Prepare to step into a world of magic and candy-coated chaos! As huge Candy Shop War fans, my household was abuzz with excitement when the final book of the series, The Candy Shop War: Carnival Quest, arrived. And let me tell you, Brandon Mull did not disappoint! With his incredible imagination and witty humor, Mull has a unique ability to know and appeal to his audience like no other author.

From the diverse, brave, and loyal main characters to the clever and tricky villains, readers will be kept on their toes as they follow along on this candy-fueled adventure. The candy in this story is not just any ordinary sweet treat – it gives the characters delightful abilities that will have you wishing you could try a piece or two yourself.

But it is not just the candy that sets this story apart. Mull has a unique way of showing the consequences of characters’ actions, including how they get hurt which will be appreciated by parents and readers alike. On top of all that, Mull seamlessly weaves in life lessons and expands readers’ vocabularies in an entertaining way.

As a newcomer to the series, it was easy to follow the plot despite references to the previous two books. This was one suspenseful and fun read! I cannot wait to discuss it with my children, who are arm-wrestling over who gets to read it first. Readers of all ages will be amused and engrossed as the pages fly by in this five-star fantasy novel. So, grab a piece of candy and dive in!

Review of an Advance Reading Copy Provided by Shadow Mountain Publishing

Content Analysis: 

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Several (35) brief incidents including character pinching self to see if dreaming; character punching brother lightly; character joking about dying in desert; a few incidents of a character being worried about self or others getting hurt or killed; a few incidents when characters are joking about getting hurt; characters worrying about the world being devoured; verbal warning of death by execution; references to mummies, kidnapping, corpses, losing an eye, mugging, abductions, death; second-hand report of zombies wanting to eat brains; second-hand report of bottle getting thrown at a bird; character punching brother lightly; characters visiting creepy haunted house several times with mannequins getting tortured and trying to kill a vampire; character seeing skeleton of a horse in a dream; character worrying about dying in a ghost town; character punching and kicking someone to get away in a dream; characters falling in quicksand and expected dead; characters getting attacked by others, destroying a room and some characters; creepy characters coming out of graves and attacking; explosions; earthquake; 1 extended incident of characters fighting and some getting destroyed.

Sex/Nudity: A few (5) brief incidents including character asking and teasing a tween boy about liking a girl; references to forbidden love and romance; bare-chested man in parade.

Mature Subject Matter:

Character has accident in pants; a few incidents of young characters lying to their parents.

Alcohol and Drug Use:

Reference to a meth addict.