“Loyal, brave, kind, and true — Keeper of the old and new — I guard the wild, defend the weak, mark the path, and virtue seek. Forest spirits hear me now as I speak my Ranger’s vow.”

August has written a very satisfying conclusion to the Arlo Finch trilogy. Readers should read the books in order as #3 starts out with a bang and will be confusing to those starting here. Arlo Finch lives with his mother, sister, and uncle in a remote area in the mountains of Colorado. His father is hiding from the government in China. Arlo and his sister set out through the magical Long Woods to rescue their father and bring him to Colorado but then everyone from the FBI, to the mysterious Eldritch of the Realm beyond the Long Woods, to the sociopathic former Ranger Scout Hadryn seem to want something from Arlo. Middle school aged kids will be clamoring to finish reading the trilogy.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham