Into the Mist: Silver Hand by Steve Finegan

Quoted from GoodReads: Thirteen-year-old Gabe Wrenn has always taken refuge in his imagination. Refuge from his hovering mom and bullying brother. Refuge from the smirks and stares of his classmates. Refuge from his epilepsy. But now his imagination seems to be running wild. And he can’t stop it. And the only person Gabe can confide in is a girl who thinks his "weird brain" is the key to unlocking the secret of the Brynmor Witch.


Into the Mist: Silver Hand begins with Gabe, our reluctant hero, moving to a new town.  Gabe has Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) and apparently was an outcast at his old school, because of this. Gabe  escapes and takes comfort in  his art.  He spends his time drawing a character named Corvus, a crow man.  Corvus turns out to exist in another world that Gabe begins to visit.

I found Gabe to be a very realistic character.  He had the same fears and dreams that most thirteen year old boys experience.  I think that young male readers will truly relate to him.  He is the underdog in this story.  Then, his TLE flairs up and he suddenly becomes Mabon, the hero in another fantasy world.  I really liked the use of TLE as part of the story.  As the plot evolved, the TLE, a condition that in Gabe's mind, made him a freak, became his portal into the world of Mabon.

Gabe's Mother is a character with some major issues.  She is beyond over protective of Gabe and appears to have some serious mental health problems of her own.  She seems to have played a big part in making Gabe feel that his TLE is a major disability and that he will never be a "normal" kid.

Gabe's Dad is somewhat detached from the whole family.  He does try to make Gabe feel accepted and encourages him to be independent at times, but for the most part he seems to be at work or in the basement writing his novel.  There is some mystery as to why the family made the move and it is a source of tension between his parents.

The story of the Brynmor Witch is in the background  of Gabe's story.  I didn't quite understand how the Brynmore Witch was connected to Mabon's story.  It was never fully explained.

Mabon's story is interesting but again there were several questions that were left unanswered.  I know that is the first of a series of books, but it just didn't provide enough answers to satisfy me.

The story seemed to drag at some points.  There were several  fight scenes that seemed too long to me, and I found myself skimming over them.  However, this might be well received by teen aged male readers.

The abrupt ending left me feeling cheated.  I really wasn't exactly sure what had transpired and then it was just over.  It didn't feel like a cliff hanger because I wasn't really sure what had just happened.

So, the big question is will I read the next book?  Sure.  I really like Gabe and want to see him succeed in his world.