Rating: 
Summary: Review of book as stupid as book
Review: "Nika Hoffmann, English Department, Crossroads School
The children at our school were mesmerized." --actual "review" posted under "all editorial reviews" on Amazon.com Wow, you know when Amazon.com includes a quote as stupid and insipid as the one above ("the children at our school were mesmerized"--maybe they were desperate for the person reading the book to shut up so they could go out for recess!) from some nobody at some school which is god knows where and nobody cares, that the publisher or author must be desperate for somebody, ANYBODY to say *something* positive about a book that, frankly, I think, has some serious flaws. (...).
Rating: 
Summary: As a YA...
Review: As a reader actually in the YA category I found this to be a compelling read, a fast-paced thriller that was challenging and exciting rather than one which dragged along in a simple, dreary fashion.
Displayed is a perfectly executed combination of the fantasy and the realistic, endearing the characters to any younger reader.
A great read, for young and old(I imagine, thought I am not, so cannot comment effectively).
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Summary: Best novel I've read in a long time!
Review: As an avid reader i found this book absolutely fantastic. You hold the book in your hands and you dont want to move it from yours hands until the end.Your lying down on your bed,or sitting in a chair,and suddenly your on the edge of whatever your sitting on, your heart thudding against your chest.The Secret Of The Alchemist is the type of book that holds your concentration and nothing distracts you from it.I thought the book was a great book for my age group.(13)The book is shocking,very compelling,exciting,and its just so gripping.
i recommend this book to all teenagers. Trust me you'll love it!
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Summary: Amazing Read
Review: Awesome Read! Deep Characters! Shallow Villains! and Occult Antics! Amazingly well developed characters from the cunning Faustian Pounce to the unconfident and rather tag along Jake Giacometti accompanied by the Elegant, self righteous Helen de Havilland who is brewing with enthusiasm and rebellion! A good contrast of characters with Helen who acts like she owns the world and can fit in almost anywhere with acquatinces and relations in almost every European city from Paris to Florence to London to Rome, compared with Jake who is barely at home outside of Glasgow let alone another country, Jake who is nervous buying a train Ticket in France. The Evil and deceit virtually seeps out of Occultist villain Aurelian Pounce from conjuring up False Trials so he can obtain his desires to kidnapping a child and creating the facade that her mother sold her. He is so cunning and cruel yet he himself has been given the raw end of the Faustian deal. Overall an amazing read. Well written and edited. I would like to meet the author and publisher but so would most I suspect!
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Summary: Best since Pratchett
Review: great Thrilling Read one of the best i've Read since Pratchett's Good Omens. Characters that actually have Depth and aren't 2d. a great start to what i hope will be an even better series.
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Summary: Kids- free yourselves from cotton wool!
Review: Having read the varied comments on this book, i was intrigued and read it myself. Frankly i was amazed that people thought this book could be unsuitable for its audience. Obviously i am very lucky to have been brought up by parents that didn't wrap me in cotton wool.
The story is one of high adventure, where good takes on evil. There was a fresh air to the book as the author has shown us into his world of danger and responsibility. The main characters ( Jake and Helen) are two very different teenagers from Scotland and Switzerland. Together they travel through Europe in a mad dash to save Helen's father after he tries to double cross the curious occult figure of Pounce. Pounce is a really alive character and is really scary.
Beautiful European cities,tension, great characters, visitors from beyond the grave, a really good scare and goods triumph over evil. What more could you want in a book?
This book is perfect for young adults as it is in the end a rather moral story where the forces of good win out.
Rating: 
Summary: Could not get through it
Review: I am 14 years old. My aunt gave me a copy of this book she picked up at some second-hand book store. I did not like it very much. I thought it was a bit on the pretentious side and I did not know what the author was talking about half the time. I tried to plow through it, and just could not care one way or another what happened to the main characters, they were not very realistic. I did not even finish reading the book, I found it so dense and creepy. I would not recommend it to my friends. Maybe I'll try reading it again when I'm older. But I doubt it. I much prefer Harry Potter and Eragon. Now those are amazing novels!
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Summary: John Ward is no J.K. Rowling!
Review: I don't think this book is for everybody, and that's why I am giving it two stars. I enjoyed the book, sure, but then I read Dante and Thomas Aquinas in college. I have taken college courses in medieval history and literature. Because of my life experience, educational background, and intellectual interests, I understand and can appreciate the literary references in this novel. I can even read Latin well enough to be able to read the epigrams sprinkled throughout the novel without looking at the English translations. But I think classifying this book as for YA readers is more than misleading. The subject matter is too erudite, the plot too dark for the YA readers I know--and I know some bookloving teenagers. Hey, I'm an adult, and the scene where the villain drugs a gypsy woman, steals her young child, then douses the woman with alcohol before leaving her to wake up in a cafe without her child gave me nightmares. That, frankly, was painful reading.
If I had written this book, I would have classified it as a book for adult readers that some (older) teenagers might enjoy, I would not have targeted YA readers as the main readership. Let's face it folks--John Ward is no J.K. Rowling. Rowling clearly is writing for a YA market (though I'm not so sure with Book 5 of the Harry Potter series, that's pretty heavy reading there too). The plot lines, the writing style, the language, the obscure literary references, even the cover art of The Secret of the Alchemist. . . it's as if Ward thought all he had to do to classify his novel as a YA read is to feature two teenage protagonists. It takes more than just writing about teenage protagonists to make a YA novel. I just don't think Ward successfully pulled it off. I won't be reading the rest of the series, that is for sure.
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Summary: John Ward is no J.K. Rowling!
Review: I just finished this book and I can't wait for the next one! It's a helluva story that has the lot. Cracking pace, great suspense and loads of original ideas. It really had me biting my nails wondering what would happen next to Jake and Helen with all this evil magic set against them. I thought the magic scenes were really cool and scary and the ending was very clever. If you're looking for an exciting, original story, don't wait. Get your hands on a copy of The Secret of the Alchemist. Now I want to know when the next book is coming out, cos it says there are going to be three.
Rating:
Summary: Catch this now - it's gonna be BIG!
Review: I just finished this book and I can't wait for the next one! It's a helluva story that has the lot. Cracking pace, great suspense and loads of original ideas. It really had me biting my nails wondering what would happen next to Jake and Helen with all this evil magic set against them. I thought the magic scenes were really cool and scary and the ending was very clever. If you're looking for an exciting, original story, don't wait. Get your hands on a copy of The Secret of the Alchemist. Now I want to know when the next book is coming out, cos it says there are going to be three.
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