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Reviewed by Stephanie Dagg for Readers' Favorite
"Bastion: Guardian of Covington" by J J Marro is thoroughly enjoyable fantasy for six to ten year-olds. Bastion is a frog and lives a carefree existence in Covington, not really doing a great deal. But along comes the sprite Larien with a worrying tale of snakes and a dark wizard. Bastion is most perplexed but soon learns the truth after he meets Delathalion, the Lord of the Castle Brackenbridge that he used to serve. Delathalion is now a turtle and it seems that perhaps Bastion has not always been a frog. The good wizard Melena has been helping to protect Bastion and his friends but cannot do so much longer. Bastion must act now to protect Covington.
Youngsters will be enthralled by this story. It is exciting and suspenseful but not too scarily so. And although it is a fairy tale, it is not an overly straightforward ‘happy ever after’ one. The plot is intriguing and keeps readers guessing. The characters are superb. There are brave ones, grumpy ones, mysterious ones, good ones, and wicked ones. Bastion is a slightly flawed hero. He is happy to take the easy option, at least at first, where guarding his town consists of snoozing in the sun with a fishing line tied to his toe to make people think he is actually awake! But he shapes up nobly. We also see loyalty and friendship triumph over betrayal and selfishness. There are wonderful modern and energetic illustrations by Gergana Petkanska that help bring this entertaining story completely to life.
