Early Review – City of Thirst (Map to Everywhere, Book 2) by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 13, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0316240840
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Map to Everywhere series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. I really loved the first book in the Map to Everywhere series and this book was even better. I just absolutely loved all of the adventure and magic in this story.

The waters of the Pirate Stream are touching our world again and Marrill remembers that if the waters ever touch our world she will need to return to the Stream to stop something bad. So Marrill re-enters the Pirate Stream along with her babysitter to find the source of the Iron Tide and prevent disaster from striking her world. Marrill finds herself reunited with Fin and the Kraken crew on a journey to the crazy world of Monerva…a world no one can seem to leave.

I continue to really enjoy the creative premise of this book and all of the wonderful and interesting characters throughout. There is some spectacular world-building here; I love all the parallel worlds and the idea of a Pirate Stream…basically a stream of magic. I also really enjoy the Map to Everywhere that is an incredibly powerful piece of magic that can take you anywhere you want to go.

The characters are very well done. Marrill’s babysitter joins the crew in this adventure and she was extremely fun to read about. I especially enjoy the friendship between Marrill and Fin (a boy that no one can ever remember). In this book we finally find out why Fin is always forgotten and it was incredible to learn that back story.

There are some truly creative and awe-inspiring scenes in this book. I loved the city built on a cliff that is eternally falling and people are eternally building their way up higher and higher to prevent falling off the bottom. It was just very imaginative and way these scenes are described really made them come alive.

Overall I absolutely loved this continuation of the Map to Everywhere series. There are some incredibly imaginative and amazing scenes in this book that make every page a surprise. I love the characters and really enjoyed the premise as a whole. There is so much interesting magic and adventure throughout. I would recommend to those who love fantasy full of magic and adventure. This is a great book for anyone middle grade and older.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge