Teagan’s life was a fairly normal one, split between school and her part time job at an animal clinic. One day Tea’s cousin Finn puts in an appearance, coming to live with Tea’s family as they are his closest relatives. And that is when the lines between real and impossible start to blur, as Finn comes followed by all sorts of creatures straight from the pages of Irish mythology books.The characters were quite interesting and easy to like. Teagan is a teenage girl who loves animals (a trait I love seeing in books) and who has her future already planned out, as she works her way towards a scholarship at a very prestigious school. She is very little prepared for the strange things fate starts, all of the sudden, to throw her way, but she does the best she can to handle the situation, while also trying to protect everyone around her. Her little brother, Aidan, is five and right now one of my favorite kids in literature, as he is smart, and brave, and (in his own words) awesome :) I loved the way he was very opinionated about Elvis Impersonators (in his mind calling someone an EI was one of the worst insults ever, as he considered them pathetic because they were unable to create their own music :) ). As for Finn, he is the Mac Cumhaill, a responsibility he shoulders diligently, and of course I liked that (how could I not?). Despite having spent some years on the streets, he has been lucky enough to meet some very good role models, so he has grown up to be as close to perfection as possible. Needless to say I loved reading about him :)The supporting characters were colorful and, too, a pleasure to meet: Abby the Italian, whose family “knows some people”; Abby’s cousins, nicknamed the Turtles because they happened to have the same names as the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Raynor Schein (“rain or shine” :) ) and his beloved car Brynhild; Lucy the sprite; Ida, the grandmother with a direct line to the Almighty, and more.The plot is fast paced and interesting, and plunges the reader in a world that I for one knew nothing about. Mag Mell, “the plain of joy”, the former home of one Fionn Mac Cumhaill, hero of legends. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of that place, as, without being too wordy, they managed to evoke very well the feeling one got while being there (or so I thought). The frogs with little vests and long walking sticks were a nice addition too. :)The relationships and interactions between people were also well written and believable. My favorite part regarding that is the bond that develops between Finn (the ragtag teenager who lived on the street) and Aidan (the still-innocent five-year old), because I simply didn’t expect them to go so well together (for some reason I expected Finn to feel awkward around a small kid), and this particular development was one I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, the author has chosen to manage the love story (or is it stories?) in the book in such a way that the relationship felt romantic and vibrant. The tension between the characters is easily felt, despite the lack of any mention of anything sexual. I loved the way this part was written, and I rooted for the protagonists all throughout the book.There was a particular scene I was not fond of (the one where Ginny Greenfingers is fed to the Hellhounds; I found it horrifying as Ginny simply had no choice but to feed herself to the creatures), but, as I continued reading, I found out it fit in very well with the rest of the book, so when I (metaphorically) put the book down I had absolutely nothing to complain about.What I liked best is the fact that Teagan, after discovering she is half goblin, has now to live her life making choices, choices that will determine what kind of person will she really be. Would she continue to be the kind, compassionate Teagan we met at the beginning, or will she let herself become one of the others Highborn, who thought nothing of killing (other than “it’s useful”)? I think Tea’s dilemma, or better said Tea’s challenge, lends a whole new dimension to her character, one that I am looking forward to see developed in further books.
