The Three Hares Written by Scott Lauder. Reviewed by Jacob, Age 14

The Three Hares stories are fantastic quest stories that I absolutely loved.

With my love of history, ‘The Jade Dragonball’ gripped me from the beginning as the main character, Sara travels to ancient China and the Silk Road. The description of Chinese culture and landscape is very colourful and descriptive, allowing you to paint a vibrant picture in your mind of what life was like.

The story is also told from two perspectives: from the main character Sara in present day and also from a boy named Shan Wu in 10000 BC. These two perspectives are interlinked throughout the book encouraging intrigue into what will happen in the story. The quest nature of the story also hooks you in as you follow the characters and their mission.

In the sequel, ‘The Gold Monkey Key’, the main character, Sanjeev finds himself being taken back in time to 6th century ancient China whilst looking at a large oil canvas in an art gallery in New York, of an elegant woman in a flowing silk robe in Byzantium. Having been transported back in time Sanjeev finds himself the slave of three monks travelling the Silk Road and he has to rely on his wits and quick thinking to survive the challenges he faces.

I loved this book for similar reasons to the first, as I learnt so much about this period in History and reading the description enabled me to picture the events that took place at this time. I also enjoyed this book at it evoked a range of emotions in me such as sadness when Sanjeev’s dog goes missing and fear during the challenges Sanjeev faces along his journey.

I now can’t wait for the third book in the series as the first two books opened my eyes to Chinese history and The Silk Road and the rich history that surrounds this period in time.