Another young people's book that didn't quite engage me. The use of language was lovely, the book itself was beautifully made. Some of the characters were more interesting than others. the book is a keeper for who wrote it not because I would reread it. I came to it too old. ( )

It sounded like a wonderful, fun read when I requested it, but I'm sad to report that it just didn't work for me. Honestly, I was unable to finish -- I simply couldn't get past the phonetically accented dialogue. It was over the top, unnecessary, and difficult to follow, pulling me right out of the story and making it nearly impossible to read. I also didn't connect with the author's writing style, I wasn't keen on the characters, and I didn't find the premise -- once underway -- all that believable. Things happen for no particular reason, and the world-building is... bizarre. Incomplete, maybe? It's hard to pinpoint, exactly.

The cover, on the other hand, is fantastic. I do hope there are readers out there who will enjoy this book, but as an avid reader of YA and Middle-Grade fantasy, it simply didn't work for me at all. ( )

This may be just one of those books that wasn't really for me. I was excited to read it when I recieved it from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. The premise sounded awesome and I love a good adventure story. I just failed to connect with this one.

I didn't like the author's writing style. I didn't like the characters. It all just fell a little flat. Overall, I think that there will be middle grade readers out there who will enjoy this story, but I personally cannot recommend it. ( )

Two kids happen to fall into a crystalline world and eventually start an adventure. I think the idea of this book was wonderful. Do all books have to be about the protagonists setting out to do something fantastic? No. BUT I believe in this case, I think the book would have been MUCH stronger had the kids actually set out to find a cure for their mother, not just happen to start on a quest to save their mother once they were already in this strange, new world.

I think had the beginning been changed up a bit, it may have drawn me in more, but it just seemed that things happened just to happen and give the story a starting point. I also wasn't really sure how these crystal beings all had different accents. It just kind of threw me, not to mention that this was a book written for a middle school grade, and I think the phonetic writing will confuse many of them, as I even had a hard time following it from time to time.

I think the plot lacked development, and the characters were very flat. The descriptions of the characters were quite unclear and it was hard to envision much of what was happening in the world. I wanted to love this book because I have been searching for something new and fun to really get into, unfortunately, this book fell far short of my expectations. The art inside the book as well as the color art on the dust jacket was superb, As always, this is just my humble opinion... ( )

It is probably the last Christmas that Jesse and Maggie will be able to share with their mother, but constant fighting and bickering has soured the bittersweet festivities. Their discovery of a magical world filled with crystal kingdom inhabited with rare gems and jewelled creatures may be the very adventure needed to bring their feud to end, or else they may very well miss their last Christmas with their mother trapped in a world deep underground.
Chrystallia and the Source of Light reads like a children's adventure story where the purpose of the story is to understand the moral of lesson through the eyes of the character's experiences. Although a solid story about forgiveness and truth, the descriptions of various rocks and minerals, and the random accents the characters adopted were a tad distracting to the overall story. Nevertheless, it was quick enjoyable read for the most part. ( )