Verny the Wyvern and Barloc the Unicorn are a couple of their best friends and volunteer to help them go Beyond The Portal to find discover answers about the disappearance of her biological mother. Sam has a big heart and a need to help others, drawing Tuck into her adventures. The books are beautiful, with wonderful illustrations that draw us into the book, making it easier to visualize the scenes as they unfold, offering a little something extra to keep children involved, maybe even putting themselves in Sam and Tuck’s place. If you are looking for some reading material to give your child hours of reading pleasure, getting lost in a fantasy world where Sam and Tuck take some amazing adventures, I must recommend this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I’d recommend this for all middle graders who like adventure books and books about animals. The author did a good job filling in the blanks but it would have been richer had we been with the books from the start.

The only small note I have is that this book would be better enjoyed had we read the previous in the series. I loved the realism there, because not every problem in real life is clean cut into good and bad. The book also dealt with morally grey issues which was great for discussion, there were two sides to the unicorn hunt and both had important and compelling reasons for doing what they did. This was not too girly and all genders can get into the story. Love the different families represented and the inclusion of both boy and girl main characters. We really appreciated the wider vocabulary here for middle graders, well I did, she didn’t like me making her look up words - but learning is fun! Also the illustrations were beautiful and full colour and added so much to the story. I read it with my daughter who loves all things unicorn. With the portal closing at sundown on the third day, Sam and Tuck are in a race to rescue their friend, reunite their families, and save another world from a terrible fate of its own making! With no way of knowing what’s beyond it, Sam, Tuck, and Barloc the unicorn step through the portal and find that not only is Sam’s mother no longer a unicorn protector, she also lives in a world plagued by its own problems-and convinced that the only solution to them rests in the horn on Barloc’s head. But when she and her friend Tuck stumble on a coded verse in The Unicorn Protector Creed, they are faced with an even greater task. Determined to distract herself, she tries to learn everything possible about caring for the herd on Unicorn Island. The secrets of Unicorn Island are all revealed in the final book in Epic’s middle-grade fantasy series! When Sam and Tuck discover a way to unlock the answers they’ve been seeking, they must set out to discover the truth…įor Sam, knowing a little about her mother’s disappearance through the portal is almost worse than knowing nothing at all.

Unicorn Island by Donna Galanti