The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland

I was motivated the other day to spend the morning cooking: bread, burrito filling, chicken breasts, etc. and I wanted to listen to something. As I scrolled through my Libby app I saw this title and was intrigued as one of the reviews said it was for fans of the series Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. Perfect, I thought, my time in the kitchen cooking will fly by as I listen. 

It is similar to Fablehaven in that it involves a secret place where magical and mythical animals are safely kept. And of course, there are those who want to expose them and who want to close down these safe havens. There are three young people who will do almost anything to keep them safe and adults who seem to not mind that they are often put in danger. Besides the basics in the plot line, that is where the similarity ends. The Menagerie plods along. I wouldn't call it boring, but it's also not exciting!  It was a bit wordy for my tastes and the main characters were a bit blah. I wouldn't recommend it to a reluctant young reader, but for an avid young reader of fantasy it may be fine. 

Recommend: not really

Children's fiction, fantasy, mythical animals