Amari and the Metalwork Menace
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In this fourth book we find 8th grader, Amari, one of the very best magicians ever, deciding she’s had enough of magic. Unexpectedly she’s found swimming has a calming effect on her and has had an offer to take the sport further, so she’s decided to retire as a Junior Ranger from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. She’s still traumatised by having lost a mentor on her last mission and retiring will assuage the feeling of terrible grief. However so doing will also mean giving up on her friends in the face of a huge crisis: the Metalwork Menace is overtaking the supernatural world and she’s already seen the Bureau’s recruitment and also retirement officer, Mr Ware’s hand suddenly turned to metal.

It’s when a close friend starts turning to metal and is sent to the clinic, that Amari decides she must defer her decision and plunge back into the supernatural world. If she’s to save those she loves from disaster, she will have to work with Dylan Van Helsing, her arch enemy, break all the rules made by both the Bureau and the Government, and generally create chaos. However breaking rules may be the only option if she’s to save the world. With ever more people being truck by the terrible curse, what will be the outcome?

The action is truly gripping though sometimes unpredictable and readers will be on the edge of their seats, rooting for Amari throughout the book.

Something that struck me particularly was part of a speech given by Elsie towards the end of the book: “None of us are born good or bad. It’s our experiences that shape us. We shouldn’t look only to punish those who’ve done wrong but also to rehabilitate them. If we remove the negative, sometimes even traumatic, experiences that push our worst offenders on to the wrong path, they can become better citizens, and our world will become a safer place to live.”

A marvellous mix of magic, mystery, friendship and danger: the whole thing ends on a cliff-hanger that will leave everyone eagerly anticipating the final book.