I could not stop raving about this book as I read it! I tweeted about it, talked to everyone I saw about it, and even mentioned in a couple of IMWAYR posts. You know why? Because it is so much fun, the plot is so well-crafted, and finally my fans of Riordan’s mythological adventures are going to finally have a book that they’re going to love has much as his books. However, I don’t want you to think this is a Riordan copy-cat. It is a totally unique adventure with mythical creatures. I loved the combination of mythologies from different cultures, humor!, the new explanation of mythical creatures living with us yet hidden among us, and the inclusion of national parks in Sam’s story.

Sam London is pretty average. He has tried to find something he is good at but... nothing. He does love to read about cryptids but that's not really a skill. Then he starts having weird dreams for weeks of being out in the desert near a gas station and a rock formation. Each time he dreams he gets farther until one night he meets a gryphon in the dream. The next day he sees the location from his dream on tv and decides to go there. Then, he meets a real gryphon and life as he knew it is changed forever because cryptids are real, they have just been cursed to be invisible to humans.

Filled with action, adventure, mythical creatures, twists, and turns this was a fun fantasy. There was a strong hint of a sequel at the end but it didn't really leave one hanging. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

On the one hand, this book has all the necessary adventure plot elements, especially for a mythology basked book: a sympathetic and unassuming protagonist, who finds himself enmeshed in a wild adventure, plenty of mythological beings both familiar and obscure, quirky characters, betrayal, and interesting settings. So its a fun read. Its also fairly expected. It doesn't push a lot of plot boundaries. Also, because there's a great dal of world building, the characters aren't particularly complex. Some of the plot points are sort of vague, floating between events without clear cause and effect. So to sum up: entertaining but will feel familiar.

I enjoyed this mythology/adventure story. Sam, the main character, is fantastic. And I love that there are questions in this book left unanswered which will drive readers to pick up book 2. This could be a good book for kids who enjoy Percy Jackson, or the Menagerie series or the Imaginary Veterinary series.

Really enjoyed this book. Good story. Kept me interested the whole time. I hope there are more in this series.

great action adventure! And I thought it was neat that some of the places in the book I actually knew of and had been too, that made the journey through this book even more enjoyable, can't wait to let my 13 yo son read it, he is going to love this

This made me want to go visit/hike some national parks!

The story was fun and fast, and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. There are two that are similarly named that I had a little trouble with, but I'm not always the most careful reader. It could definitely have been a me problem.

I think this has the potential to be popular book with middle grade readers.

Great book and hard to put down. Fans of Suzanne Selfors' Imaginary Veterinary will love this book!

This is a story about a young boy named Sam who is average but is looking for an extraordinary talent. Little does he know that it is staring him right in the face. He soon learns about the mythical creatures that he reads about being real. He has an adventure that is death defying and leads to scrapes and bruises but is interesting and a bit of a mystery. I have to say I didn't really see the ending coming. Great cliffhanger too!

I enjoyed the start of this series. This book had exciting adventures to watching friendships build. The characters are well developed. I can't wait for the next book and see where how this continues.
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Before I get to the story I just have to say the Glossary of Mythical Creatures and the DMW File Classification Note at the end of the book are not only helpful but seriously cute. This reminded me a bit of the recent movie and book set in the Harry Potter world, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; only it’s the American version. There’s even a little nod to Rowling in the first chapter which seemed kind of sweet.

It’s a bit like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter but Americanized.

Like Harry Potter, there is a young boy who embarks on a magical adventure and discovers another enchanting world layered right over the one normal everyday people live in. Sam London though could be described as more of the Americanized version of Newt Scamander complete with the fascination of mythical animals. He even had a book similar to Harry Potter’s text Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them only Sam’s is titled The Visual Guide to Extraordinary Animals. They also have departments dedicated to ensuring the human world doesn’t get impacted too greatly by the magical one. There are British and American versions just like in Harry’s world.

Unlike Rowling though, Todd Calgi Gallicano, gave his not so mythical creatures the ability to speak and most humans have to take an injection of a mythical compound in order to see the magical elements.

There is a ton of action right from the start and it just never lets up. As the reader you’ll travel the world and visit all kinds of natural parks along with being introduced to new spiritual-like ideas. There’s not a lot of description about the various places they visit because it’s very heavy on character focus which makes it a good thing that the author has created some wonderful characters. There is such emotional depth written in some of the scenes you feel angry wishing you were there to help, you cry along with Sam wanting to hug him, or give him a high five and yell out with glee when things turn out for the better.

It really is a wonderful book and I can’t wait for more in the series to share some more fun evenings of reading with my kids. Plus it makes for some great geography and history lessons as we used Google Images to look up the places mentioned and to learn about the various myths that were incorporated in the story along with understanding who Alexander the Great was back in the day.