John Dahlgren has created an unforgettable young adult fantasy novel, set in Sagaria, that entices the reader right from the first page.  We begin with Sagandran Sacks who is the main character.  His grandfather, Melwin, is kidnapped and taken from Earth to Sagaria so Sagandran follows to try and save him.  Sagandran meets the first of his adventure crew who is a small rodent.  The fast paced adventure moves on from there as he seeks out his grandfather.  He meets everyone from some evil worgs to a Frog Knight, a spoiled princess and an eclectic wizard, just to name a few.  Sagandran finds out his grandfather is being held captive by an evil sorcerer in another realm and he must try and save him before it is too late.  I won’t give up the ending.

The author has an amazing imagination.  To create this unique world and build up each character showcases some of his background.  He grew up in Scandinavia and heard many fairy tales and wild Nordic stories and you can see that developed imagination clearly in his writing.  The novel is professional in every way.  He is descriptive, engaging and easy to follow.  The characters learn about life and love and the morals shine through in Sagaria.  This book was exciting to read and it was hard to put down each time.  It had me laughing with good humour and tearing with sadness in parts.  I would rate this as one of the best young adult fantasy novels I have read since the Harry Potter series.  This is one novel in 2012 that is a “must read”.