“Normal” means different things to different people. For sixteen-year-old Sadie Larcen, family dynamics look a little different than most. Parents with oddball occupations? Normal. Five homeschooled siblings—one with autism? Normal.Police knocking on the door and parents gone missing? Definitely not normal!When Sadie uncovers the reasons behind her parents’ disappearance and the truth about her … the truth about her heritage, she despairs of ever feeling normal again. Especially when she learns that her mother’s interest in Bigfoot, Dwarves, and other lore extends beyond her popular blog. Sadie’s family has been entrusted with keeping the secrets of the Tethered World—home to creatures that once roamed the Garden of Eden.
Sadie and her siblings must venture into this land to rescue their parents. Stepping out of reality and into a world she never knew existed is a journey Sadie fears and resents. But she chooses to risk all to save her family.
She’s just not sure she will survive in the process.
Young Adult Christian Fantasy
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A fantasy world located underground–but not dark and creepy as you’d expect, but an unusual world filled with wonderful creatures and mystery–a family of teens embark on a journey to rescue their parents who have been kidnapped and taken to The Tethered World…where all sorts of mysterious events unfold. This book was a finalist in the Cascade Awards—the second book, The Flaming Sword, won the award, and the third book, The Genesis Tree (an amazing book!!) is a finalist now in the prestigious Realm Makers Award. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys family-friendly fantasy.
“Home to creatures that once roamed the Garden of Eden.” – Now that’s an interesting premise to a story! While marketed as a YA , The Tethered World felt more like a coming-of-age Middle Grade to me. Which isn’t a bad thing. Rather than the stereotypical YA adventure; heavy on the romance and “chosen-one” syndrome, this story focuses on family and growing up. There is very light hinting toward possible future romance and the violence is mild – tension-building but not gratuitous. The variety of mythical creatures was fun – leprechauns, trolls, dwarves and gnomes (they aren’t the same thing), nephilim (!!) and more. Christianity is a very natural part of the story rather than preached at the reader. I did feel like the story was a little slow to get off the ground – things start with a bang but then it takes a few chapters before the trio head out on their adventure. It made sense as part of the story setup but I was anxious for them to get going so I chafed a bit waiting. All in all this is a fun story, with no cliff-hanger but ending with the door wide-open to explore even more of the mysterious Tethered World.
(I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)
The Tethered World keeps you turning the pages! It is hard to put down. The story draws you in and makes you a part of the action. You have to continue reading to make sure everything works out. No spoilers. You have to read this book!!!!!
An epic fantasy adventure!
With today’s world being in the mess it’s in, it’s nice to have authors who write clean fantasy adventures that are uplifting as well as exciting. In this adventure family comes first! When Mum and Dad go missing, the Larcen kids get their brave faces on and go searching through the unknown tethered world to find them. There are leprechauns, trolls, unicorns, elves, gnomes and much more! Let the adventure begin! Excellent writing!
Love this book! The fantasy world created in this story is amazing. It’s been fun to read, and hard to put down!
Couldn’t put the book down. Every character felt so real to me.
This book is an absolute delight! It is clean, fun, thought-provoking, and gripping. I was on the edge of my seat, cheering on Sadie and her siblings the whole time, or holding my breath when things got really intense. It’s perfect for the whole family, but not cheesy or boring at all. By far, my favorite part of this book is the incredible development that each of the characters undergoes. In addition, it’s not often that you come across a homeschooled heroine or an autistic character who plays a major and important role. These and other unique details add to the richness of the story, and provide plenty of talking points.
You will be transported into an incredible, mystical world filled with intriguing, lovable characters–including a whole cast of mythological creatures that are so well written that they feel quite real. Even though it is a fantasy story, Heather’s writing brilliantly intermingles the real with the fantasy, so that you will be left thinking, “Hey, this could actually happen.”
It will satisfy the serious fantasy reader, and even those who aren’t as big fans of the genre. I highly recommend this book! You won’t be disappointed.
This was quite an adventure! Truly, that is a great word to describe this book. It pulls you in and doesn’t let go till the end. And even then you’re left wanting more (do we really have to wait so long for the next book?! ;))
I was exceedingly delighted and impressed by the author’s writing skill. Her style is so captivating – the entire thing was just written so marvelously! And the story itself was enthralling.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I’d think at first. And while I’m still not certain how it compares to reality, as a fantasy fiction piece, it blew me away. I love the characters, every one of them were so well written, well rounded, and easy to love (except the Trolls. I didn’t like them. Okay, one I loved, but that was it). Favourite character? Hard choice…I really like Sadie, and can I say how much I absolutely adored Xander??? I really, really hope that he’s in the future books 😀 the dragon, Odyssey was also a favourite 🙂 And Brock and Brady, and even Sophie grew on me, though at first she was irritating. 😉
I have a couple reserves for this book, the main thing being the fairies and elves and the magic they used. It didn’t come across menacingly but I do not agree with magic and fairies/elves or feel comfortable with them, so that is the only reserve I had for this book.
Otherwise, I really fell in love with it. This is a book I will remember for a good, long time. 🙂 So clever and just fantastic!
I think it will do very well out there in the book world!
I found this one better than LotR, in my opinion. 🙂 And I really appreciate how often the Lord was woven into this book – no hiding or disguising Him which again, I appreciated!
I am very thankful I had the opportunity to read this book, and am delighted to be one of Heather’s Avengers! 🙂
An adventure for the entire family, The Tethered World is a magnificent blend of our favorite characters from classic fantasy (with a few surprises thrown in). Heather FitzGerald has created a totally unique world for these characters that’s fun to explore and, best of all, you can tell by the creative way she constructs it that she had fun writing it. You’ll have fun reading it.
This was a fun read. I loved all the characters and was drawn in by the rich descriptions. This was the first time I have read a book by this author, but it is not the last.
Dragons, bigfoot, leprechauns, oh my! This is the first book in a Young Adult Fantasy trilogy, and I found it so entertaining. The story reminded me of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe meets Harry Potter. The author’s word choice was fantastic and her descriptions were so full of detail it was easy to jump into the book’s world. The main character is funny and relatable even though she’s a teenager. My favorite part was the spiritual and biblical aspects woven throughout the plot line. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read the other two!