The Kindling (Middle School Magic Book 1)

Wow! I just finished this book and what a ride! I am very excited to share this book with my students in a couple of months, I think they'll love it. With plenty of action, interesting and diverse characters and great settings (the Sanctuary sounds like a place I'd love to visit when I'm stressed out), this book is sure to win lots of fans. The book is really, really intense at times, but nothing inappropriate for a middle grade audience, although I think plenty of young adults as well as adults will enjoy it as well.The story centers on three seventh graders, Connor, his twin sister Lexa, and Lexa's best friend (and Connor's crush) Melanie. When strange things start happening, the three students are confused. They become even more confused and scared when it appears that the teachers are out to get them. A strange black stalker, teachers who seem to appear out of nowhere, and thoughts that seem to cause things to happen lead Connor, Lexa, and Melanie into an adventure of a lifetime as they learn to use the power of the Light. The fight between Light and Dark contines as it has for millenia and Connor, Lexa, and Melanie find themselves fighting for their lives.Characters: Connor, Lexa, and Melanie are great characters, each true to his/her nature. Melanie hates lying but loves pre-algebra. Lexa has a powerful intuition and isn't afraid to say what she thinks. Connor exercises his strong spirit against bullies and tries to do the right thing regardless of the consequences. I also found the teachers to be a wonderful addition to the story. In too many stories, teachers are the enemies, but here we see teachers as human beings with strengths and weaknesses, reminds me of Harry Potter in that regard.Setting: Most of the story takes place at Connor, Lexa's and Melanie's school, but I think my favorite scenes occurred while the kids were in a car, on the "It's a Small World" ride at Disney World (what a fight!), and in the Sanctuary. I did wish we got to spend more time at the Sanctuary, it would have been a nice breather as this book picks up pace quickly and doesn't slow down until the very end.Plot: All I can say is wow. What a great story with twists and turns, hints and clues, but most of all, sheer courage. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a hard-to-put down, stay up till midnight kind of read.

Thirteen-year-olds, Conner and Lexa Dell and their friend Melanie Stephens thought that they were normal teenagers, then strange things started happening. Things like middle school bullies pants starting on fire in the middle of gym class and the lights flickering on and off when they are upset or excited. These things seemed a little strange, but then Conner, Lexa and Melanie started noticing other things. There was a huge storm one night and Lexa and Melanie saw a strange man dressed in black, but no one else seemed to and that man in black seemed to have killed all the dogs in the neighborhood...at exactly the same time. Then there are their teachers at school, one of them is always around, even for things like trips to the office for a band-aid or to the bathroom. Weird! Then one day, everything seems to go wrong, each of the three friends earn 7 demerits in one day and all receive detention, which makes their parents furious. None of the three want to attend detention, so they decide to make a run for it and ditch detention...really bad plan. As they are trying to ditch detention in two different places, the kids are attacked by more people dressed in black, luckily they are being pursued by their teachers and the teachers are able to protect them. But they quickly learn that they have "Kindled" they are Magi, able to use light to fight darkness, but they're only kids. How can they be normal kids and also Magi?This book was amazing. I loved the engaging plot. I wanted to find out just what was going to happen next and the plot kept me guessing too. I enjoyed the characters, they seemed real to me, and I cared about what happened to them. I love this book, I think that this book will be an amazing book for kids to read, I can't wait to read more of this series!

Wow, I was so surprised on how action packed this story was, yet not containing the things you don't want your kids to read about, nothing inappropriate.This is truly a family story.. and deal with real family issues that come about.This is a wonderful contemporary fantasy story for tween and young teen readers (and as an adult I enjoyed it, as well). Mr. Bell has done a great job creating a unique magic system, realistic and comprehensive middle school characters, and a very fun, action-packed story.There are plenty of summaries out there already, so I'll skip that part and just tell you what I really enjoyed: This book was solidly about good parenting so kudos to that! So much adventure in this story and I think most young teens would completely eat this up. So glad I found this and had a chance to read. Awesome job Mr. Bell for keeping it more or less real..and enjoyable.

Branden Bell's imagination is the reason he meets success with the young readers. He keeps the suspense intriguing. His heroes and heroines are teenagers, who conquer the evil. Conner, Lexa and Melanie all share a special gift and they find out what that gift is when they find themselves aware of the evil that protrudes from inside a hooded man, who suddenly seems to be wherever they are and the fact that they are the only ones who can see him. This man is only the beginning of the suspense that follows.One thing I liked about this book is that Branden has made some teachers and the principal of the three teens school, heros and heroines as well, who kindled years before and who aid in protecting and mentoring Conner, Lexa and Melanie in how to use their power.The Kindling is filled with action, danger, clear Bell imagination and emotion. Kids will be captivated with this book.