The Crescent Stone

The Sunlit Lands, Book 1

By: Matt Mikalatos

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

A girl with a deadly lung disease...
A boy with a tragic past...
A land where the sun never sets but darkness still creeps in...

Madeline Oliver has never wanted for anything, but now she would give anything just to breathe. Jason Wu skates through life on jokes, but when a tragedy leaves him guilt-stricken, he promises to tell only the truth, no matter the price. When a mysterious stranger named Hanali appears to Madeline and offers to heal her in exchange for one year of service to his people, Madeline and Jason are swept into a strange land where they don’t know the rules and where their decisions carry consequences that reach further than they could ever guess.

©2018 Matt Mikalatos (P)2019 Oasis Audio

BETTER THAN NARNIA

I read the book, and couldn’t wait for the audiobook to come out, because I absolutely loved it. It did NOT disappoint! The narrator does an extraordinary job bringing these wonderful characters to life, and I was surprised to find myself experiencing a whole other unexpected level of depth and meaning by listening to her from when I read it the first time. Sometimes when you love a book and then listen to the audiobook, the narrator choices regarding character voices can feel disappointing. Not so with The Crescent Stone. Her choices were actually a thousand times more compelling than anything I was previously hearing in my head, and instantly made me fall in love with all of them! I didn’t want it to end! Also I am a huge Narnia fan and was shocked to find myself enjoying this way way more than the Narnia audiobooks (I can’t believe I’m saying that but it’s true) They should have gotten THIS narrator to read those books for us! I highly recommend this audiobook and series! Can’t wait for Book 3!

Funny and Deep YA Fantasy

I enjoyed the story and at times it had me actually laughing out loud. There were some really poignant moments too. Worth a read.

Surprisingly good Young Adult/Teen portal fantasy

The protagonists are high school, driving age. But I think this would be appropriate for preteens, too. I loved the first quarter of the book, but, to me, the middle dragged on a bit and some of the interactions with the authority figures felt a bit farfetched. Thankfully, things picked up again and pulled me back in. Good characters, and I love the humor of Jason. He made the story better and helped balance the serious parts. The theme is strongly centered around social justice, almost to the point of being preachy at times, but had a good message overall. There are a few loose ends that I expect to be addressed in the next book. I quite enjoyed the overall story and definitely plan to return to this world in the future.

I'm normally not a huge fan of this narrator as there are times she sounds like she's sucking in helium from a baloon. But it was a perfect fit for the main character who is dealing with breathing issues. She did a great job with Jason's voice, and the narration stayed mostly fresh.

Honest, Sensitive and Humbling

Matt Mikalatos has a wonderful ability to present truthful honesty through creative and vulnerable storytelling. The characters and scenarios are compelling, the world building is well-conceived and conveyed without excessive exposition. A painfully beautiful conclusion that is satisfying and yet leaves me excited to read additional books in this series!