Beyond The Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

From the back:Alexa Daley thought her troubles were over when she defeated the man who threatened to bring Bridewell down from within. But now that the walls have fallen,a new,unexpected threat has risen from outside. suddenly, Alexa is involved in a battle much,much bigger than her own life ...a battle in which she is destined to play a key role.Sinister forces are gathering in strange and vile forms,all with the goal of bringing darkness to the land. In order to help good defeat evil,Alexa and her friends must venture farther than they've gone before- confronting giants,bats,ravenous dogs,and a particularly ghoulish mastermind in order to bring back peace.

The book was easy for me to read, but I would recommend it for grades four through seven. It really depends on the individual. I got into on probably page one because I was so pumped up from reading the first book, The Dark Hills Divide, (which I have also reviewed.) It was a very fun book! I simply loved it! I recommend it for anybody that still likes a fun,fictional,but also suspenseful book about a twelve year old girl saving the world.Most normal middle schoolers would like the book almost as much as me. (Nobody could like it more or as much as I did!) It was not obviously Christian but I could relate Elyon to God and Alexa to each of us. It really depends on how you look at it. No one in the book reads the bible but I think they pray to Elyon in the third book a couple times but not in this one. There is absolutely nothing bad that parents would have to worry about. No bad words or actions at all. I think this book is a great source of reading for any one that likes suspenseful fantasy. Before you start reading this series make sure you have the next ones in the series close by. If you don't you might go crazy: the only part I was the a little upset about was the fact that each of these books are cliff-hangers. They all end in to be continued.

This series of books is probably up in second place on the list of my favorite book series right behind The Percy Jackson series,but that's another story (or book.)