PLOT: 4.5/5
CHARACTERS: 5/5
WRITING: 4.5/5
ILLUSTRATIONS: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5

Since Sudha Murty is my favourite author, I like to read children’s books written by her. So, one day, I asked my mother to buy me the other books by her that I still hadn’t read. My mother agreed and bought two of her books for me – The Magic of the Lost Story and The Magic of the Lost Temple in May. That is how I have read and come up with this review for you.

The story of the book

The Magic of the Lost Temple tells us about a girl named Anoushka. Her pet name is Nooni. She lives in the big city of Bangalore but goes on vacation to her grandparents’ house in a village named Somanahalli in Karnataka. Her holidays are for ten weeks, and she goes to the village for a six-week vacation.

Nooni is delighted to see that the village is so peaceful. She loves how the people of the village live. At first, she feels a little lonely. But soon, she starts loving it there and adjusts to the routine. She makes new friends. They are Amit, Anand, and Medha. They make a group of 4 friends and start going on adventures.

One day, they decide to see what the river looks like after a thunderstorm.

That day, Nooni and her friends discover an ancient stepwell built by King Somanayaka in the year 1000CE. This stepwell is located in a nearby forest on the route to the Varada River.

When Nooni discusses this stepwell with her grandparents, she gets to know stories about King Somanayaka. One story is about his son, and the other is about his wife.

My review and more about the book

The book is around 200 pages, and I read it in one day. I believe it will be good for children in the age of 7 to 13 years. Children who like adventure stories will also enjoy it very much. Children who like stories about groups of friends will also enjoy it.

My favourite character in the book is, of course, Nooni. When she starts sinking in the quicksand she calls for help. Then everyone rushes to help her, and she safely gets out. She then gets curious to know what is there in the mud. That is when she discovers the stepwell. This episode makes the whole book very entertaining.

My least favourite character in The Magic of the Lost Temple is Queen Ratnavati because she is mean and arrogant.

My favourite part of the book is when Abdul Rasheed translates the scriptures written on the wall and reads them aloud to everyone.

There are some illustrations in the book, but they are all in black and white. I hope they were colourful as I like colour illustrations very much.

The language of the book is easy. I did not find it difficult to read, and I could understand the meanings of different words.

The Magic of the Lost Temple is a book that I will recommend to book-lover children who enjoy books about ancient places and who like adventures of different types.

So, bye, friends. This is the end of this review. See you again with a new book and new review.

Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of The Magic of the Lost Temple using the link below.