The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone

This was recommended by the woman who ran the children's department at the independent bookstore I worked at three years ago.  It got buried in the move, and I'm just now getting around to reading it.  

This book was compared to the "Chronicles of Narnia" and "His Dark Materials" series.  Those are some big footprints to follow behind.  I think the comparison is a bit too lofty for the outcome.  

Sylas Tate woke up as a normal boy running errands for an oppressive uncle when he comes across the Shop of Things and his whole world is upended.  He must find his mother.  He enters upon the journey of his life.

The novel is a trope and was a little hard to push passed my expectations.  Most of the time I felt like I was reading any number of other middle grade novels where the protagonist flees the evil overlord to come out the other side as a hero.  

The story felt forced, but the concept of the Glimmer Myth kept me from putting this away unfinished.  This is a yin and yang story.  There are two worlds that are reflections of each other.  Each person has a glimmer in the opposite world.

Good concepts that are really fun building blocks.  I commend the hard work that went into this novel's creation.  There is nothing glaringly wrong about the book, and I wouldn't label it as bad.  However, I cannot say that it was good.