4.0 out of 5 based on 1 reviews. – Customer review on 25/01/2012

The Apothecary is fun adventure for both boys and girls. While the story is geared towards young readers (10 and up) there might be a bit of confusion about the story's basis. The storyline all happens because of politics, and involves talk of communism, Russian spies, atomic bombs, and war. Many middle grade readers won't know what's going on when it comes to these areas.

The fantasy portion, which involves the alchemy I mentioned previously, is perfect for the young reader and is a lot of fun. The two kids, Janie and Benjamin, are courageous and get to do lots of cool things kids will envy them for. The miss for this book is the fact that the fantasy seems young while the political storyline seems old and it doesn't work to its fullest ability for either age range.