Hobby: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book Two

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for precocious readers
Review: Previous reviewers have done a good job of summarizing the plot of Hobby, so I'll just add that I think it's an excellent book for bright,precocious readers. It's not very long, the font is slightly larger, and the lines are spaced further apart than in many books for older children, so it's easy for younger ones to follow the text. The language is sophisticated, and the story is somewhat dark, so if your child is highly sensitive I'd read it first to see if it might be too much for him or her, but my six year old daughter loved this book and its precursor, Passeger. If your child is tired of Magic Tree House and Junie B., give this series a try!

Rating:
Summary: Merlin's education
Review: The second small volume of the trilogy is, in part, about Merlin's education in the darker sides of human nature. While retaining the innocently beautiful prose and style of the previous book, Ms. Yolen manages to show Merlin growing in human wisdom.

Merlin's foster family is killed in a house fire, and as the young boy grieves for them, he is caught by Fowler, a vicious thief. The sadistic Fowler takes great enjoyment in tormenting Merlin,but the boy manages to escape him to find a wandering band of magicians, who soon discover that the boy can see into the future. As they try to harness him for their own ends, Merlin uses his magic to elude them...

The innocent wild boy of "Passager" is gone, and we get to see hints of Merlin's future power in this story. Once again Yolen evokes almost painfully clear emotions in her readers, with the beautiful prose and realistic characterizations.

The second book of a trilogy is often weak, but not so here!

Rating:
Summary: This book is Short.
Review: This book is very short, and it would've done a lot better if it was a big book containing all three of the trilogy. This book is very like a poem in that it evokes emotion, almost on command. The use of Merlin's/Hawk's/Hobby's fear of Dogs and his dreams and his thing with names continues.