this is a fairly enjoyable, exciting child/young teen fantasy story. the concept of a preserve for mythical creatures is pretty cool and nicely done. however, it doesn't have the cross-over appeal of harry potter. it seems that kendra is supposed to be the main character, but she is not very well-developed and it seems she just reacts to the dumb stuff that her younger brother keeps doing. that, really, is the worst part of the story. the grandfather keeps telling seth and kendra, "whatever you do, DON'T do...this." and, without fail, a half page later, seth does it.