Into the Mist (Review)

The past of Thomas and Roland Warvold remains as a mystery, but now it’s time to go back and discover their secret adventures. Into the Mist, a prequel for the Land of Elyon series, is published in 2007 by Patrick Carman and Scholastic Press. I think I like this book the best among the other books in the Land of Elyon series.

Alexa and Yipes is onto another adventure with Roland, although with a slight confusion – they don’t know where Roland is taking them. The whole book is basically one single day when Roland finally reveals the past about himself and his brother. Roland and his brother first lived in Madame Vickers’s House on the Hill which they escaped and arrived at Ainsworth. They soon met Mister Clawson, where he sent them on a mission to retrieve things for him. Of course, Mister Clawson didn’t leave them to go alone; their adventure was accompanied by a mountain lion, Thorn. The story continues on, telling the past of the mysterious Thomas and Roland Warvold’s adventures.

Into the Mist has a very distinctive plot. The whole book is mixed with the present events and Roland’s storytelling about the past adventures he had with his brother – Thomas Warvold. It switches back and forth from Alexa’s point of view to Roland’s point of view with different fonts used in the book, making it very easy to recognize who is telling the story. At the end, another unexpected surprise takes place, just as the past few books of the series.

The title of this prequel – Into the Mist – was also well-chosen. When there’s a mist, things from a distance are blurred, or completely veiled. It fits the secret past of Thomas and Roland Warvold as it remains as a mystery to many townspeople and even Alexa Daley herself. The words “into” is used as if someone is going through the deep mist and uncovering each of the missing pieces of the mystery. Roland would be that person for he tells about the past adventures which practically unveils the mist – the mystery of their past.

The prequel gives a great deal of background information about Thomas and Roland Warvold’s past adventures. Though the plot is quite different from the past three books, it’s still extremely enjoyable. The secrets of their childhood are still remains as a mystery…and you can only find out by reading Into the Mist.