A World Without Heroes (Beyonders #1) by Brandon Mull

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable--until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he's ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor, and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I generally don’t like middle grade books. That’s why when I got A World Without Heroes in the mail, I didn’t really know if I was going to read it. I decided to try and read it, despite my personal opinions about the genre. The book started out slow, but it gradually picked up its pace. This is also the first book I’ve read by Mull, and his world building made me excited to read more of his books. The world building in A World Without Heroes is incredible. Once I got absorbed in the book, I wanted to stay in the world all day long. Along with the world, the characters were also really well written. My only dislike about this book was that it was really slow at times. This was a middle grade book that is sure to surprise readers in the best ways possible.

FTC- publisher.