In The Forest King: Woodlark’s Shadow, Justin Woodlark has just moved away from the hustle and bustle of New York City to the quiet New England town his father’s originally from. It is here that he discovers an ancient secret hiding in the local woods, one that he stumbles upon while lost and running, thereby releasing a shadowy evil that only he can discern as the Old Man of the Forest. He and his friends try to capture the thing on camera, but the task proves to be as illusive as it is frightening.

The plot is fairly straightforward: boy discovers evil shadow, boy runs from evil shadow, boy muses over what he’s learned, boy defeats evil shadow in surprising yet heroic manner, boy learns the truth of things. But it's appropriate for the reading age its marketed at, and it's not at all confusing or overabundant with different themes and underlying meanings. The cast is kept small, focusing mainly on Justin, the mysterious Smith, and surprisingly, Justin's father. His character had a good amount of depth in The Forest King: Woodlark’s Shadow, and made Justin a stronger protagonist for it.

Young readers will surely get a thrill over the game the Old Man of the Forest that is a main focus in the book, and it's explained in enough detailed that after reading they might just round up several friends and have at it themselves. Hopefully they won't stumble upon what Justin Woodlark did though...

Putting the story aside, Tom Mandrake, who has illustrated such comics as Batman, Weapon X, The Hulk Unchained, and many others, adds a soft, but powerful touch with his accompanying artwork. They are black and white, done in what is a loose, but detailed style. Some of the more impressive pieces are toward the end where Justin and company finally meet up with the big, bad shadow. The artwork really helps to create an eerie mood.

The structure of these young adult books from Actionopolis (see my reviews for What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation and Heir to Fire: Gila Flats) follow similar formats, but it's for a good reason. They work, and are worthy of a spot on any young reader's shelf.

In Heir to Fire: Gila Flats, Ryan Morales isn’t having the best week of his life; he’s made a fool of himself in front of his dream girl Corrine, strange spider-like creatures and gila monsters popping up all over the place are taking control of Gila Flats, and he’s only recently discovered that a magical power literally burns inside of him. As monstrous creatures attempt to seize the outback Arizona town, Ryan must learn to conquer his fears to save the people he cares about most.

A fun, action-packed adventure filled with dangerous critters, explosive magic, and exciting scenes, Heir to Fire: Gila Flats will appeal to a wide range of young readers. The illustrations have a mid-Western feel to them, and are never too detailed to be distracting. Our hero, Ryan, learns a lot about himself in a short time—and although his story is a bit cliché—he makes for a captivating savior in the end once he gets a grip on his powers. Some aspects of the books, to a more seasoned reader, seem a bit silly (albeit referring to Ryan as the Fire Prince, dum dum duuum), but to a younger reader they’ll probably enjoy the names, plot devices, and mystical places in Heir to Fire: Gila Flats.

The story’s strength aside, the best aspect found within this book’s pages are the illustrations done by Mike Dubisch, whose work will be well known to fantasy fans. He has done artwork for H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, Dungeons and Dragons, and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series so there should be no reason to not appreciate the work he’s done for Heir to Fire: Gila Flats. It’s both eerie and mesmerizing.

As indicated at the end of Heir to Fire: Gila Flats, Ryan’s journeys are not over. In an upcoming sequel, Ryan, Corrine, and Donut—a character who I enjoyed very much, but was saddened to find him left in the background—will find themselves leaving Gila Flats and traveling to the place where Ryan truly comes from...

I'd recommend this book to any and every young adult that has even the tiniest amount of imagination. It's surely to be enjoyed.

Teddy isn't looking forward to summer school in What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation by Adam Beechen and Dan Hipp. His parents have signed him up for Summer Science, which to him, isn't as exciting as it could be. He's more interested in spaceships and traveling by the speed of light. Luckily for him, on the far distant planet Manoosh, a young alien prince snatches a magical crystal from the throne room, transporting him to Earth. Teddy and the alien switch places, hoping to find excitement in each other's stead. Unfortunately, Teddy teleports to the alien planet just as the mutiny has reached its breaking point, and civil war brims.

Recommended for ages nine and up, What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation is a fun, light-hearted adventure reminiscent of works by Bruce Coville such as I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X, and Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's The Edge Chronicles series. The aliens are never grossly scary, the violence never results in gory death, and the ending is as satisfying as a plate full of Krikkrik Nightfeelers.

One part that kind of disappointed me was that the back cover synopsis tried to trick the reader. It mentioned that "one boy [Teddy] attempts to stop a coup on an alien planet and an alien boy attempts to fit in on ours." This is misleading in that the focus of What I Did on my Hypergalactic Interstellar Summer Vacation is on Teddy on Manoosh. There is one short scene where the alien boy introduces himself to Teddy's parents, but that's all we see of him on Earth. I would have liked to see the juxtaposition of him dealing with summer camp in regards to a war on an alien planet.

All the illustrations are done by Dan Hipp, and they add a lot of fun to the book. Stylish, black and white images grace each chapter, often capturing a specific scene perfectly. Kids will enjoy them as visual guides, and the aliens look pretty neat. A fun adventure with lots of detailed characters, fun creatures, and flashy gadgets, this will be a great read for kids who might not be looking forward to their summer reading.