Book Review:
Young Whit and the Shroud of Secrecy
It’s easy to assume that the first and last novels are the most important in a series; the first introduces the reader to a world -- and characters -- that will hopefully provide them with a reason to read more, while the last novel needs to wrap up storylines and character arcs in a satisfying manner. However, in my opinion, the sophomore novel is equally important, since it’s the book that establishes, within the reader’s minds, the series’ pattern. Think about it. The reader does not know until the 2nd Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, that each entry will focus on a different school year, and it isn’t until the 2nd book of A Series of Unfortunate Events where we discover that each book will take place in a different setting and feature a different guardian, and, well, the list goes on... Likewise, Young Whit and the Shroud of Secrecy establishes that each book will most likely focus on one main, individual mystery as Whit deals, in the meantime, with conflicts at home and a handful of smaller story threads raised from previous books.
Young Whit and the Shroud of Secrecy
It’s easy to assume that the first and last novels are the most important in a series; the first introduces the reader to a world -- and characters -- that will hopefully provide them with a reason to read more, while the last novel needs to wrap up storylines and character arcs in a satisfying manner. However, in my opinion, the sophomore novel is equally important, since it’s the book that establishes, within the reader’s minds, the series’ pattern. Think about it. The reader does not know until the 2nd Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, that each entry will focus on a different school year, and it isn’t until the 2nd book of A Series of Unfortunate Events where we discover that each book will take place in a different setting and feature a different guardian, and, well, the list goes on... Likewise, Young Whit and the Shroud of Secrecy establishes that each book will most likely focus on one main, individual mystery as Whit deals, in the meantime, with conflicts at home and a handful of smaller story threads raised from previous books.