Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull (review)

Sixth-grader Cole is initially mostly occupied with trying to figure out if he is too old for trick-or-treating, but he becomes an unlikely hero after his friends get kidnapped into another realm called the Outskirts. Cole enters voluntarily into this other place (with the admirable but not well-thought-out intention of rescuing his pals), a fact that means he may have strong latent powers that will soon come into play. For now, though, his stubbornness and fierce sense of loyalty are his only tools to figure out the rules of this magical new world, stay alive after he is enslaved by sky raiders, and actually find his friends, who have been sent out over all the five kingdoms as slaves. There’s a significant amount of plot to absorb in this action-packed novel, but the gripping narrative is well worth the effort. Cole is amiable and determined, and the kids with whom he allies himself, all natives of the Outskirts, are carefully developed and intriguing, offering further glimpses into the politics, cultural expectations, and social dynamics of this complex other world. Readers will be eagerly anticipating the next installment, and while they wait they’ll have much to imagine about the fate of the Outskirts and how good might possibly triumph over the well-established evil that currently reigns.