Book review for "spirit animals: wild born" by Brandon mull

Disclaimer: This review is spoiler free except for the parts labelled as spoiler
Book: Book One of Spirit Animals: Wild Born
Author: Brandon Mull
Page Number: 202 Pages
Genre: Adventurous Fantasy
Age: For readers 10-13
Rating: 4/ 5 stars
“‘I'm the worst kind of criminal.’
‘And what kind is that?’
‘The kind that got caught.’”

Synopsis: In the world of Erdas, Conor, Abeke, Meilin and Rollan each are about to discover if they have a spirit animal bond, a rare link between human and animal. The four children, each in Erdas’s four continents, see a flash of light then see an animal emerge. 
The animals summoned are not ordinary spirit animals but rather Great Beasts that have hailed from the greatest legends. The four new heroes now have access to powers that will aid them in the journey to come. An evil force is rising once again, and the fate of Erdas is in the hands of these four young kids. 

This was such a fun read! Spirit Animals has been on my shelf for years, so when I finally decided to read it, I found myself delightfully pleased. 

What I liked: 

1. Meilin and Rollan: These are the two characters that I absolutely LOVED in this book! I honestly ship these two even if there hasn’t been any romantic inclination between them….yet. Meilin’s skills and passive aggressiveness is honestly what made this book so enjoyable! Rollan’s humor was well appreciated as well!
   
2. There is plenty of Adventure: I’m sure younger readers would surely appreciate this! Spirit Animals was not short of an action packed plot. I can’t wait to read the second book and pick up where I left off in the adventure!
   

What Could Use Improvement:

1. Character Development: It was kind of there… but not really. The characters lack depth bigtime cough cough Conor. Abeke had a nice character development in the first few chapters and then we rarely get to hear her opinion later on in the book. However since this is a children’s book, I’ll let it slide. 
   
2. The Villains: The Villains just seem to be bad for the purpose of being bad. The bad guys just seemed superficial since they actually have no purpose or ultimate motive other than just being an obstacle for the heroes. Again, the villain’s character lacks depth. 
   

“When survival was in question, you fought hard and you seized every advantage, because your enemy was sure to do the same.”

The first book in the Spirit Animals series started off strong, with great adventure and brave characters! I’m so excited to read the next book!