Book Review: Relatively Normal Secrets (The Falinnheim Chronicles, #1) by C.W. Allen

Relatively Normal Secrets by C.W. Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast-paced and full of surprises, with engaging main child characters!

Relatively Normal Secrets is the first book in author C.W. Allen’s delightful middle-grade fantasy series, The Falinnheim Chronicles, and features two precocious and curious siblings, Zed and Tuesday Furst. Obsessed with their parents’ shadowy pasts that no amount of questioning seems to shed any light on, Zed and Tuesday decide to take the opportunity to search their house for clues when their parents leave for a short business trip. Instructed to head directly to a trusted neighbor’s home after school, the brother and sister decide to detour to their own home instead to put their plan in action.

Before they can even make a cursory look, two large, menacing men show up at the house and try to grab them and their pet dog, Nyx. With Nyx’s intervention, they escape through the woods behind the house, where they are magically transported to another land called Falinnheim. Suspecting the evil men will soon be on their trail, they travel to the nearest town in hopes of finding a way to return home and reunite with their parents.

The two Furst siblings are fun, smart kids with engaging personalities and a talent for getting into trouble. Their questions about their parents’ pasts are relatable, and their parents’ deft deflection very mysterious. The various conspiracy theories and possible alternate lives the kids dream up to explain their parents’ reactions were wild and fun, and I loved how the two siblings worked together to find answers throughout the story.

The plot is fast-paced and full of surprises, with magical elements, bandits, an evil, tyrannical leader, and a dangerous resistance group in hiding. The children find direction in mysterious, altered nursery rhymes left for them along the path of their journey, and Nyx proves to be more than just a pet dog. The exciting cliffhanger ending left me anxious for the next book.

Ivy Tara Blair ably narrates the audiobook and creates distinct voices for each character. I appreciated the clarity of her delivery and the variety and vocal nuances she used to create the impression of different speakers. I would be happy to listen to more of her narrations.

I recommend RELATIVELY NORMAL SECRETS to fans of middle-grade fantasy books.

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