Returning home, time with family is supposed to be a wonderful time of catching up; however, we’re talking Princess Maddie here.  The Royal Ranger is between assignments at the moment and visiting with family.  With a love for the outdoors and an adventurous spirit, Castle Araluen holds little to keep her occupied.  Thus, the real adventure begins.  This book is an outstanding example of a great storyline full of plot twists and learning curves with excellent examples of “doing your best and learning how to become better than you are.” 

With danger on all sides, Maddie must fight for everything she loves.  Even the Emperor of Nihon-ja lends a helping hand.  For kids and adults, this series only gets better with each new book.  Princess Maddie learns that nothing is easy and nothing comes without a cost.  Learning lessons that will help her future, she comes into her own in this book.  It is well worth the time and effort if the reader wants to learn and empower themselves with a fighter’s spirit and possibly even a good moral compass to guide the way.  

This is the second book by John Flanagan in The Royal Ranger series which is at the tail-end of the Ranger’s Apprentice series which has fourteen books.  There is also another series: the Brotherband Chronicles which is about a sea-faring, Viking-type people.  They occasionally crossover to the Ranger’s Apprentice series.  Originally written to encourage his own son to read, this author-dad has written a series that might entrance both the young and the well-read.  It would also make a great read-aloud series for the family.  Unfortunately, this book ends in the worst way–“To Be Continued.”  The Royal Ranger book three looks like it will be published in 2019.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 mild obscenity. 

Violence/Gore:  3 men want to hold 2 women hostage and take their valuables; woman uses a weapon to subdue criminals, some broken bones, not gory; a battle between 2 sides, several skirmishes & battles, weapons used, extended throughout the book, several deaths, some blood, slightly descriptive; hunting: several animals killed for their meat, not overly descriptive or gory; a horse knocks down a few men; a man fights a battle, kills 2, gets killed, some detail but not gory or bloody; people besieged, some hurt, some killed, some blood but not gory.

Sex/Nudity:  3 men told to strip down to their underwear, no details other than the stench.

Mature Subject Matter:

Treason, weapons, war, death, hunting.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None