Read the Book Book Review: Snared - Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein

A while back I received an email from Adam Jay Epstein.  He asked if I was interested in helping promote his new book Snared.  I said yes right away.  You see I've gotten a ton of kids interested in the Familiars series, so I knew I had to hear about something new from him! 

I was NOT disappointed! 

First about the book

Title: Snared: Escape to the Above
Author: Adam Jay Epstein
Copy Obtained: From author


Chopping blades, scorpion nests, giant spiderwebs—no one makes traps better than Wily Snare.

He has never seen the sun, or blue sky, or even his parents. Wily Snare lives underground, creating traps to keep treasure-seekers away from the gold in an ancient wizard’s dungeon. He spends his days mopping up giant slug slime, avoiding poison darts, and herding undead skeletons. It’s all he knows.

Until an unusual band of adventurers—an acrobatic elf, a warrior with a magic arm, and a giant made of moss—successfully defeat Wily’s traps. And they want the ultimate treasure: Wily himself. His skills can help them invade every other dungeon in the kingdom. He might even aid their fight against the Infernal King, whose gearfolk and prisonauts terrorize the land.

But for a boy who has never been outside, dungeons aren’t nearly as scary as the world above. Or an evil king who builds the trickiest traps of all . . .

Two sentence review: Lots of actions with laughs included.  Great start to what will be a great series!

Best for readers who: Love fantasy, enjoy creating puzzles and traps and wants a book with action

Best Stick-with-You Image: When Moshul (the giant made of moss) is described and you hear it has worms in it! 

Library Thoughts: Yes! For sure! 1000%!

Kids love fantasy book - there is no doubt about that.  And this will be one that they tear through.  How could they not??? First of all the characters - I LOVED Wily Snare.  He's so smart and caring and brave and creative but also a complete kid! I mean some of his reactions to things like the idea of going into the Above - pure kid! I could completely see my 11-year-old acting that way! I just loved him!  And I also really cared about him.  As the story unraveled I really felt for him.  So much of what he knew, or thought he knew, he had spun around on him.  Now the other characters - Just a wonderful group of characters.  Odette the elf is so snarky and fun.  Pryvyd is a perfect character for keeping the calm - the voice of reason a lot of times.  But of course, he has his moments as well! I talked about Moshul above.  So much fun with him.  But honestly, I really liked Roveeka, a hobgoblet friend of Wily's.  So many time she added this perfect light-heartedness to a tense situation.  Epstein did such a great job creating this group of characters making them all unique and all important in some way or another.  I can't imagine the story with any of them missing!

How about that story? Starts off grabbing your interest from the start and holds it the whole while.  At first, just hearing about the world that Wily lived it was fascinating - especially hearing about the traps (or snares) he has created.  They were amazing! I wanted to know more about how he made them! I love creativity like that.  As the story progresses the action and tension increases making it harder and harder to put the book down.  I can see kids staying up to read this one.  Often I wondered - how will they get out of this?  Will they make it?  And mostly - how did he come up with that!?  It was a great ride right up until the end.  So glad there will be more!

One last note - as a child of the 80's that grew loving The Goonies I saw so many similarities between the two.  Traps, snares, treasure, adventure and a rag-tag group of awesome characters.  It did my heart good to feel that connection! 

About Jay Adam Epstein

Adam Jay Epstein spent his childhood in Great Neck, NY when he wasn’t held captive aboard his father’s sailboat. He spent many days sitting in the neighborhood park, traveling to fantasy lands in his head (occasionally when he was supposed to be doing his homework.) In college, he circled the world on a ship and studied film at Wesleyan University.

He is the author of the middle grade fantasy series Snared. The first book in the series, Escape to the Above, comes out on June 5, 2018.

He is the co-author of the international bestselling middle grade fantasy series The Familiars and the middle grade sci-fi series, Starbounders. He has written film and television projects for Disney, Sony, Fox, MGM, Paramount, MTV, HULU, SYFY, and Disney Channel. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two daughters, and dog, Pixel.