with UFO phenomena?
Opinion:
This is book 5 of the Lakeland Mystery series, and Warren Cabral hit this one out of the park yet again. As soon as you start reading, you feel the festive atmosphere around you. You feel the cold weather and see the twinkling Christmas lights all around town. But when the mysterious blue lights illuminate the sky for multiple nights, one has to wonder if the lights are a phenomena by themselves or do they have to do with UFO phenomena? Every book in this series is written with remarkable detail that makes the reader feel extremely present in that situation with the sisters. This book especially took on an even deeper real feel to it because it described the Christmas scenery, and you can feel the holiday anticipation in the air.
As always, once the girls saw the lights in the sky, there was no way they could concentrate on anything else except to find out their origin. So, they set out to do what they do best and that was to do as much research as they can to come to a viable explanation as to what these lights were in the night sky and why they were there in the first place.
Another thing I want to mention was that Cabral included Mae always doing research in her STEM class. I loved how he incorporated a girl loving to attend her STEM class and being an active member of learning how things work and being able to put things together. I feel this promotes that children, especially girls, can do anything they set their minds to. I feel these five stories might even convince a child to try a STEM project or sign up at their local school to become part of such an integral program that entices children to use their minds and hands to create things.
As in all the books in this series, each chapter is short in length which is helpful for children so they can read bite-size portions of the book without feeling bogged down by reading time. It’s also a wonderful thing for parent, grandparents, or guardians to have brief chapters if they are reading to children before bedtime.
The illustrations provided by Corryn Webb were scattered throughout the story and were as always eye-catching as you turn the pages. This book especially was enjoyable to look at the pictures because of all the Christmas lights and decorations. They truly made you feel that you were right alongside Isla and Mae seeing the Christmas season fall upon them. You could feel the holiday excitement through the colorful pictures. Corryn is a Welsh freelancer illustrator and designer who is passionate about creating unique and eye-catching illustrations for children’s books. She has a vivid imagination and an eye for details.
Warren Cabral is an author of numerous plays, musicals, short stories, and now his full-length children’s novels. At the age of 16, he worked as a newspaper journalist. After a 30 year career as an attorney, he returned to writing and penned a short Christmas story for his two nieces. From there, this new children’s full-length series, The Lakeland Mysteries, was created.
Overall, The Vanishing Young of Rydal Cave is a book that will put any age reader into a festive Christmas mood. The storyline is fun to read, the characters as always are entertaining, and the illustrations are the cherry on the top of a well-crafted children’s mystery series. This is one series that shouldn’t be passed up!
