The Owl Keeper is a non-stop, action packed ball of awesomeness. Based on the novel's summary, I figured I was in for a tale just about a boy and owls. Thought there also might be a little fantasy sprinkled in to keep things going. Wrong. Christine Brodien-Jones carefully mixes in hints of dystopian, mystery, adventure, and fantasy to create hands down the best novel aimed at younger teens that I have read since the Harry Potter series.To say the least, Christine Brodien-Jones and The Owl Keeper blew my socks off. Brodien-Jones' keeps her writing is simplistic and the action flowing. For me, that worked out really well. The novel did not require me to puzzle over certain situations or wonder what did the author want me to get out of this passage. This means that I was allowed to enjoy the novel just for what it was.The action in this novel is top notched. I was glued to the book as action sequence after action sequence occurred. I was amazed that Brodien-Jones could use so much action and not make it seem repetitive or too over the top. The whole novel just flowed together so nicely as the reader uncovers all the little secrets in Max's world. And the world that Max inhabits is very intriguing. Brodien-Jones has created a very dystopian feeling world that has a nice science fiction and fantasy feel to it. The world is quite different from our world, but not so much so that the author needed to go into long, drawn out explanations about how and why things are they way they are. The author does this in a nice short paragraph and focuses mainly on plot and character development.The characters of Max and Rose are a wonderful combination for the world that Brodien-Jones has created. True, I did like Rose a little more over Max. But this is because Rose is the kind of character that one cannot ignore. She is spunky, full of life, and very impulsive. As the novel moved along, I did find myself liking Max more and more as he grew into his own skin. His character is all about growth, and by the end of novel, he is a completely changed character... just the way it should be. In addition to Max and Rose, owls, and specifically Max's owl, play into a large portion of this novel. One must admire Brodien-Jones' attention to detail. She has captured every detail from the owl's habits down to its personality. The owls added lots of depth and definition to Max's world, and made the novel a lot more fun to read.For me, Brodien-Jones has hit the ball out of the park with this novel. From the amazing depth of her characters to the non-stop action, this novel was a blast. The novel's ending does set the reader up for a sequel, or possibly even this being the first novel in a series, so I am really hopeful that I will get to see more of Max, Rose, and the owls. While girls will throughly enjoy this novel, I think this may be a wonderful novel to give to a young male teen who has been struggling to find a novel to read. The action and adventure in this novel will be sure to captivate and inspire anyone's imagination.
