I read this originally when I was in Elementary School, but only recently learned that book 1-10 were rewritten a bit with added illustrations since then. So I'm on a reread run of books 1-10.

I always found it hardest to relate to Kara, and I still do. I'm more like a cross between Emily and Adriane, and something tells me that Roberts is, too. The way Kara is written is rather stereotypical of how television studios in the 90s depicted The Popular Girl/prep, and feels less like someone who's actually been inside that person's head or has well-known someone like that. She likes pink, accessorizes, obsesses over clothes and hair for no apparent reason, is obsessed with people thinking well of her for no apparent reason, has bothersome younger sibling(s), and is from a family of some wealth/power. Added points for being white, blonde and scared of anything "gross", which is essentially anything that doesn't include the aforementioned characteristics.

I have never met someone like Kara as depicted here and in at least the early books in this series. I still look for her, whenever I see pretty, fashionable, skinny, popular women who don't seem as smart I like my friends to be. Even the most vapid of those people never seems to hold a candle to Kara.

The problem might be that Kara is meant to be the character we dislike. Emily's problem is that she doesn't believe in herself. Adriane's problem is her lack of trust. Kara's problem is, well... she's Kara. She's self-centered and thinks of "silly" things like her appearance. Her journey is to change so drastically from what she is to be an actually "decent' person. And while I think that I certainly wouldn't get along with someone like Kara - there are aspects of her that are too similar to people I know and heartily dislike - I don't think that's a great way to write a character. True, we're meant to care for Kara. Her problem isn't to "change", it's to curb her desires.

Thing is, like many pieces of fiction featuring girls in the 90s, these young women exist in a vacuum. Where's all the marketing and merchandising and parents pushing pink and bright-colored stuff onto these girls because THAT'S what girls are SUPPOSED to like? Where's the parent disapproving of Adriane because she thinks that woman in black isn't the "right person" for her daughter to be hanging out with (you know, because racism and classism)? You know, someone who wears black, listens to loud music, OBVIOUSLY has a poor school record because that's what Rebels do, and is probably involved in drugs or a gang? This was a community ready to tear down an animal preserve and turn it into a golf course. Where's the emotional backing behind that? If the largely absent Mrs. Windor was the only person behind that decision, I doubt it would have gotten all that far. Why was Adriane an outcast? Children can be cruel, but a big reason behind that is typically because their parents gossip in front of them about certain families in the neighborhood. Like those weird people who live in the old Ravenswood Reserve. Children pretend to be grown-ups and then take out their dislike on the children associated with those families. They don't fully understand why, but there's something WRONG with this person. I'm not supporting bullying or ostracization. But it's not the color BLACK that creeps Kara out about Adriane and it's not the color PINK that creeps Adriane out, at least on their own. There are forces around them that encourage them to think the way they do about each other, from their families, friends, school, community, government and the media they consume. I'm also not expecting preteens to fully comprehend what's setting them at odds rather than to just go with the assumptions they've built up over their lives about others they see, coupled with bad first impressions. But it's the fact that they never even mildly get close to that problem that bothers me.

Why is trying to have the good opinion of others bad? Emily obviously understands this from the get-go, but I don't think either she or Adriane fully comprehend it. Ever. Even when Ravenswood is threatened and it's largely good opinion that SAVES the place. How you look creates impressions of you for others to take away. I'm not suggesting that Adriane change her style. But that she and Emily at least respect that there is VALUE in what Kara does, even if Kara does so subconsciously, and often for the wrong reasons. Although I don't think she entirely does it subconsciously. There are moments where she sees her father as not so much a bag of money but also as someone to impress. To prove her adult status and responsibility. I see a Kara Davis in 15 years working in some political party herself, campaigning for some cause or another, using every tool in her box to get support, whether that's looks, a properly turned phrase, or favors earned through whatever means. And that's partially because she saw what her father can do with his position. I would say her mother influenced her but her mother doesn't really do anything in the series outside pop into her room at the beginning of this book so... eh? Would have been nice to see more. But again, it's part of that vacuum effect.

I'd love to see how Kara met her friends. What they talk about outside of that contrived chat session at the beginning of the story. Much as I imagine people worry about their clothes, I doubt they get into three way phone and chat conversations about it because someone lost a sweater they were planning to wear on their first day of school. Especially someone with money like Kara's family and a closet like Kara.

I also don't find the hair thing as petty as I imagine it is supposed to be. Personally, the only thing I really like about myself IS my hair. And if someone burned it or ripped a giant chunk off of it - besides the physical PAIN of such a thing - I would be upset, too. I actually did get my hair cut short when I was little. Immediately after I saw myself in the mirror I asked them to put it back. I knew they couldn't, but I was upset about it. If we as a people by and large didn't care about hair, we wouldn't have so many hairstyles and hats and create wigs for various reasons other than simple costume entertainment. I think that Roberts found something of a middle ground by adding the Lyra element - after all, Kara helped this horribly disfigured creature restore at least some of what she lost, and she's at least proud of that. But it's still shown as kind of petty. Emily's act is more like throwing a bone than anything else. I respect the act. I didn't have the kind of chutzpa Emily had to do what she did for Kara in a crowded school auditorium. Still don't, in fact. But well...

This book also bothers because of how it sets up this system of parallels and kind of messes with it overmuch. It always bothered me that Emily never really gets an animal companion. She sort of gets the unicorn, but it's more like she gets Ozzie. Which doesn't make any sense. And he's also a mage, to boot! It's just... bleh. Give Emily a magical companion, like Adriane and Kara!

I appreciate that there are aspects about Kara we're meant to like. She obviously has compassion and she cares for her friends - ANY of her friends. She doesn't LEARN friendship via Emily and Adriane. As far as I can recall she retains her old friendships throughout the series. She just learns to stop judging a book by its cover. But I never feel like we learn to accept Kara for who she is. The others just accept who she becomes. She's a twelve-year-old, I GET that she's going to change and not stay who she is and all the girls have measures of selfishness and naivety that they need to overcome, but well... The writing in Kara's books is always tougher to get through than the others. It would be easier to deal with if it didn't tick off the 90s personality boxes we're all used to: the angry one, the prep and the neutral party. Ah well. A decent YA book starring powerful women struggling with responsibility, education and consequences. I love when characters attempt to experiment with these secret powers they're given and don't like that no one's around to teach them, but also when they're smart enough to know they have to be careful about it. Fun stuff. ( )

This is a good magical fantasy book. Emily, Adrian, and Kara have a magic stone which will lead them to a magical world. This is a book that you have to stick with so you can get to the great parts. Read Avalon: Web of Magic 2, if you dare! ( )