Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads Silberwind, das weiße Einhorn #1: Der verzauberte Spiegel.
Unicorn books...sure why not. Spoilers ahead.
Jana is a young girl staying at her grandmother's farm, where she instantly bonds with a pale gray stallion named Silverwind. She can't stay away from the animal, and soon enough she learns his secret: He's actually a unicorn in disguise. Silverwind tells her that his brother, the blue unicorn, has been trapped in a mirror by a bad man, the "count", who lives in the lighthouse. Silverwind, Jana and their new friend Jurre set out on a quest to free the blue unicorn.
Very simple children's book. It's short, probably appeals to horse girls, and also has that touch of fantasy that's pretty neat. It's not the most unique or creative, but still a fun read, if not a bit short (seriously, this pacing is lightning-speed).
I think my main gripe is because of this rushed pace, there's very little room for character development or development of the relationships. Jana just kind of bonds with Silverwind instantly rather than slowly growing close to him, and she and Jurre are also kind of just instantly best friends rather than their bond developing overtime.
The climax was also over rather fast and anticlimactic. At first it seems that (due to the mirror breaking) the blue unicorn is trapped there forever, but due to some last minute magic loophole they can free him anyways. Feels a bit boring and anticlimactic, it'd have been better if there had been some buildup to this loophole. Also cheapens Jana and Jurre's effort a bit to try and get the whole mirror when in reality just a single shard would've sufficed to free Silverwind's brother.
I also wish that the blue unicorn had a little more to him. He doesn't even have a name and we never see him bond with any of the characters including Silverwind. Sure, we're told they care for one another, but we're not really shown this aside from Silverwind briefly nuzzling him after the blue unicorn being freed. The blue unicorn doesn't even really feel like a character, more so a plot device. He has no name, no real connections to characters we're shown, and no personality or lines, either.
Overall this is still a fine and fun book, just a bit too rushed and simple for me. I could've done with just a tad of a slower pace to really get to known the characters and a better resolution to the climax that doesn't feel so anticlimactic.
Rating: 3/5
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