Quest for the Wishing Stone (Dungeoneer Adventures 3) by Ben Costa & James Parks

What worked:

Coop Cooperson leads a ragtag team of students as they learn exploring skills at the Dungeoneer’s Academy. The world is threatened by a group of dropouts and expelled students called the Elites who’ve been misled by Rake Lazler. He’s searching for the last shard of the Wishing Stone which will make him unstoppable. Coop thinks the greatest dungeoneer ever, Shane Shandar, will stop the Exiles until he realizes Shane may be in trouble. Coop’s Green Team embarks on a quest into the Abyss to rescue their hero and find the last piece to the Wishing Stone before Rake.

The story includes character relationships, like Coop’s crush on one of his teammates. He’s overwhelmed with emotions when he tries to talk to Daz so he doesn’t know if she feels the same way. A former bully named Zeek offers another conflict when he tries to change his ways.  Most of the other students doubt his sincerity but Coop believes everyone deserves a second chance. This creates friction when Zeek wants to join the quest and Coop’s best friend Oggie is especially upset. Oggie and Coop were the main targets of Zeek’s bullying and Oggie isn’t so quick to forgive.

A wide variety of creatures comprise the cast of characters with Coop being one of the few humans. Readers don’t need to be overly concerned about remembering their characteristics since illustrations can be found on most pages. The most unique descriptions are that Oggie is very large and Mindy can fly. The Abyss reveals impressive monsters to threaten the dungeoneers. A giant worm can eat its way through stone, another monster is made of rocks, and the Exiles fly atop huge bat-like beasts. The characters believed many of the monsters were extinct so Daz is just as excited to see them as she is being terrified.

What didn’t work as well:

The series seems to come to a satisfying end until questions are asked about two of the Exiles. The questions open the door for a sequel even though it sounded like everything was wrapped up only pages earlier.

The final verdict:

Readers can enjoy this adventure even if they haven’t read the previous two books in the series. Coop’s positivity, trust, and ability to see the good in people are highlighted, and share kind thoughts with readers. Oggie says Coop is the best of them and he’s willing to stand by people even when it isn’t easy. Readers who enjoy adventures and strange creatures will enjoy this book and I highly recommend you give it a shot!