Book Review of The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum

Title:  The Forgotten Locket

Author:  Lisa Mangum

Release Date:  May 30th, 2011

Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy

*If you have not read The Hourglass Door or The Golden Spiral this may contain spoilers*

The future is uncertain. The battle to control the past has begun. The final book in the riveting Hourglass Door trilogy begins when Abby steps through the black door, and she doesn’t dare look back. Though it means leaving Dante—wounded, bleeding, and possibly blind—she knows it is the only way to save her family and stop Zo from manipulating the river of time and throwing the future into chaos. In the end, Abby must face a final confrontation that will take her to the very origins of the hourglass door.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review:  This is a series that does not get nearly enough attention.  It is easily one of my favorite in the young adult world and one that I know I will continue to re-read because I love it so much.  I loved the first two books, The Hourglass Door and The Golden Spiral (review here) so I was dying to get my hands on the last installment in the series.

In the Forgotten Locket we pick up right where we left off, literally.  Abby is trying to help Dante fix the river since Zo has thrown it out of whack, while also trying to save herself and her family.  Since we are thrown right back into the heart of the action, it actually took me a couple of pages to get refreshed on all the events that had transpired in previous books and get my bearings again.    While Abby is fighting to help save the river, Valerie is fighting to try and save her sanity.  She is still the oracle of the story, with her thrilling stories about the Pirate King and the River Policeman.  These stories so clearly mimic Zo and Dante, but Valerie does not fully understand the meaning of them herself, so we are left to try and decode them on our own.

Speaking of Zo, that little monster seems to be everywhere!  I was never sure where he was going to pop up and it kept me constantly on guard for his horrible antics.  He is bound and determined to either have everything for himself or destroy it so no one else can have it.  He is the character you love to hate and I was just praying Dante and Abby got to be the ones to seal his doom.

I  do love the fast pace that Lisa sets for you in these books.  That being said though, you cannot read these books quickly.  There is so much going on and so many details that weave into the time traveling, you will miss very important details if you try to read fast or skim.  With this series, you will be forced to slow down and read each detail carefully, but be dying to absorb all the information as quickly as you can.

As for Dante and Abby, they are a couple I will always root for.  They are so sweet with each other and when Dante talks it is very easy to lose yourself in a swoon.  I guess being born Italian gives him a little natural charisma, but he saves it all for Abby.  The moments they get to share together are so precious, since time is not always on their side, but they soak in each other’s presence and cherish ever second they have.  It is easy to fall in love with both of them and you will not be able to help hoping their story ends happily.

As for the cover of the book, it took me a while to figure it out.  The truth behind it is not revealed until much later in the story and once you understand it, you will wonder how you missed it to begin with.  Little details like that are what make Lisa’s books strand out.  She weaves in unresolved strands from book one and two into The Forgotten Locket and she fuses them together seamlessly.  I am so happy to see that she kept this series to just three books because they all played out perfectly and I left this world content with the way things were resolved, but knowing I will have to come back and visit Dante and Abby again.

Overall, this is a enchanting series, that has taken my breath away.  I have loved every moment spent with Dante and Abby and hope that Lisa will have more worlds to share with us in the future.  If you have not discovered this series than I highly recommend that you do!  I am going to leave you with the book trailer to try and entice you to read this series even more.  Enjoy!

FTC:  I received this book from the publisher. Thank you!