Since I was so very charmed by Geoff Rodkey's first installment in the Chronicles of Egg series, I couldn't wait to read New Lands! I was looking forward to more adventures, and greatly hoping that some of my questions from the last book would be answered. I was nervous as I turned the first page.

Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. New Lands turned out to be just as quirky and enjoyable as its predecessor. Rodkey reintroduces our faithful travelling companions and then, best of all, gives us some new ones to fall in love with. What I loved about this book was how much more in-depth the reader is allowed to see into the characters. Egg, Millicent, and even Guts, each begin to grow up right before our eyes.

Egg especially comes into his own during the course of this book. His new, mature attitude makes a definite impact on his travels this time. He finally begins to understand that he doesn't need to lean on his family for support, but that his strength comes from within. Rodkey allows Egg the perfect balance between childishness and adulthood, making for a beautiful adventure.

Rich with new lands (no pun intended) and problems to face, this is a very fast moving book. Whether it's chasing ancient weapons, battling curses, or figuring out who might be a traitor, Egg and his companions never have a moment's rest. Although this series is a bit darker than I expected, it is absolutely well written. I can't wait to see what happens next! ( )

The Chronicle of Egg, Book 2: New Lands continues the crazy rollercoaster ride called Egbert Masterson’s new life. Once accused of killing his mother, Egg is now alone; Pembroke having sent his family to their deaths aboard a wayward hot air balloon. The deeper into the story one gets, the more exciting and curious it becomes. The surprises in book 2 are never-ending. Think you know what will happen next and you are fooling yourself. The writing is superb, the characters jump off the page—, which I actually thought might happen—and the action rarely stops. For the most part, Egg’s triumph over adversity is believable. Pembroke becomes so full of himself that even his beloved Millicent takes a backseat to her father’s affection.

Pirate stories must have humor to entice me and New Lands has humor, sarcasm, and witty writing. I actually enjoyed books 1 and now book 2, and cannot wait for the third, and unfortunately the last, installment. I expect the action will once more increase, the confrontations will get more dangerous, and, hopefully, Egg will find out if the Fire King’s treasure really exists. I think any kids ges eight or nine and older, who loves pirates, adventures, and lots of whiplash neck changes will enjoy The Chronicles of Egg.

In the preview above, it states that Guts leans several choice words for use at Pella Nonna. Mothers step down from your soapboxes. Not one of Guts’ words is decipherable; much like the treasure map Egg carries around in his head. The words look like unexplained massive typos, which rile the natives. Violence is a part o the story and Mr. Rodkey keeps it low-key. The intensity of the scene remains high but the actual acts of violence are rather low key. Kids will not come away from ready Egg’s story afraid of anything. They might want to re-read the entire series, which I would heartily approve. The Chronicles of Egg is good fun, masterfully written. If a major motion picture—that is, a movie—is not made from this series something is wrong in La-La Land.

OH, most importantly!! You do not need to go out and spend your hard-earned money on book 1 or book 2! You can enter and win—sorry, FTC rules—you can enter and possibly win both books from the publisher. To enter, leave a comment and then, if it is up and working, go to the official entry page and enter as many times as you can. Entries will be accepted until midnight Saturday, May 18, 2013. Winner will be announced on Sunday, May 19, 2013, the last day of Children’s Book Week. So get your entries in! Egg is waiting for you.

(received by publisher)
Originally reviewed on Kid Lit Reviews: http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2013/05/13/review-the-chronicles-of-egg-book-2-new-la... ( )

New Lands is the second book in the Chronicles of Egg. I have to say this is turning out to be an excellent young adult series. I also enjoyed this book more than the first, I think the author is getting better at telling this story. The story is better told, the characters are more well rounded and Egg is growing up and learning that the world is bigger than his problems. I think this is an excellent series for middle school age and I’m sure I would have loved it at that age.

We meet up with Egg and Guts just a few days after the end of “Deathweather and Sunrise”. They hitched a ride on the ship that hauls the ugly fruit to Pella Nonna in the Cartager colony. Once ashore in the new lands, they find out that the Cartagers are not the blood-thrirsty fiends that they were lead to believe. In fact they are a rather laid back society and enjoy leisure activities such as listening to live music. Guts also proved to have a talent that was very valuable and earned them a living.

Egg wasn’t much use and as time went on started getting itchy to move on and find the treasure before Pembroke caught up with them to steal the map and most likely leave them for dead. Guts is enjoying himself, likely the first time in years and is very reluctant to give it up for another adventure with an unknown ending. Eventually Guts agrees to go after the treasure, but only after the performance at the palace. It is afterward that their luck changes for both the better and the worse. They find someone who can help lead them to where they want to go and someone finds them who has less savory plans for their future.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. ( )