The Ever Part of Always by Toby K. Davis was a lot more than I thought it would be. Not only is it a beautifully written adventure tale, it is also a story that any child (especially girls) can relate too. The main character Keely is believable because her life is not glamorous. She is bullied by her neighbor, her mother is a depressed alcoholic, and she never sees her dad. The beginning of this book is quite sad actually but it sets the stage nicely for the transformation that Keely makes throughout the book as she overcomes all the negativity in her life. This book really does hold a meaningful message for young readers.
My only complaint about The Ever Part of Always is how Keely’s Gramms always taught her to push the negative words from other people deep down inside her. This is purely my own opinion but I always felt that letting it out and sharing with someone was the better alternative.
The illustrations were nothing short of spectacular. Beautiful detail with a title for each one and each depicting a scene from the book. Definitely enhancing the reading experience. I would recommend the Ever Part of Always for ages 8+. The vocabulary can get a little extensive from time to time but nothing to hard to get past.
Overall it was a good read with tons of adventure, problem solving and a great message!
Rating
4 stars out of 5
About the Book
Ten-year-old Keely Rosalie Tucker is a modern-day knight with no armor. Constantly bullied by a neighbor boy, Keely struggles to find her place in the world in which she is comforted only be the stories her Gramms has told her about enchanted, faraway places, where unicorns, fairies, and angels protect children from life’s everyday pains and dangers. Now all Keely has to do is figure out how to call them to help her.
Everything changes when her beloved Gramms suddenly dies and gifts Keely with her aging horse, Mariah, setting the stage for an adventure. Keely discovers that Mariah can talk, and she soon finds her way to a hidden valley over the moon and beyond rainbows where monsters and dragons disturb and invade the peace of mind. Now she must learn to believe in herself and develop her secret powers in order to deliver a miracle before its to late.
In this delightful and charming fantasy tale, a little girl learns to summon her courage and rely on her imagination as she opens her heart and mind to the sounds of the possible in a last-ditch effort to save a friend.
- Paperback: 193 pages
- Publisher: iUniverse Inc.
- Illustrator: Diana Magnuson
For more information about the book, join the adventure at www.tobykdavis.authorsxpress.com.
Purchase a copy at Amazon.
I was provided a copy of this book free of charge for review but the opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains our Amazon affiliate link.
About Maegan
Sounds like a good book. I know a few girls that would like it :)
Sounds like an interesting book!
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i used to love fantasy fairytales growing up. i will have to tell my neices about this book. Gina
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I am definitely going to look into getting this book for my niece. The illustrations look so beautiful, and I love that the storyline shows a positive girl role.
Looks like a good summer read!
Looks like a good read and I am with you. Sharing is always better than stuffing because eventually you have to deal with what you have stuffed away it is better to cry the tears and get over what ever happened to hurt you. If you stuff then you may have to deal with a life time of hurts all at once
I like finding a book with a strong female character. My god daughter is 9 and this would be good for her.
My Katie would probably love this book–she’s ten, and it is always good to find adventure stories that are about girls, for girls– it widens the mind–but all three of my girls are tom-boys at heart. Always ready for some kind of adventure,Also stuffing feelings,is not good. That causes depressions,it is better to say something-get it off your chest kind of thing,than bottle it up.
Just the summary alone makes makes me think that there is a lot of activity in 192 pages. If I find the book is at our library I will recommend it to my niece.
It sounds interesting.