Wild born by Brandon Mull

In Erdas children are offered the Nectar when they are eleven, a coming of age that helps with the bond between the chosen few and their spirit animals.  The bond is rare, but has been happening for centuries, and the Nectar helps ease the shock of the pairing and sidesteps the dangers of a bond occurring on its own.  For some the ceremony is a grand one with pomp and ceremony, for others it may be a simple time shared with family - but it hardly ever results in a bond. 
 
Four young people are about to taste the Nectar and discover their spirit animals - and the spirit animals they call will change their lives forever.  In the distant past there was a battle against an evil force known as the Devourer and his forces fought a great battle that led to the death of four of the Great Beasts - Great Beasts that became known as the Fallen.  Now in a time of great need the Fallen have returned to the lands of Erdas, but there are those who would work against them to try and prevent them from stopping an evil force as dangerous as the Devourer.  Conor, Abeke, Meilin and Rollan are about to face some of the greatest challenges of their lives, and they must find their courage and inner strength if they are to succeed.
 
Wild born is the first book in the Spirit animal series, and it starts the series off with a bang and strong premise.  I am not usually a fan of series that include an online gaming element because it often feels as though the story is a means to an end, rather than a story in its own right.  I have picked up several online game tie-ins and found them to be lacking in substance - but that was not the case here at all.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Wild born, the mythology is well thought out, there has been attention to detail while world building, and the characters are well developed and very "human". 
 
In some ways I was a little disappointed that the story was not a little meatier, because it has almost a Tamora Pierce feeling to the world building and mythology, but it lacks the full depth and length of a Pierce novel.  On the flip side of that coin however is that because the text is a little spare and easy tor read, it does open up the series for readers of an older age who read at a lower level than their peers.  The next book in the series is written by another author, so it will be interesting to see how this series develops with different author voices adding to the mythology and the world building.  An interesting series beginning and if the rest of series delivers on the promise of this first book then this will be an amazing series.
 
If you like this book then try:

• Spirit animals: Hunted by Maggie Stiefvater
• Maddy West and the tongue taker by Brian Falkner
• Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
• Stone heart by Charlie Fletcher
• Hollow Earth by John Barrownman and Carole Barrowman
• Prisoner of Quentaris by Anna Ciddor
• Finding the fox by Ali Sparkes
• Nest of lies by Heather McQuillan
• The lost castle by Michael Pryor
• Museum of thieves by Lian Tanner
• The silver crown by Robert C. O'Brien
• Northwood by Brian Falkner
• Under the mountain by Maurice Gee
• The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
• Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda
• Lionboy by Zizou Corder
• Northwood by Brian Falkner
• The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
• The forests of silence by Emily Rodda

Reviewed by Brilla