First Impressions: I did not expect 'Through the Skylight' by Ian Baucom to be a good book. Firstly, it looked to have some element of historical fiction in there, or history, which did not look promising. Secondly, it seemed a bit thick and quite possibly slow. I was not entranced by the description, but the cover did look interesting (flying stone lions!), so I checked it out.

Plot: Jared, Miranda, and Shireen are three kids living in Italy with their parents when they find an old shopkeeper who gives them four items: a book, a die, and two rings. Quickly, they learn that the die and rings have magical powers by awakening a stone lion and a faun. But the shopkeeper's cat alerts them that the shopkeeper has been kidnapped and they must help to find him. They learn that the events that transpire in the book the shopkeeper gave them are real and the children in it have somehow been transported to present-day Venice. They may have taken the shopkeeper! It will take Miranda, Jared, Shireen, a faun, a trusty stone lion, a wily cat, and a begrudging dragon to try and save them and the shopkeeper.

Review: This book had more action than I expected it to and it was faster-paced too. The kids almost instantly dive into the story and most of it is interesting and keeps you hanging. It's skewed a bit younger than I am and some parts of it did get a bit slow and uninteresting. I had to push myself to finish but overall, I was glad I had.

Overall: It was a good, interesting book with funny, bright characters and just the right amount of history. Some parts were slow but overall, a very good book. ( )