The Magic Carousel (The Brass Ring Book 1) by K. L. Small – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

The Magic Carousel by K.L. Small
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Russel is a young boy in fifth grade and over the last year, a lot has happened to him, but the main thing was having to move his room into the basement so that his ageing grandpa could move in with them, this has led Russel to have new responsibilities which include taking his grandpa to the local park to ride on the carousel. He is also failing at school because of this upheaval, as well as being bullied by another of the boys in his class, there is name calling and pushing and Russel doesn’t know how to deal with it, so he just hopes that he isn’t seen with his grandpa because that could become something else he is teased for and finally, his dad drinks, a lot and he always shouts at Russel when he drinks, so this has also been affecting his schoolwork and he is worried that his dream to become a firefighter is slipping away.

One day, when his mum asks him to take his grandpa to the park again, his grandpa is riding on one of the outside horses and things seem to be going Russel’s way for once, the bullies haven’t seen him and his grandpa isn’t being too embarrassing, but just as he is hoping they can leave, his fears come to pass and the bullies turn up and when they leave, his grandpa asks him to join him for a ride. Russel is really reluctant because he is already embarrassed and annoyed, especially when his grandpa wants him to hold his hand as well, but eventually Russel agrees and settles onto the horse that his grandpa points to, but when he does, it does not go as he expects.

When he rides, he is magically transported to another place and time, but surely it can’t be real, they were just on the carousel and this is not it, so what has happened and why has this rude turned into an adventure of a lifetime? This is a brilliant book which takes something familiar and puts a new magical spin on it, with plenty of adventures, danger and magic, this is a wonderful little adventure where important lessons are learned and fun is had while doing it, it is also a book you will not want to put down.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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