CSFF Blog Tour Day 3: Book Review -- "The Monster in the Hollows" by Andrew Peterson

Well I did it folks!  I actually blogged for all three days during the book tour!!! *does a happy dance*  Usually I end up blogging on the first and third days.  Sometimes just on the third day.  But this time I really did it and made it all the way to the end. ^_^  Perhaps it's because it's about books that I truly am inspired by, not to mention the absolutely epic music that's written and sung by the author... or perhaps it's just the illustrations. *shrugs*

You know, when I first heard about Andrew Peterson the author, I didn't realize that he was also the song writer that I loved to listen to.  And when I finally made that connection, then I was astounded by the fact that he was also an artist.  This just blew me away.

I'm not trying to blow my own horn or anything, but I know that I can write well and I love Christian fantasy (you can read a sample of my writing on the "read an excerpt" page of my blog); I know that I can sing well and I am fairly adept at playing the guitar (I'm now learning the piano) and I've written quite a few songs of my own (started working on an album but had to stop when the guy who was helping me moved out of town;  I'm also an artist (check out the links to my art galleries at the top of the page).  I do all of these things (and several others) and I know that I'm good at them because I love them so very very much.  I know this sounds like I'm trying to be proud, but honestly I'm not.  I'm just stating facts.

But here's another fact for you: there just aren't that many people out there who can do all three of these things at the same time and be good at them... and many of the people who can do all of these things only focus on one of them.

However, I don't want to focus on just one of my favorite pastimes; I want to expound on all of my talents and succeed at the same time... not just at one of them, but at every one of them.

So just for one moment, imagine the thrill I got when I realized that my new favorite author was also a singer/songwriter who played guitar and drew gorgeous illustrations for his own books.  Not to mention the fact that he published his last book "The Monster in the Hollows" through Rabbit Room Press which is his own company!  Not only were there others like me out there, but those others like me were making money and getting known for what they did, while at the same time (and most importantly) turning out genuine exemplary products in all three areas!!

Do you hear me?!  I'm not a freak of nature!!!  And I'm not alone!!!  ^_^  *does another happy dance.*

So now I'm going to post a review of "The Monster in the Hollows", since I've finally gotten that out of my system. lol!


Janner Igiby has always wanted to sail over the Dark Sea of Darkness... ever since he found that old drawing of his father standing in the prow of a ship, he's wanted to know what it feels like to roll over the waves of the sea.  He used to dream about it, looking out over the cliffs of his home on Dragon Day, but it just wasn't quite the same thing as doing it.

Now however he gets his wish... he's on a ship sailing far over the Dark Sea of Darkness... and he can't even get out of bed to see the waves!!!

Of course it's all Tink's fault.  If his little brother hadn't decided to go off and grow a tail... not to mention grey fur all over his body and long, vicious canines... Janner wouldn't be in this position.  But then again, perhaps Tink's change is partly Janner's fault... after all, if he had been looking out for his little brother like he was supposed to, Tink probably wouldn't have run away and gotten himself in trouble in the first place.

But what does it matter now?  What's done is done, and the Igiby family is sailing away from Skree far over to the Green Hollows where Nia's mother came from, hoping to escape Skree and Gnag the nameless' awful namelessness.  Not to mention the Fangs of Dang.  The Hollows folk are said to be a simple people but harsh fighters, and they've driven off Gnag's armies several times in the past.  Surely they will take in Nia, who is of their own kin, and her family.

But the Hollows aren't entirely safe in themselves.  There is a dark forest there where many evil creatures are said to reside... monsters, the Hollow's folk call them.  To the simple folk of the hollows, Tink's change makes him looks like a monster too.  And monsters must be killed.

While Tink works to prove himself to the hollows folk, something else is as at work.  Creatures from the forest are coming out and wondering through the hollows.  Livestock stalk starts going missing, and strange tracks are left near houses and barns.  There is definitely a monster in the Hollows... but who is it really?

My Thoughts:

Ok, let me just pause a moment to catch my breath.  *catches breath*

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK.  It's the best one in the entire series, in my opinion.  Tink's change challenges not only him but his entire family, as the Hollow's folk are suspicious of him and anyone who would bring such a creature with them.  Tink tries to keep his new self in check and prove that he is not the monster everyone believes him to be, while all around him things seem to be falling apart.  The dynamics in this book are far more engaging in my opinion than the other two books (although I can't complain too much about the dynamics of any of these books... I can only say that the ones in TMITH are stronger than the other books.)

AND THE ENDING!!!

*gasps again*

I had to catch my breath on that one.  It totally caught me by surprise!  I absolutely refuse to give out spoilers (and some of the blog tour participants may have notices that I have left out one specific surprise that happens in the first book every single time I write a review... but you see, the surprise is very powerful and important to all three books and I don't want to ruin it's epicness for anyone who hasn't read the series. ^_^)  However, let me just say that my heart literally skipped a beat when I read the end (or almost the end) and I jumped up and shouted "YES!!!" in the middle of the second to last chapter (I believe it was).  And then I cried in the last chapter.  Couldn't help it.  If you read the book you will totally understand.

The characters in these books definitely change over the course of the series.  It's like you can actually see the kids mature... grow up and become young men and women who understand responsibility and consequences.  It's not just that they are kids anymore... they actually have to learn about their world and the important roll that they play in it, and it effects them... deeply.  It makes me think that as a father, Andrew almost wrote his books to help his own kids learn valuable lessons for life and about their faith... and in doing that, he's also teaching those lessons to every kid who reads his books.

I admire him for that.  I want to write like that.  I definitely aspire to accomplish that with everything that I attempt to do.

For those of you who are interested in his music, first of all, you must know that I absolutely ADORE his music.  It's just as simple as that.  In fact, the first time I listened to his album "Far Country" I was like, "OH MY WORD!!!  This guy writes songs like I write.  Wow!!"  I mean, the subject matter... the genre... the type... it's all there!  I love Christian contemporary music, but I'm also a huge fan of folk music with a celtic taste thrown in.  And lyrics... lyrics are so, so, SO important to me.  If the lyrics are strange or just seem meaningless, I'll usually end up hating the song.

Well, while I didn't notice any real celtic flair to these songs, they are all definitely Christian contemporary with a sort of folk-like twist.  They are write up my alley... just what I like to write and sing.  A friend of mine calls them "mellow".  I'm not sure if that's how I would title them, but I guess the word does fit.

If you are interested in this album, check out this page: https://store.rabbitroom.com/music/the-far-country

AND

(this is important)

READ THROUGH THE PAGE BEFORE YOU BUY THE ALBUM.

While I'm absolutely 100% for supporting this amazing and talented man and artist, I also know that if you read closely you'll notice that you can actually download the album for free if you want to.  Andrew even provides a link.  But if you are anything like me, once you listen to his music, you'll be back for more.  In this way, he's not actually loosing money but gaining money... because the free album is only a sample - a small taste - of the rest of his work.

Now, in other news, I noticed that Andrew recently posted this video on Facebook and it's totally epic!! ^_^  It really reminds me of myself in many ways.  Fantasy writers can TOTALLY relate.  I was laughing through the entire thing!!

And at long last I'll close out this Review with three new pictures of the man himself. :)  If you haven't been able to tell up to this point, I'll be blunt: I am a huge fan of his.  But if you check out the other blogs on the CSFF Blog Tour (linked to below), you can find out more about why I admire him so much.  ^_^

Goodbye!!!  And I hope you enjoyed the tour!  Check out Andrew Peterson's website at http://www.andrew-peterson.com  HAPPY READING!


Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

CSFF Blog Tour Day 2: Book Review -- "North! Or Be Eaten" by Andrew Peterson

Ok, I started reading the Wingfeather Saga with the second book.  I know that this is normally not the "accepted" thing to do... you start a series with the first book and work your way up.  However, I can't say that it was a bad thing that I started "late" as one might say.  In fact, I believe starting with the second book influenced my outlook on the first book for the better.

At the end of the first book in the series, Janner Igiby and his family are forced to leave their beloved town of Glipwood and hide out out in the dangerous forest where their half demented protector, Peet the Sock Man, has made his home.  Janner finally has found out the truth about his family -- and his father -- and there is far more to their family history than Janner every thought even possible!  Now the fun and games have ended and the adventure truly begins.  Gnag the Nameless is still determined to find the Jewels of Anniera, and he has reason to believe that they are being hidden in Glipwood.  With the furious Fangs of Dang pouring into the little town in search of the jewels, Janner and his family leave Glipwood behind in a desperate attempt to reach the Ice Praries before Gnag can find them and discover the powerful secret of their family line -- a secret that could do more than help Gnag take over the world... it could help destroy the world as well.

As they travel they are constantly in danger.  Pursued by Fangs with every step,  Janner and his family must escape the jaws of the dreaded Gargun Rock Roach, evade the knives of Stranders, hide out in hidden tunnels, avoid the terrible teeth (not to mention the awful breath) of Bomnibles, and out run the unbearable beaks of the hideous flesh-eating Snickbuzzards.  It's going to take a lot of courage to get them to the ice prairies... all in one piece, that is.

And with Tink thrown into the mix, one can never be too grateful for the words "all in one piece".  Who would have thought that little brothers could be so much trouble?  Who would have thought that Tink's protection would fall squarely on Janner's shoulders, or that Tink would go off and grow a tale?  Literally?  And who would have thought that a Quilldiggle could taste so good, or that a Fork Factory could be so dreaded?

Besides that, Grandpa is hiding yet another secret... a secret that he's never even told his daughter Nia... a secret that just might have the whole family in pieces by the end after all.

My Thoughts:

I will never forget the day I first started reading this book.  I was sitting in my bedroom, talking to my little sister, and telling her about this book I just borrowed that I was excited about reading.  She asked me to read a bit to her.  So I flipped open the first cover, admired the hand drawn maps, and then went to read the first chapter...

"Toothy Cows!!"

No, literally... those are the first words.

My sister and I both fell into hysterical laughing.  "What did that just say?"  She asked me.  So I read it again and we both doubled over.

Wow.  Now that's one way to draw a reader's attention.  Especially if that particular reader hasn't read the first book in the series  yet.

It didn't take me long after that to understand the seriousness behind the words "Toothy Cow".  I shall never look at a toothy cow the same way again.  Don't be fooled by their similar appearance to normal cows... while it would seem the toothy variety taste just as good as the normal variety (ask the stranders, if you don't believe me) they also tend to think that people taste good. 

See what I mean?  Terrifying creatures. :)

Personally I loved this book as well if not more than I loved the first one.  However, starting in the middle of the series was a little difficult, so no... I don't recommend starting with the second book. At first I really didn't understand what was going on (you sort of need to read the first book for that.)  After a while I caught on.  And once I caught on, the pace just picked up.  

Andrew seems to have a way with words and humor that just flows over the page.  And when I say humor, I don't mean like the riddle kind, or like knock-knock jokes. He simply slips every day simple humor into the pages and when you catch it, it's like a little jewel of laughter... or perhaps like an inside joke.  Guys will especially enjoy the humor, but even girls with a few brothers in the family or a silly father could easily catch on and would get a chuckle or two out of it.  It's so worth reading.

I refuse to give away any of the amazing adventure in this book.  You simply have to read it for yourself to understand. :)  But I will say that the ending left me so on edge that first I gasped, then I went back and reread it three times, and then I started to cry and I couldn't pick up the third book for two days until the amazement had finally worn off enough to leave me literate again.  No I'm not joking.  I couldn't even think of starting the first book until my awe of Andrew Peterson's way with words and plot twists came back down to a somewhat normal status.  

I don't think I need to say it again; you should already know by now that you absolutely HAVE to read this book.  If you are Christian and a fantasy lover, then it is practically a required thing. :D (not really... but EXTREMELY recommended.)  Again, this book gets a 5 out of 5 stars.  

But just wait until you read my review on the third book. *rubs hands together gleefully*  That one is by far the best book of the series in my opinion.  At least up to this point.

Now, yesterday I mentioned that I would talk more about Andrew's other amazing talents.  I told you that he was a recording artist, but I forgot to mention that he was also an illustrator.  Illustrations from his own pencil are scattered throughout the book, and (as an artist myself) I just have to say that I love his cartoon animation style.  I could totally see movies being made from these illustrations... perhaps in the style of Focus on the Family's Adventures in Oddesy series.   You just have to love it when you find someone this talented... I mean, seriously... how much more awesome can this man get?

Oh wait... he's a father and a husband as well?  Did I mention that he was born in IL... not too terribly far from my area.  Yeah, my esteem just went up another notch. ^_^

Here's some of his artwork which you can also find here... http://wingfeathersaga.com  

1)  Glipwood Township: 

2) A map of Skree:

3) Peet the Sock Man's Castle:

4) A ferocious Fang of Dang: 

5) A terrible flesh eating Snickbuzzard:

6) A Bomnible:

7) A Chorkney (from the Ice Praries):

And now I shall leave you once again with a picture of Andrew himself.  This time he's playing the guitar. :D  Gotta love it! 

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nichole White
Rachel Wyant

CSFF Blog Tour Day 1: Review of Andrew Peterson’s “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness”

Wow… *double checks header*  I do believe that that is one of the longest titles I’ve ever had on a blog post. O.o

Today is the first day of the September CSFF Blog Tour and we have been reading through Andrew Peterson’s book “The Monster in the Hollows”.  That book is the 3^rd  book in the Wingfeather saga (originally dubbed “The Wingfeather trilogy”, but that now consists of four books instead of three… thus the change.)

I’ve had the pleasure of reading all three books and of actually getting to meet Mr. Peterson in person (and singing with my church worship band to open his recent concert in IL. ^_^).   However, I haven’t posted any reviews on his books yet.  And so,  I thought I would do something a little different and actually review the whole series during this tour… three days for three books. ^_^  What do you think of that? :)

Janner Igiby is tired of always having to watch over his younger brother and little sister.  After all, he's already 12!  Practically an adult.  He should be able to decide what he wants to do with his own time.


And what he wants is an adventure... the kind he only gets to read about.  The kind in the stories told to him by his ex-pirate grandfather about the sea and foreign lands.  However, in the town of Glipwood which is run by the furious Fangs of Dang -- large lizard-man things with venomous teeth -- who report back to Gnag the Nameless himself, "adventure" often get's one in trouble.

When Janner tussles with a Fang in order to save his little sister and her dog nugget from a toothy and poisonous death, events turn dangerous.  The children get thrown into the jail and are threatened with a trip in the Black Carriage, a nightmare out of fireside tales and children's rhyms about a carriage driver who comes and steals kids from their beds in the night.  However, before the children are sent off, their mother Nia comes to rescue them with some secret jewels she had stashed away.  She manages to bribe the head fang and get her children out of jail, but now Janner is curious where his mother kept the jewels and how come he never knew about them before.

And then there's Janner's brother, Tink.  Tink is always getting into mischief.  When he "borrows" a map from the local book store that leads to an old, abandoned house on the edge of Glipwood forest, Tink and Janner decide to go exploring.  They know that Glipwood forest itself is said to be dangerous, but the house isn't actually in the forest... But instead of the relatively safe adventure they expected, they get chased by the terrible Horned Hounds and discover a hidden weapons chamber filled with all sorts of dangerous objects forbidden since the great war when Gnag the Nameless took over the land of Skree.  What is it doing there?  And what did the owner of the bookstore, the fat old Oskar N. Reateep, have to do with it?

Besides that, why does the local psychopath, Peet the Sock Man, seem so intent on protecting the Igiby children?  And why is Gnag the Nameless suddenly so set on capturing them?

Janner knows that his Mother and Grandfather are hiding something from him -- a secret that probably has to do with his father who was lost in the Great War -- but what could that secret be?  And what about these Jewels of Anniera that Janner keeps hearing about?  There was even something about them written on the map that Tink had borrowed.  Were those the jewels that his mother had given the fangs?  Was that what Gnag really wanted?


My Thoughts:

I actually started reading the series with the second book, but to be quite honest, I think starting that way helped me to appreciate the first book all the more.  

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness pretty much stayed around the small town of Glipwood, which sits right up against the Glipwood forest, up until the very end.  Usually I have some trouble with stories that aren't moving about -- it's not so much the stories fault as my attention span's fault.  I just want to see things change... I want to see dynamics. (I suppose all readers do.)  Well I didn't have those problems with this story.  It had enough going on and it asked enough questions that I was curious and content with staying in one place.

My favorite character by far was Peet the Sock Man.  He's so crazy, but there's something so likable about him.  You just have to pity him, and you wonder constantly about what put him in such a state.  And then of course you have little Leeli's dog, Nugget... if you haven't read the book, I won't try to spoil it for you, but let me just say that something happens to Nugget that, in my own opinion, is totally epic. ^_^

Andrew Peterson writes in a very unique style that utilizes the "story teller" style rather than the "Story shower" style.  I found it a little distracting at first, but by the end of the first chapter, I'd completely forgotten about my distraction.  The rhythm of the writing flows well and keeps the reader engaged.  It's not just what happens in the book but the pacing that counts, and in my opinion this book has just the right mixture of pacing and action.  In fact, Andrew keeps his own unique style very consistent throughout the entire series... even though I did note improvements from one book to the next.  And a reader should take nothing for granted in these books either... even small details may come back throughout later chapters in very big ways.

As far as this book goes, I give it a 5 out of 5.  It's absolutely family friendly, and it's the start of what is now one of my favorite Christian Fantasy series.

Just for fun, here's a picture of another version of the cover: 

And here's a picture of the author himself.  Not only does he look good (I mean, he does look good... his features remind me a bit of Steven Curtis Chapman...) but he seems very kind hearted as well. Also note that Andrew Peterson is a Christian recording artist.  Perhaps I'll devolve more on that later.  Right now I will tell you that his album "Far Country" is one of my absolute favorites. :)  I listen to it all the time as I'm working on homework or commission projects.

I shall now leave you with his smiling face. :D

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Amber French
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
* Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

The Confessions of a One-Time Exhausted Procrastinator

Hello Bloggies,

My name is Nichole White and last semester I came down with an ailment known as Exhausted Procrastination.

*cue rehabilitation group welcome*

It started out with just missing a few deadlines I'd set for myself. I was tired, I told myself; I could write later. I could always write later. I could finish reading that book later, because I had other things to do that were more important. I could wash a load of laundry later… right now I just wanted to finish resting.

But "later" never seemed to come. Pretty soon it wasn't just my writing that was behind, but my school work as well, and my room was getting messy because I was avoiding the fact that it needed to be cleaned. Then I started arriving late to meetings, school, and even Church sometimes. I made all sorts of excuses. "I live an hour away from just about everything," I told myself (which is actually true...) "It's ok if I'm late once or twice… people will understand my dilemma."

But "once or twice" grew more frequent. Soon I was skipping classes because I was late enough to them that I didn't want to be embarrassed by walking in. It wasn't that I didn't like the classes… in fact, I enjoyed sitting in and listening to the teacher lecture (for the most part). I just didn't want to walk in so very, very late. "Well, it's ok," I thought to myself. "I'm a good student. I don't miss that many classes… not if I can help it. One miss isn't going to kill me."

But my problem worsened. One miss turned into two, and two multiplied to four. I was getting nowhere in my writing life, my room was now a total disaster, and I was starting to fall behind on homework… mostly because I didn't know what homework I was supposed to be working on. My life grew more and more busy as the semester progressed, I kept insisting on adding projects to my agenda, and there was this big monster load of work to be done that loomed over my shoulder.

And like the good procrastinator that I am, I kept putting it off. The final result was the semester ending with me feeling slightly less than satisfied with my grades, a car-load of things that still needed finishing, and my book staring at me with big, sad eyes every time I turned on my computer.

That was me last semester, in the Spring of 2011.

That is what I'm trying to beat off this semester, fall of 2011. So far so good.

Now I admit that last semester I had really bitten off more than I could chew. I had tried to take on 17 credit hours all at once while also singing back up vocal 1 at my church every Sunday, writing my book, looking for a job, etc, etc… My life was soon disheveled and I was exhausted. My exhaustion is what triggered my procrastination, I know. The truth is, I really WAS tired, and I was at the school (which really is an hour's drive away from me) everyday from 8am to about 10pm. Even staying at school so long, there really wasn't enough hours in the day for me to give my homework the proper attention it needed, so half the time I bluffed my way through a few pages of any given subject and then tried to ignore the rest of it. Of course I wasn't satisfied with my grades… I couldn't even keep up with the homework! The school policy is about 3 hrs of homework to every hr of lecture/class time… more sometimes, depending on which subject we're talking about. Three hours is not enough time when you are taking a foreign language and don't already have a decent general knowledge of the language and/or culture. <_< From there, my exhaustion led to an extreme writer's block which took a little over a year to clear up. It was the most horrible, writing free year of my life (not to mention the only one). Pretty soon, I could just barely get myself up in the morning (waking up at 5:45 am every day is really NOT my thing…) and by the end of the semester, I started to cry every time I thought about all I had to do. It's not the kind of thing I would wish on anyone else. I am not super human, and I don't pretend to be.

That said, I wonder what would have happened if I had simply dropped a few of my classes, refocused my life, and had really gotten down to the nitty gritty with my school work. You see, I even procrastinated on dropping classes… I procrastinated so long that by the time I decided to drop classes and save myself, the option was already moot. I think that might be what REALLY killed me last semester.

This semester is a fresh start. I have a new job and I purposely decided to take only 13 credit hours in order to give myself a much needed break… that's still full time at my school, which means I get all of the benefits of a full time student, but it's also about 4 credit hrs less than last semester, plus my homework is fun and relatively easy. My room is clean and will hopefully stay that way, my closet is cleaned out and all laundry washed, work on my book is now moving forward again, plus I've started to take art commissions while still singing back up vocal 1 at my church. I let procrastination and exhaustion team up to beat me once, but I'm determined to sock them back this semester… hard. Right in the paunch. I haven't missed a class yet and don't plan to start any time soon.

The moral of this blog post? Well, I guess there are two morals really.

1. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today
   

And

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew
   

Trust me on this one: when exhaustion and procrastination decide to team up and jump you, they give you quite a pounding. :P

However, this time I've got them by the tails!! :D

 

More book reviews coming soon! And perhaps some therapeutic rambling. I'm also working on several new commissions, and have recently finished the maps for two of my WIPs that I plan to post about soon.

And I've noticed that I now have 65 followers! Yay!!! ^_^ When I hit 70 I'm thinking about hosting a giveaway, a contest, or some other type of fun, competitive event. So tell your friends about the P&P!! The sooner I hit 70 followers, the sooner you get to find out what amusing and enjoyable mischief I have up my sleeves. ;D

Nichole

Book Review: The Secret of the Indigo Moon by G.P. Taylor

Hello bloggy friends. ^_^

It's been a while since I actually sat down to do a book review, even though I have quite a few books that I need to review.  <_<  So I thought that today, while it's still on my mind, would be as good a time as any to actually put my butt in a chair and write this out! I've been avoiding this for a while now. Here I go! I'm actually going to do this now!! *focuses self* ;)

Erik Morissey Ganger, famed explorer and detective (well, in his dreams), and his mischief-making sidekicks, twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, didn’t go looking for a secret tunnel beneath the school. They never intended to make the acquaintance of a shifty private eye with a nose for trouble. It wasn’t part of the plan to come face to face with an old enemy, one with an agenda of his own that could destroy them all. And unraveling the “secret of indigo moon” was the farthest thing from their minds.

At Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children, these things just seem to happen.

In The Secret of Indigo Moon, confirmed troublemakers Erik, Sadie, and Saskia plunge headlong into a new and perilous mystery, one that challenges everything they thought they knew about their lives, themselves, and whom it’s safe to trust.

(Sorry, that summary is basically the blurb on the back of the book, but I was having trouble trying to sum up the story on my own. :P)

My thoughts:

Personally, I had a hard time getting into the book. Perhaps this was because the book is actually meant for a younger audience.  I don't really know. *shrug* I've heard this book being praised because of it's pictures and the mix of text and a sort of comic-book style. I thought that it would be interesting to try this book out mostly because of the reviews that I'd read from so many different readers. However, I found the pictures and the strange fonts to be EXTREMELY distracting.

Not that they might not be interesting and engaging to someone else!!! I'm not saying that.  But I'm one of those readers who picks up a book and immediately starts watching a movie in their head as they go along. The many pictures and the strange fonts scattered throughout the book for apparently no good reason (at least on the parts of the lettering...) kept dragging me out of that movie and making me have to look at something else. Then I'd have to reorient myself in the text again... I just... well, I struggled with it.

Now, as far as the story in itself... well, it wasn't too bad.  I could see that the author was trying to pull out a Christian theme (or perhaps a catholic theme?) but I wasn't sure what I thought about how they went about it. There was this lady in the book who showed up it seemed at random, and Saskia thought she was an Angel, but no one seemed to know for sure. Somehow I didn't feel like this attempt to show a connection to the spiritual was somehow... lacking? I don't know... it didn't really feel connected, and it read rather shallow in my eyes. But, like I said, that could just be because the book was meant for a younger reader.

The story line in and of itself seemed to have a pretty good flow and direction to it.  Obviously there was a mystery and the children were going to work through it. The problem was that I could guess every thing that was going to happen. At one point in the story there was supposed to be this "secret" villain, and the kids kept thinking that it was someone other than the person it actually was. The problem was, all the clues fit together in my head; I guessed who the secret villain was long before she actually entered the text, and it didn't take a whole lot of thinking to do it.

The kids themselves were interesting to follow... I started getting curious about their back story. Some of the back story was provided and other bits were left out on purpose to keep the reader guessing. I liked that; I think that was pretty well thought out on the author's part, and I might take a peek at future books just to find the answers to the questions I have. But who knows...

The villains were relatively "scary" - or perhaps "creepy" would have been a better word - though I really wanted to learn more about the magician... I can't recall his name right now. I also wanted to learn more about his inventions. What on earth did a speeding carousel have to do with the story? Seriously, how was the dangerous and frightening? I guess it was supposed to add tension, but to me, it made no sense; it just seemed pointless. We didn't even get to see the purpose behind the thing. It never really DID anything... the tension (and my respect) dropped when the kids were saved and nothing actually happened.

At one point in the book, I noticed that the dialogue between the magician and the children sounded an awful lot like it had been adapted from Scooby Doo. "And I would have gotten away with it too, if hadn't been for you meddlesome kids!" :P Sorry... not that impressed.

All in all... I wasn't that impressed with this book at all. I'm not very familiar with the author, and I'm more used to reading straight Middle Grade or YA. However, I'm guessing that this book fits on the younger end of the middle grade pool. It DOES say it's children's fiction, so I'll leave room for myself to er.

Conscious-wise, this book is very clean. There's no really bad or super scary stuff in it, and you could definitely read it to a 6 year old and a 12 year old with confidence. (And just in case anyone was wondering, I chose those ages because they are the ages of my little sisters... ;D) However, I can't say that the 12 year old would be super engaged... perhaps if she was reading it for herself... but I don't think she would be all into the story if I was trying to read it to her.

I know this is probably the first time I've ever written a relatively bad review, but I just have to be honest. Even with it's few redeeming qualities, I just couldn't be impressed... and I really, really tried to be. I give this book a 2-3 stars out of five. I'm sorry, but I just can't give it any more than three, as much as I might wish to. :P

(This book was given to me freely by the Tyndale House blogging program. I was not required to give a good review. I was simply required to voice my own opinions about the book.)