The Secret of Sinbad's Cave: The Natnat Adventures Book I
By Brydie Walker Bain
Bain has given us a very classic adventure! I’m really not the biggest fan of middle grade fiction but this held my interest the entire time. I found myself laughing and eagerly turning pages, I must say I truly enjoyed this read.
To break down the story, a group of siblings; Nat, her brother and sister, go to their father’s farm for the holidays. This is when the story starts tugging at your heart strings. We find out that the farm is struggling and the kids’ father may even lose it. Like any good child, Nat wants to do something to prevent this from happening and a cave full of maps that just might lead to treasure seems like the best option at the time.
What I liked most about the story was Nat. She was awesome. Simply put, Nat is that character that breaks the rules—especially as a female. When you think of the protagonist in an adventure novel for middle grade readers, a curly headed girl normally isn’t the first person who pops into your head. Naturally, I was so happy to find such a strong and interesting female lead in this book.
Readers are invited to join a fun and surprisingly well developed cast of young characters as they get themselves tied up in a mix of exhausting, exciting, and even dangerous adventures. We have such an awesome cast that’s amped by the villains you can’t help but love. Everything is comical and plain old fun. It’s perfect for the kids and I’m sure parents will find great enjoyment as well. I really liked that Nat took the adventure with family and friends, seeing such strong bonds among siblings is rare in today’s society so I think family ties is an important message that needs to be stressed to younger readers.
My one complain is the writing itself. It fit the story very well but I just wanted more from it. I really can’t say much more about it than that and I know that isn’t very fair because it just seems like I was dissatisfied for no reason. But I can’t exactly explain it. I just wished it had a little more personality to it. I think bland might be too harsh but that’s the closest word to describe it, in my opinion at least. Other than that, this was an awesome book and I would most definitely recommend it to readers of all ages.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*