Umbrae

This third book in the P.A.W.S series entertains, like the first two. Miri continues to explore her strengths and weaknesses. She has lost her dearest friends, and journeys to Israel, in part to follow the trail of her lost love.

The story has several intriguing side plots. We learn the origin of werecats. We follow Miri's family members as they get caught up in the Nazi persecution of Jews in World War II. We see inside a conservative community in Israel. And, the world of Umbrae is shown to be a wondrous and scary place.

I enjoyed seeing the characters, good and evil. Finny, the cat, is fun, devoted, and willing to travel around the world and into Umbrae to help her friends. The Tegs sisters, Stella and Morgana, scare me and prove a challenge to several of our heroes. The Rabbi, Rav Shmuel, is complex. I'm not sure how I feel about him and his rules. Each character supports the story of Miri, her past, and her future.

This has been another strong entry into the story arc of the P.A.W.S. series. I can't wait to read the next. I would say the readers most likely to enjoy the story are those who want to read about young people meeting challenges, with talking cats, owls, and ancient powers. I think a person could read this book without reading the first two in the series. You would then be interested in going back and reading more about Danny and Miri's connections and the story of Alistair. Everyone rush out and read this book now.