The Last Shadow Gate: The Shadow Gate Chronicles Book I (Volume 1) by Michael W. Garza

The Last Shadow Gate: The Shadow Gate Chronicles Book I (Volume 1) 

by Michael W. Garza

It was bad enough Naomi had to be shipped off to her dad's home for the summer and deal with her half-brother Gavin, but when the siblings are forced to spend their break with their great-grandmother in upstate New York, everything changes. An investigation into the strange disappearance of their great-grandfather forces them to retrace his footsteps. They discover a gateway between worlds and encounter extraordinary creatures in a land where the people are desperate to escape the coming of a shade lord. To survive their adventure, Naomi and Gavin must settle their differences and find the elusive shadow gate that will take them home again.

Beginning right with the first few pages the reader is thrown into a new world full of a mixture of creatures. The brother/sister detective team soon gather a small team of companions who all join in the mystery of what happened to their great grandfather. 

Traveling to gypsy camps to rocky seashores, traveling by foot, horse and boat this adventure will take you through a non-stop imaginative roller coaster of what they found through the Shadow Gate and the war that is building with their great grandfather at the center of the storm. 

First they will have to overcome great danger and save a few people along the way. The majority of the story is told from Gavin's perspective yet we see a lot of growth of his sister Naomi from a squeamish somewhat bratty older sister to a more dedicated and stronger person throughout the first book.  

As their sibling bond becomes stronger throughout the story so does their love and freindships for those they meet along the way. As war is brooding they must find their great grandfathers journals to find out where he has disappeared to and how they can help with their great grandfathers promise to bring freedom to the land and restore the rightful heir to Alandra.

This wild adventure is labeled as a young adult book but I believe that there are many middle grade readers that would enjoy it as well. 

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• Series: The Shadow Gate Chronicles
• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: NeverHaven Press (March 3, 2017)