Guardians of the Source (Gargoyles, Book 1)

By Author / Illustrator

Tamsin Mori

Genre

Magical Realism

Age range(s)

Publisher

UCLan Publishing

ISBN

9781915235909

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

04-04-2024

Synopsis

A crumbling mansion... A magical source.... A living gargoyle

Callen's Dad has always been secretive of his past but when the family have to move into his childhood home, the last thing Callen expects is a boarded-up mansion covered in gargoyles. It's enormous, the doors are nailed shut, the gardens are overgrown... and long-forgotten magic is returning.

When a disgruntled gargoyle wakes up in his presence, Callen must befriend Zariel and earn her trust before it's too late. A dark threat is growing in the shadows and only a Gargoyle Guardian can stop it. "Magic is neither good, nor bad - it simply multiplies the dreams you feed it. Be careful what you wish for..."

Look out for Book 2 in the Gargoyles series: The Watcher (Gargoyles #2).

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Reviews

Jacqueline

Callen moves with his parents to his father's childhood home, an old ramshackle house that is literally falling down. On his first night there, one of the gargoyles adorning the house wakes up and it quickly becomes clear a malevolent force is also waking. The gargoyles might look scary, but they are there to protect. Together with his new friends Yasmin, Raf and Angus, Callen must try to fight the dark forces, the same ones his father had neglected to ever tell him about before.

From the first page, I was hooked. I could imagine the house and the gargoyles and terrifying creatures that also appeared as the evil awoke. The children are all interesting characters but, unusually, so are the parents. Often stories have the parents as very secondary to the plot, but Callen's mother is now my heroine!

Suitable for Upper KS2, Guardians of the Source is the start of a very exciting series. The sense of place is everything and it would make a great discussion point when working on settings in writing. I am overjoyed I have book two in my possession already, to start reading shortly!

322 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher