This book is a seriously FUN fantasy adventure story and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. I'm pretty sure that if I was thirteen I would have adored this book and this review would be full of lots of caps-locked sentences and high pitched squealing and I'd be super excited for the sequel. What I AM really excited for is the fact that there are young adult fantasy works like this being published by Australians, because there are definitely not enough around. And this is a solid contributor to the genre. 
 Alright, so Akarnae follows 16 year old Alexandra Jennings who accidently steps through a doorway and lands herself in the middle of a fantasy world called Medora. This world is probably best described as a crossover between Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia (which I think a few other people have mentioned, so it's safe to say the similarities to those two worlds are fairly obvious) with a dash of The Hunger Games, but a lot more technology. Despite being stranded in an awesome magical land, Alex is pretty keen to find a way back home (silly girl). Unfortunately, that isn't immediately possible and while she waits for a man named Professor Marselle to turn up she enrols at Akarnae Academy, a boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. This school has classes like combat, horse riding, archery, medicine and magic (termed core skills) and a cast of pretty entertaining and interesting characters, as well as a sentient goddamn library that I want to visit ASAP kthnxbye. 
 In theory, this all sounds absolutely awesome and it makes for a super fun read. Akarnae has all these great elements; interesting fantasy world, strong main female lead, magical powers, cool characters with awesome friendships, plenty of action and adventure, no instalove or love triangles (thank goodness) and a school curriculum way more exciting than the one I went through. The writing is easy to follow, accessible for younger and older readers alike and the story flows really well. It's just... fun. 
 I think for me there were two main downfalls to this story. The first is that everything about the world is just a bit too perfectly, awesomely, amazingly epic and all the problems that crop up seem to be solved quite easily or are just kind of ignored or a character pops up at just the right second to save the day. There's an element of extreme wish-fulfilment to the world and the main character borders on being a Mary-Sue at times. That's not all necessarily a problem (who doesn't love limitless possibilities?), it can be really fun and enjoyable to read and makes it very easy to like and relate to the main character. Unfortunately, as a consequence, it results in a lack of authenticity and depth to the world-building and a loss of tension and propulsion in the plot. I mean, heck yes, I want to go to Medora and it would be AWESOME, I just think things needed to be toned down a fraction and be a bit more realistic (yes, I realise this is fantasy so by definition is not 'realistic', but whatever). 
 The second main downfall was that, considering the size of the book (400 plus pages), there's actually not that much plot to move it forwards. We spend a lot of time exploring the world and doing super cool fun things and having funny, witty conversations and being told things, it's just that none of those things really advance the plot. At all. In fact, for large chunks I forgot that we were going anywhere at all or what the point of the story might actually be. You can skip large sections or skim read and you'll be fine plot-wise. You get glimpses of a plot (frustrating, tantalising glimpses) and then a bit of a climax, but it all seems to be setting up for a sequel. And I feel like the plot was so close to amazing, it was a shame not to have had more of it. I am kind of sick of books written for the sake of writing a book, rather than having a level of independence in their own right, even if they are part of a larger series. 
 Overall, a solid fantasy and I would definitely recommend it, especially for younger readers (or older readers looking for something light and fun). I enjoyed it enough that I wish I had bought my own copy rather than borrowed it from a library (which certainly says something) and I'll be keeping an eye out for a sequel. 
 (I originally gave this 3.5 stars, but I've bumped it up to 4 stars because I think it will really appeal to its target audience/age range).