Spirit Animals – Fall of the Beasts 5 – Heart of the Land

Sarah Prineas's Spirit Animals book Heart of the Land is an action-packed fantasy for 9 year olds about four young heroes who find the world turning against them.

What happens

Meilin, Rollan, Conor and Abeke are Greencloaks. Each is bonded to a spirit animal (a panda, a falcon, a wolf and a leopard). They've already saved their world of Erdas twice, so this story picks up well into their adventures.

Now the leaders of Erdas are meeting for the first time in years, and the four are summoned to a crumbling castle to join them. The welcome is frosty. The guards try to turn them away, and nobody wants their animals inside.

It soon becomes clear the leaders want to break the Greencloaks up for good. Then Greencloaks they've never met storm the meeting, and the four are suddenly on the run.

What stands out is how much the friendships matter. Conor is still having nightmares after an enemy took over his mind, and Abeke quietly refuses to leave him on his own. Rollan's jokes and Meilin's sharp manners bounce off each other nicely (she lets him eat the bun she dropped on the floor!).

There's also Princess Song, a tiny, very proper girl who stands up to her own father in front of everyone. Readers will be wondering about her.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The attack on the meeting is violent, and it's described on the page. A hyena spirit animal tears out a leader's throat and there's a lot of blood, and a courtier is stabbed. It happens quickly, but it isn't softened.

For a child who's sensitive to that kind of thing, this one could be upsetting. If your reader already loves this series and is used to its battles, the loyalty between the four friends will probably carry them through. It's a book to check yourself first if you're not sure.

What to read next

If they'd like to meet them from the start, Wild Born is where the four first call their animals.