Book Reviews

The Guardian Herd Starfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez.

The Guardian Herd Starfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez.

Jennifer Alvarez has an amazing ability to bring pegasi to life with believable dialogue and actions. This is a story of courage, friendship, loyalty and the difficulties of growing up. . . growing beyond childhood and accepting change, including death. — Marlene Cullen

Guardian Herd.Starfire.100Starfire is a very engaging book for young readers, especially those that like horses and animals.  Alvarez creates a compelling society of Pegasi (mythical winged horses) to tell the story of growing up and what it means to follow your own path.  The main character, Star, is a misfit who struggles to find his place in the often harsh and hierarchal society of winged horses.  Grappling with his need to fit in despite the hatred and scorn of fellow Pegasi, Star ultimately learns about the transforming power of friendship and the importance of staying true to who you really are.  — Su Shafer

Reviewer Su Shafer is a life-long animal lover and self-proclaimed daydream believer.  By day, she’s the humble girl Friday at a busy event planning firm, dabbling in her off hours (as much as time allows) in the creative arts of reading and writing fiction and poetry.

Guardian Herd.Starfire.100Even kids who say they don’t like talking animal books are likely to be drawn into The Guardian Herd.  Star’s predicament, as an undersized ‘dud’ flightless Pegasus with a frightening prophesy about his future, makes him a target.  Universal themes of bullying, friendship, superstition, and the nature of good and evil, play out as Star and his friends struggle to keep Star safe and alive until he reaches his first birthday.  Star’s vulnerability and uncertainty make him a character readers want to protect as much as do his friends.  Scenes of Pegasus fights and wars may alarm adult readers, but probably not kids, and lead seamlessly into the point of the narrative, the need for a peace maker among the herds.  Starfire may be the start of a very satisfying series. — Lynn Levy

Reviewer Lynn Levy spends most of her time in the world of high tech middle management, and escapes for a breath of sanity into sojourns reading (and sometimes writing) middle school and young adult fiction.

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