The Owl Keeper

by Christine Brodien-Jones

Book Overview

Maxwell Unger has always loved the night. He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his gran after dark. He loved the stories she told him about the world before the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385738145
• ISBN13: 9780385738149
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Very Enjoyable!

I really love the blend of several genres, it’s got dystopia, fantasy, sci-fi, and the characters are amazing! My favorite is Rose because she is absolutely feral. I think people who enjoy stories like The Promised Neverland would be interested in this book!

A Great Read

I enjoyed every word in this post-apocalyptal fantasy. While this dark new universe is not a pretty picture, there is no shortage of beauty, hope, and familial loyalty in this imaginative tale. I am an adult who loves futuristic subject matter and found this to be right up there with Margaret Atwood in terms of innovation and vivid imagery. Brodien-Jones has created a world you want to watch in this fast-paced cautionary tale. The little heroic owl is peace personified. Her survival in an increasingly vicious world is at the center of the story for Max and Rose, the two young warriors. These two unwittingly evolve into brave soldiers who embark on a frightening journey filled with close calls, slimy creatures and deteriorating landscapes. One wonders why anyone would want to live in such a world. The hateful High Echelon "government" is interested in robotic devotion and will use any means to wipe out independent thought. Thank goodness there are rebels like Max, Rose, and their serene white owl who fight for the right to be themselves. More please.

In a sea of Vampires, an island is found

I recently finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. At 16, some might say that I am getting a little too old to be reading young adult fiction, but I love it. This book is reminiscent to 1984, revealing to kids the horrors of a government that controls all. But unlike 1984, there is a glimmer of light, a silver owl. Immediately one gets a sense of Max's sadness and frustration at the life he leads and also of his yearning for the simpler, free and purer days past. The plot is original from start to finish and ends with the reader craving more. In a time were kids are surrounded by Vampires on all sides, The Owl keeper is a welcome escape from the mundane blood suckers.

It's beautiful in the details.

I saw The Owl Keeper over at Other Shelf Tours, the cover is beautiful - but having not heard much about it I was not sure what to expect, so I went into it with no premature expectations...and for the most part I enjoyed The Owl Keeper. It's the first book on Owl's I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and I loved hearing and learning more about there mysterious ways and there magical powers. One thing, I think that might have made The Owl Keeper better, was more information on them and there past, what makes the Silver Owl so precious, what gives them there magic? Also, what exactly does the Owl Keeper do? These answers were not entirely clear to me...then again, the ending was kind of abrupt, so I am hoping maybe the story will be continued! Christine Brodien-Jones has a writing style all her own, with amazing use of imagery - Imagining Max's world felt almost like I was being dropped into a dream, everything was there...details galore and feelings abound. The beauty emitted from the tiniest details brought to life each scene. In addition to her use of the beautiful details, Christine is also a masterful story teller, once the story really started moving, there was no stopping it! The Owl Keeper, is action packed, full of dangerous poisoned wolves, and flying demons which have no fear - not to mention the government whose trying to control everyone, and mostly succeeding. The Owl Keeper keeps the reader on his (or her) toes, scrambling for the next page to find out what happens next! I believe this story is well suited for both girls and boy's - matter of fact, I think this is one of those books I would give to a reluctant preteen boy, with the action and mayhem it's likely to be a hit with them, much like the beloved Harry Potter series is. The ending of The Owl Keeper really leaves it open, I want to learn more about Max, and about Rose - not to mention Max's grandmother, with her special gifts and powerful spirit, even though she was not present most of the time, I found her unique and her spirit was defiantly something I could feel. I can only hope that we will get to see much more of Max and Rose as there adventures take them further - learning more about the High Echelon and the wonderful powers that the Owls posses. Bottom Line - I enjoyed The Owl Keeper, very much. It was nothing like what I was expecting, it was better, it kept me entertained, and turning pages. Christine Brodien-Jones is an author to watch, she's got an amazing imagination and I can't wait to see where it takes us next! PS. Something I forgot, that I can't review The Owl Keeper with out touching on is, courage and learning to trust yourself and your intuition - these things are major themes in The Owl Keeper, which I loved...Little Max starts off so scared of everything, but as he grows so does his courage and sense of self - amazing message to our young. Max demonstrates a monsters amount of courage, and begins to really trust himself! I just loved th

Book Review: LibraryLoungeLizard.com

One part of being a librarian blogger versus a book blogger who reviews books for fun (don't get me wrong, I have a LOT of fun, but I also consider blogging as an extended part of my "job") is that I try to be a little bit more varied in the books I review so that I can reach a lot of different readers. As you might know my favorite books to read are paranormal romance...but when I read books like The Owl Keeper I pat myself on the back for being more open about the different types of books I accept for review! With a dystopian view of the future where an all-knowing government, or High Echelon, has ruined the environment in a failed attempt to control the weather, Max Unger lives with his passive parents and his controlling and uber-weird caretaker Mrs. Crumlin. Max is allergic to sunlight and requires special visits from his own personal physician Dr. Tredegar. Max, along with his parents seem to be living in a perpetual dream-like state where they seem to be slowly losing their memories. When Max meets Rose, a strange, bossy and mysterious girl who shows up each night at his owl tree, a progression of events lead Max to believe that the people who claim to care about him most are lying to him. When Max finds out a terrifying plot to alter his future he knows he has to do something. With the help of his little silver owl and Rose, Max is determined to be brave. Using his gran's old stories and little clues that she has left behind, Max knows he must find The Owl Keeper...the future depends on it! Such a great book! An action packed dystopian story filled with creepy characters that will give you the jeepers. There are these gross little creatures called Skraeks that are just...ewwww. Scary instruments like the Injectaport and an all-knowing, all-controlling government that is trying to move its citizens into "protective" domes where they can REALLY keep track of their citizens. Oh, and I'm hoping there is a sequel, the story ends at a point where a second book could totally start! Appropriate for ages 12 and up....mild violence

Review from The Neverending Shelf

The Owl Keeper is a non-stop, action packed ball of awesomeness. Based on the novel's summary, I figured I was in for a tale just about a boy and owls. Thought there also might be a little fantasy sprinkled in to keep things going. Wrong. Christine Brodien-Jones carefully mixes in hints of dystopian, mystery, adventure, and fantasy to create hands down the best novel aimed at younger teens that I have read since the Harry Potter series. To say the least, Christine Brodien-Jones and The Owl Keeper blew my socks off. Brodien-Jones' keeps her writing is simplistic and the action flowing. For me, that worked out really well. The novel did not require me to puzzle over certain situations or wonder what did the author want me to get out of this passage. This means that I was allowed to enjoy the novel just for what it was. The action in this novel is top notched. I was glued to the book as action sequence after action sequence occurred. I was amazed that Brodien-Jones could use so much action and not make it seem repetitive or too over the top. The whole novel just flowed together so nicely as the reader uncovers all the little secrets in Max's world. And the world that Max inhabits is very intriguing. Brodien-Jones has created a very dystopian feeling world that has a nice science fiction and fantasy feel to it. The world is quite different from our world, but not so much so that the author needed to go into long, drawn out explanations about how and why things are they way they are. The author does this in a nice short paragraph and focuses mainly on plot and character development. The characters of Max and Rose are a wonderful combination for the world that Brodien-Jones has created. True, I did like Rose a little more over Max. But this is because Rose is the kind of character that one cannot ignore. She is spunky, full of life, and very impulsive. As the novel moved along, I did find myself liking Max more and more as he grew into his own skin. His character is all about growth, and by the end of novel, he is a completely changed character... just the way it should be. In addition to Max and Rose, owls, and specifically Max's owl, play into a large portion of this novel. One must admire Brodien-Jones' attention to detail. She has captured every detail from the owl's habits down to its personality. The owls added lots of depth and definition to Max's world, and made the novel a lot more fun to read. For me, Brodien-Jones has hit the ball out of the park with this novel. From the amazing depth of her characters to the non-stop action, this novel was a blast. The novel's ending does set the reader up for a sequel, or possibly even this being the first novel in a series, so I am really hopeful that I will get to see more of Max, Rose, and the owls. While girls will throughly enjoy this novel, I think this may be a wonderful novel to give to a young male teen who has been struggling to find a novel to read. The action and adventure in this novel wi