Today’s YA Book Review is a guest post by a Young Adult (19 years old) who wishes to remain anonymous for some strange reason I have yet to hoist out of him–and I’ve been trying. I can confirm that he does, in fact, usually read these books within two days because he gets so engrossed. As a mother, I take great pleasure in watching his curly hair leaning over the pages of an open book.

The Warlock, the fifth installment of Michael Scott’s series, “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel”, involves many different characters introduced throughout the series. The book alternates between different characters every chapter.

The two main characters, Sophie and Josh Newman, are twins destined to decide the fate of the world. However, due to a series of magic deceptions, Josh has joined the side of John Dee, the main antagonist of the series, and his partner Virginia Dare, while Sophie remains on the side of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, the “good guys” of the series. Meanwhile, due to events in past books, an entire entourage of minor characters including Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, a vampire named Scathatch, and a host of others have been moved back in time by a mysterious hook-handed man named Death, and end up imprisoned by strange dog people. Back in the present time, a man named Machiavelli and Billy the Kid are on Alcatraz Island, waiting to unleash an army of mythical creatures from the island’s cells to destroy the city of San Francisco. As the book unfolds, the different groups of characters gradually encounter one another, and more characters from past books enter the fray.

There are numerous battle scenes, flying saucers, seven-headed dragons, and all sorts of captivating occurrences. If that wasn’t confusing enough, eventually John Dee, Virginia Dare, Sophie and Josh all teleport back in time as well, only to discover yet another plot twist.

You might be wondering just what the heck this book is about. I recommend than you read the rest of the series first, or this book won’t make the least bit of sense. It would be akin to watching the T.V. series Lost out of order. Then again, Lost didn’t make a bit of sense to me even after watching it in order. I cannot stress enough that to fully enjoy this book, one must read it in context.

I found the book incredible and very hard to put down (I forced myself to stop reading it so I wouldn’t finish it in one day) mainly because I was anxious to discover the fates of the many characters I had grown to like over the course of the series. I also love the way Scott brings mythical folklore and ancient legends to life against a modern backdrop, as well as creating his own detailed and fascinating backstory.

I highly recommend this book series to anyone who likes action, fantasy, plot twists, and enjoys a good story. Just make sure to read the series in order, and it will make much more sense and be much more enjoyable. The order of the series goes as follows: The Alchemist, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The Warlock, The Enchantress

To learn more about the The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, visit www.dillonscott.com.