"Sneak" by Evan Angler -- A Book Review

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?

*****

My thoughts:

First of all, before you read my review on "Sneak", you might want to read my review on "Swipe" here.

Quite honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick up this book after reading the first one... the first book was intriguing and interesting, but for me it was slow to get into and easy to put down. However, I decided to pick up this book anyway because the first book did show promise. I was happy that I did decide to read "Sneak" because I wasn't disappointed. Personally, I enjoyed "Sneak" more than I enjoyed "Swipe". "Sneak" wasn't like my experience with the first book. Instead, I found "Sneak" to be instantly engaging from the beginning. I was drawn in and held there through the entire story, and ended up finishing the book in a day and a half. :D

Our character, Logan, is slowly growing into his new role as a member of the Dust... but he's not the only one. His friend, Erin, is also learning and growing; she's discovered some things about the Mark and DOME's other experiments having to do with the Global Peace Treaty that have put much of the population in serious danger... and this information is so secretive that no one else knows about it, even though it is slowly killing them.

In the meantime, the Dust are going to the Capitol in order to find Logan's sister, Lily, who disappeared after her Mark ceremony five years earlier. To do that, they've acquired help from The River, which isn't actually a river at all but a group of unmarked people (and a few sympathetic marked people too) working together to help other unmarked people find resources and get around the country. Sort of like the Underground Railroad around the time of the civil war. I really liked this turn of events... while there seemed to be less gadgetry in this book, the unmarked also showed more creativity. For example, in the style of the Underground Railroad, the people in The River used special signs to help travelers and other unmarked find their way. There are signs for leaders, safe-houses, supplies, rides, and even danger, and the signs are not always what or where you expect them to me, which helps to keep The River hidden (even if it is known about) from the marked population and DOME. The unmarked also show their creativity in how they build make-shift radios, have set up their own society under the very nose of the marked population, etc... so, less gadgetry, but just as interesting.

There was also a twist at the end of the story... I'm still not sure how that twist effects the rest of the story yet, but I'm looking forward to reading the next book and finding out. :D There were other things in the story that I found predictable... I'll admit to having anticipated the twist at the end before it happened, but I did not predict how the twist was delivered. And besides, I suspect that this is partially because I read A LOT of books in similar genres, and write in these genres myself.

All in all, I liked this book better than the last one. It was faster paced, and for me, definitely more engaging. So for this book, I'm going to promote it by a star from my last review, and give "Sneak" 4 stars out of five. I definitely look forward to picking up the next book in the series. :D


For those who are interested, here's an intriguing article from the author concerning music:

Evan Angler’s Infinite Playlist:

Music, I think, is an important pillar of the creative mind. And as an author, it’s an equally important part of any book. It doesn’t matter what the writing is about, and it doesn’t matter what the story is; writing is music. Our words have rhythms and cadence, our sentences make melodic lines. There are fast sections, slow sections, loud paragraphs, quiet paragraphs. Good writing, for me, lights up my brain much like good music does.

This relationship, of course, goes both ways. If writing informs music, then it stands to reason that music must also inform writing. Certainly, I’ve found this in my own experience. With my first book, SWIPE, I wrote almost everything either in the dark, or on the run, in the motion of electrobuses and boxcars, with my hood up and my oversized headphones on. For some of that time, indeed, my focus demanded quiet. But for much of my writing and drafting and thinking, I was immersed in a blanket of music. Loud music. And I found that its genre dictated the writing’s tone. With SWIPE, my musical selections often gravitated toward electroclash, a genre I didn’t even know existed until I found myself craving it for the underscore of SWIPE’s scenes. Often, I’d play the music so loud that I needed to stuff my ears with tissue paper, because I liked the feel of the heavy beats hitting my brain, pushing me forward, relentless, unforgiving…. The gritty, electronic timbre of the music just seemed to belong with the tech-filled but flawed world of the American Union, and the energy conveyed by that music–both in the faster and in the more somber selections–captured for me the sense of foreboding, anxiety, excitement and, ultimately, determination that Logan feels over the course of his journey.

SNEAK, on the other hand, called for a very different sort of sound. In trying to capture the setting and mood of the Unmarked River, I often found myself gravitating toward pre-Unity bluegrass and folk music, another genre that had never captured my attention–until I the writing called for it. The acoustic guitars, the banjos, the fiddles, the harmonies…in many ways, SNEAK is about the loneliness and uncertainty of venturing out on one’s own, of a search for simplicity and truth. In a world of high-tech stakes, the Dust’s journey through much of SNEAK is practically of a different era. Horse rides, hiking, camp fires, radios…after the events of SWIPE, Logan is truly an outcast, and there’s just no place for him in the more modern world of the American Union. What better way to capture that then with the oldest traditions of music that American history has to offer? Bluegrass and folk, there’s nothing else like it.

The third book in the Swipe Series has yet another soundtrack altogether. I can’t wait for you to hear it, and to discover all that its soundscape implies. But that is a story for another day, and that is a playlist for another time….
So if you’ll excuse me, I have some headphones I need to find…


Here's the book link to Amazon: "Sneak" by Evan Angler

And for those of you who would like to read more reviews on this book, here are the links to the other blogs posting reviews on this tour:

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/

Blooming with Books • http://www.bloomingwithbooks.webs.com/

The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/

Book Nook 4 You • http://booknook4you.blogspot.com/

Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/

Christian Book Review Blog • http://christianbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/

Heavenward Reviews • http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/

Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com/?p=8624

Labor Not in Vain • http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/

The Maniacal Bookworm • http://themaniacalbookworm.blogspot.com/

Oh, Restless Bird • http://www.ohrestlessbird.com/

The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com

Reviews by Jane • http://www.reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/

Shadow Writer World • http://shadowwriterworld.blogspot.com/

The Dragon and the Crow -- A book review

Wow... it has now been over a month since I have blogged anything. :P That is a bit ridiculous... But with school, and work, and everything, life has gotten a bit crazy lately so I had to take a step back and breathe... lol! :)

So, over a month ago, I mentioned that I had several book reviews coming up that I hoped to be posting. Here is the first one.

A couple of months ago, I was perusing through a book forum I had found online, and I came across a thread that allowed authors to post about their published books and offer copies for review. I immediately started to browse… (do note that in this particular instance, my use of the words “perusing” and “browsing” mean different things… ;D) I soon came across a couple of books that caught my interest and, curious about them, I clicked through to their amazon page. Of course, I read the samples provided. Good writing! I was definitely intrigued. The best part was, on the forums, the authors were offering to send physical copies of the books to reviews, rather than just offering e-copies.

That was enough. I definitely wanted to read further, so I emailed the authors and asked if they would like to send me a copy of their books in exchange for reviews on my blog and on amazon. They said yes. SCORE! Especially since both authors were from overseas… one from Australia, and the other from the U.K.

The first book came in the mail about two weeks later. It was from the Australian author, and it was called “The Dragon and the Crow”. Interesting title and nice book cover. There were some things in the blurb I wasn’t sure about, but I decided to read it anyway and see what it was all about – besides, I had agreed to read it, and so far it had captured my interested. So, to start this review, here is a picture of the cover, and from there I’m going to launch straight into my review… and we’ll see if I can’t explain things in a way that others can understand. Lol!

And here's the book trailer... it's quite good. :D



****
My Thoughts:

Ok, to begin, this is probably going to be one of the more complete reviews that I’ve ever written. I’m going to start with the complexity of the story through the characterization of the characters involved.

The first person that I’m going to address is Brin. He’s the main character in the book and his problem is one relatively unique (in my own opinion) from other fantasy stories that I’ve read. You see, Brin is the only magicless person in a world where everyone can not only use magic, but does use magic every day.  However, Brin can’t even work the simple magics that turn on the house lights or work the oven, and that’s sure no picnic in a place where everyone is expected to be able to use such simple things. Life is hard for a kid with no true magical abilities, but what Brin can’t possibly begin to understand is that he is actually the key to winning an ancient war the whole world never realized was being waged.

You see, in Brin’s world, there is a story of how an ancient champion first defeated the dragons and the elves and the dwarves, and made it so that humans would be able to use magic as much as the ancient races. In the process, however, the stars were wiped from the sky. Now, in Brin’s time when everyone can use magic equally (accept for Brin himself, of course), there are rebels rising up that blame the king and his line for the loss of the stars. They call the king a tyrant, and in the book they follow a woman who believes in a prophesy that says that it will be a magicless boy that will defeat the tyrant, bring back the stars, and save the ancient races from dying out all together. The king has named this woman a witch and has convinced everyone else that she is such, and is very dangerous to the peace of the kingdom. The fact that the woman is dangerous is not even a question… but evil?

Until we near the end of the book, we don’t know much about the woman who is the king’s enemy. She is known throughout most of the book simply as “the Witch”. Nearer the end of the book, however, we actually get to meet her, at which point in time she and her followers try to explain things to our main character, Brin. Their explanation is that “The Witch” is not that at all, but the legitimate daughter of one of the first kings of the land – so technically, she’s actually a princess. How she manages to live so long is a long and complicated story that I won’t go into at the moment, but what is important to know about her is that the king’s wife died, and he married another woman who bore him a son. The King’s second wife was, I believe (following true fairy-tale style) an actual witch who wanted her son to take over the throne, instead of the rightful heir who was the king’s first-born daughter, and so she sought to kill the king’s daughter. The princess was taken into hiding by one of the old king’s advisors, and protected, but the witch-queen’s son ended up taking over the throne… and he was, in fact, the king that ruled in Brin’s time, hundreds of years later… but again, that’s a long story. As “the witch/princess” explains to Brin, her true aim is to throw down the tyrant king who stole her father’s throne from her, and to restore “magic” back to its proper state in the world.

The reason I decided to explain all that, is that you can start to get a feeling for the complexity of these characters and their backgrounds. The character of “the witch” in this story, is not what she seems to be… nor indeed, not what most of the people in the story think her to be. While the king, who at the beginning of the book is seen as a savior-type person, protecting the human race from the ancient races and distributing magic evenly throughout the people of the kingdom, turns out to actually be the villain… a usurper who is ultimately evil at the core but very cunning about hiding it. All the king actually wants is the power that comes with controlling the source of magic throughout the realm, and he is willing to do almost anything to get and keep that power, even going so far as to deceive his own sons in order to have them willingly work for him in his plans to destroy the “witch”. Brin comes into the story because neither the king’s plans, nor the witch/princess’ plans will succeed without the aid of a child who has no magic… and Brin is the only child like that in the world.

Then, of course, as we dig deeper and deeper into the complexities of this story, we have The Hen. His name is actually Henry, but he insists on being called The Hen. The Hen is a man who used to be a rebel on the side of the witch, but who since went bad and decided that, rather than further either the witch/princess’ side of the battle, or the king’s side of the battle, it would be better if he were to just take everything over himself. The book actually opens with an appearance of The Hen, but surprisingly enough, we don’t see a whole lot of him throughout the book… that, however, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t play an important role (as is found out nearer the end of the book… I’m not going to spoil the surprise if you decide to read it.)

What I found to be most intriguing throughout the book were the character interactions and deceptions. For instance, you have the King and Brin. The king obviously has ulterior motives that are not in Brin’s best interest, and yet Brin has been taught all his life that the king is a good guy… a savior type person. The king, of course, makes no attempt to disillusion Brin, especially since it is in the king’s best interest to use Brin to the boy’s own destruction so long as the outcome of that destruction is the king winning the war and gaining the power that he wants.

Then you have the King and the Witch. The king has told all of the people of the land that the witch is evil – and because of this, the people believe his deception that he is actually the good guy. So, from the beginning, the witch (who apparently is not a witch or evil) is seen and thought of as evil until later in the story.  Even the book blurb says that she's evil... that she wants chaos and the king's head on a stake.  But is she really like that, or is there something more???

Then we have Brin and the Witch. It starts to get really complicated when we later are actually introduced to the witch through Brin’s point of view. I still haven’t figured out entirely if she is supposed to be good or bad, or what… or if she’s just using Brin to her own gain, even as the king is using him. By the time I got to that point in the book, the knowledge that I had gleaned about her was so scrambled and torn between what Brin used to know and what he was learning, that it was difficult to decide where the woman was actually supposed to fit.  Good?  Evil?  Somewhere in between?

I'll give the author this: he sure does know how to make complicated characters. :D

Then you have Henry and Brin. Henry seems to be the real villain of the story in the beginning, but as the story unfolded, I began to wonder what part in the story he really had to play. He originally captured Brin because he was going to use Brin to somehow release the sleeping Dragon King… which, of course, terrified Brin out of his wits. But it was never made clear how the Hen’s actions actually affected the overall plot… although I assume that might be made more clear in future books.

And then, of course, we have Henry and the Witch. Henry was originally another magicless boy who the king had seduced and tried to use, and who the witch supposedly saved. He had become the witch’s apprentice, yet apparently something went terribly wrong. Somehow, Henry went bad and decided to take his own side in the war… he wanted to wipe out both the witch and the king, and to set himself up as king instead.

Now, couple this information with what you know of the History of the world. You soon learn that you can’t trust what you know of the history, because both sides have a story, and both sides think they are right.  What most citizen's learn of the history of the world is from the king's point of view... but is the king's point of view the RIGHT point of view?  That’s one thing that Brin starts to question when he meets the witch… how much of the history that he learned as a younger boy is actually true, and how much is deception? The whole idea of it becomes warped and confusing. However, one thing that I felt was very consistent in the book was the fact that we never really learned much about the history of the world to begin with. What we do learn of the history of the world is minimal, and later our ideas of the truth behind those stories becomes distorted... which actually works towards the author's plans, in my opinion, because as we watch the sides of good and evil flip, it is easier for the author to change the stories that make up the history of the world; in essence, if the original history isn't so complicated, it's not nearly as complicating to change it for someone else's point of view. :)  But I will admit that it got a little confusing.  Even Brin starts getting confused, when he finds out that either side of the story could possibly be true in the eyes of the one telling it... and that all depends on who the teller is.

Did I mention at the beginning of this review that this story was complex? Yeah, well, I meant it. *whew!*

Now, I’m sure you are wondering what my true, personal opinion of this story actually is. So here goes.

The read was interesting but not overly so. I usually read several chapters at a time, curious to see what would happen next, but the material was so… “dense” (for lack of a better word)… so full of details and plot turns and character workings and world building that it was hard for me to read more than a little bit at a time. When taken in small measures, I found I could process the information a lot better if I would just put the book down and think through what I had read. There was action, of course, but it wasn’t really fast-paced action and, when coupled with the information infused within the whole story, it made the story a bit of a slower read for me. I had to wait and let things “sink in” before I could start reading it again. For that reason, I found that I could put the book down for several days, and then, when I picked it up again, I would read a few chapters and have to set it down once more in order to process everything.  All in all, a pretty good read.

And now, do I have any other thoughts on the matter? Why yes… yes I do. As you have probably been able to tell from my review this far, I thought that – as a fantasy story in and of itself – this book was actually quite good. Technically speaking, there was not a whole lot for me to pick on.

 However, coming from the perspective of a Christian reader, I did have some personal issues with the story that made me feel slightly uncomfortable...

1) The frequent use of the word “witch” was a big red flag for me.  Even though everything ended up not being how it originally seemed to be, the word itself just bothered me... even though, yes, I knew it was going to be in the book. The term became even more confusing when the lady who had been called a “witch” for most of the book, was suddenly (supposedly) not actually a witch at all but one of the good guys, and when the king was suddenly revealed to be evil – confusing. Good for plot, perhaps, but confusing. It was the cause of a lot of grey area… what was evil, what was not, who was who…? You get the idea.

2) Though I admired the author’s thoughts on turning the tables with magic being a much more common entity in a fantasy story, rather than it being a gift or special power or some such thing only bestowed upon a few, what really worried me was the way that the magic was invoked.

When I think of magic, I think of the Chronicles of Narnia and Aslan; in my books, “magic” is often referred to as something else – a supernatural gift, if you will, bestowed on a person by God (or whoever my God-character is). I’m very careful with how it is portrayed and how it works when I write things like that into my own stories… and quite frankly, I’m really not the biggest fan of stories that use magic by way of spells and other such incantations and chantings. I will admit to having a few such books that I enjoy (*sniff* Tamora Pierce is awesome... just sayin'...)  but most of the time I just don't read that stuff.

Still, I will admit that I like the idea of an ancient commanding language – such things, in my mind, are feasible, since words are so important to God; after all, God spoke and the world was. But the thought of chanting or saying something in verse or some other form of a spell in order to invoke magic of a person’s own free will… that isn’t right in my mind. Only God has control of such things, and He needs no spells, chantings, or incantations to work His wonders… if He grants a person a “Gift” or a means by which to work a miracle, that’s not magic… it’s supernatural, and it’s from God.

 I also wasn’t sure how I felt about “magic” being so extremely common that EVERYONE could use it. It may just be a preference of mine, but I don’t really like the thought of it being so… so ordinary.  Cool idea, though... but then again, my thoughts in this particular instance are just personal opinion. :D

So basically, the story in and of itself – simply as a fantasy story without trying to go any deeper than that – seemed well thought out and put together, and it proved intriguing to me as well. It seems that the author definitely had some good thoughts here, and he worked hard to put the world of his story together in a complicated and complex pattern, in order to make it seem more realistic. Ultimately, I would say it is a good story, in a general sense – thought provoking, intriguing, and a fun romp.  And the ending REALLY put a new spin on things... makes you curious about how the story continues.  I'm not going to give spoilers about that here... if you are truly interested, you'll just have to find out for yourself.  ;)

However, as a Christian reader, I feel that there were many aspects of the story that pricked at my consciousness and spirit in places. For that, I feel that I must warn other Christian readers… especially young Christian readers… that they should be careful about picking up this book UNLESS they are ok with this type of a read and what it entails. Just my own little disclaimer there.

Still, I can’t help but admire this author’s world building skills and his creativity with producing an intricate and complicated plot, not to mention intricate and complicated characters. For those I will give him credit - lots of it. :D

For the other… well, there’s not much I can do about that. Sorry.

On a much lighter note, the author made the map for the story himself, and from one artist to another, I must say I think it looks quite awesome. ^_^ He definitely gets two thumbs up for that. :D

Signed with a flourish,
Nichole White


(Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book from the author and was not required to write a positive review.)

Team Novel Teen Book Tour: "Swipe" by Evan Angler

Logan Langly is just months away from his thirteenth Birthday – the absolute BIGGEST day of his life. That is the day he will finally get the Mark. The Mark works like a credit card/driver’s license/birth certificate/social security card/everything-in-between. Once he has the Mark, he will be able to get a job, buy things, use public transportation, and do a thousand other things he would never be able to do without it.

It’s not mandatory to get the Mark, but who wouldn’t? If you had the choice between having a way to support yourself and your family for life in a semblance of peace, or living off of the garbage and leftovers of a broken society, which would you choose? To many people, the choice seems clear; the mark is the way of peace and prosperity, hope and world unity. It is the very sign of freedom. Those people without the mark are dumb creatures, lower than dirt, not even worth spitting on – the trouble makers of a world well on its way to eternal peace and structure. They shouldn’t even be left to live, the filthy trash!

There’s no reason why Logan should be afraid of being Marked. Every thirteen year old kid looks forward to it – the day when they are finally considered an adult; the day when they can finally take care of themselves by themselves, without their parents’ help (if that’s what they prefer). But Logan isn’t so sure that the Mark is such a good thing. Five years before, his sister went off to be Marked on her Thirteenth birthday, and she never came back. It changed his family forever. Now Logan’s mom barely gets through each day, depressed, barely responding to the life around her, while Logan’s father tries to make up for it in his own ways.

And Logan… well, he can’t seem to shake the feeling that he’s being watched. He’s absolutely sure that someone is out to get him…

And he’s not far wrong.

***

My Thoughts:

When I first picked up this book, I was apprehensive. The truth is, I had just finished reading a rather mediocre to slightly negative review about it by a reviewer that I trust, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

On that account, the book surprised me. I found myself immediately drawn into the writing style, and rooting for the MC, Logan Langly. I really, really wanted him to be able to defeat the bad-guys and come out on top.

Logan is a likable MC. A bit paranoid, but that’s something you come to expect of him, and soon enough you (as the reader) begin to turn suspicious of even the smallest details… much like Logan. He’s smart… but he’s also nervous. All the time. And many times his nervousness masks his bravery.

Which brings me to one of the things I had trouble with about the book. There were times when Logan’s bravery would come out suddenly and totally surprise me, and then a second later he would be the timid little nervous creature I knew him to be from earlier on. The same thing happened with him being smart. There was one scene in the book where he was talking to the New Girl in town, Erin. They were working together to trace a group of unmarked kids through the slums of the Old City, and Logan predicted something to Erin about their motivation and where they would try to go next. It was a very intelligent prediction, and a little surprising, but it made me like Logan even more. However, a second later, when Erin pointed out something obvious – something that I felt Logan should have had an intelligent answer for, especially after what had happened only a few paragraphs before – he instead acted as if he wasn’t sure of himself, and his answer was vague and not thought through.

Now, I know I’m being vague about where and what this scene is in the book, but that is because I want you, the reader, to come up with your own conclusions about the story itself and its characters. However, I did notice that Logan portrayed similar character traits throughout the book… one minute he would seem cowardly, the next surprisingly brave, and then a second later he would be a nervous little boy again. Out of the entire book, that was the probably the biggest problem I had with it.

Besides that however, I did find the book quite interesting. It was a relatively fast read, but engaging (though not particularly a story I would call “outstanding”.) It was a good read, though. Clean, wholesome, and I liked the fact that it was set in a dystopian future with lots of neat gadgetry. The author was able to explain the gadgetry well, and his descriptions were vivid enough that the world came to life in my mind’s eye as I read – something that I find extremely valuable within a book. :D Even now, thinking back to a few of the scenes, I can picture the author’s world clearly in my head.

I was able to guess at few elements of the story that I suppose were meant to surprise the reader, but I believe I was only able to do that because I am a very avid book lover, and a writer myself. :D And besides that, there was a VERY important surprise near the end of the book that I never saw coming at all.

I’m going to give this book 3 stars out of 5. I didn’t find it particularly compelling, but it was engaging. To me, it was one of those books that is not hard to put down, but that you like to pick up again. :) And besides that, this first book ended on a note that makes me rather curious about the second one in the series. I look forward to getting the chance to read “Sneak” when it comes out this September. :D

Here is the author's website, for those of you who would like to look into the book "Swipe", or it's sequel that will be coming out soon, "Sneak": http://www.evanangler.com/

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Blooming with Books • http://www.bloomingwithbooks.webs.com/
The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/
Book Nook 4 You • http://booknook4you.blogspot.com/
Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/
Books I Recommend • http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/
Christian Book Review Blog • http://christianbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/
CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/
Fiction Fire • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocV0yQNVLA
Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com
Labor Not in Vain • http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/
The Maniacal Bookworm • http://themaniacalbookworm.blogspot.com/
My Story Shelf • http://mystoryshelf.blogspot.com/
Oh, Restless Bird • http://daughteroftheking89.blogspot.com
The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com
Reviews by Jane • http://www.reviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/
Shadow Writer World • http://shadowwriterworld.blogspot.com/

Team Novel Teen Book Tour: "Failstate" by John W. Otte

You'd think being a teenage superhero would be relatively easy, wouldn't you?  You'd have super powers, all the girls would probably love you, and you'd get to pound the bad guys to your heart's content.  But for Robin Laughlin, it's no simple matter.


When Robin decides to join a reality TV show for superheros things just get more complicated.  Oh sure, it seems simple at first: win the show and become a licensed superhero... easy enough.  But for Robin things just don't come that easy.  With his brother, Ben (aka. Gauntlet) pulling at America's heartstrings, and with Robin's own powers proving themselves so unwieldy even for the monitored studio challenges, Robin begins to wonder if his calling really isn't to save the world after all.


Until one of his competitors is murdered.


Robin vows to find the killer and sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain.  But can he find justice?  Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything for him -- and possibly the world?




My Thoughts:


John Otte has proved himself a masterful writer with his debut novel, "fAILSTATE".  It is, without exception, a superb piece of fiction.  And I do not say that lightly at all.


Mr. Otte has created a character that is both flawed and perfect... perfect very much in the sense that he is flawed.  Robin has LOTS of problems, and throughout the entire book he is forced to work through them - from feeling awkward around girls, to family troubles with a mother who ultimately ignores him and a big brother who not only looks down on him but seems to try his best to see Robin fail, to the struggles he has with containing his powers, to how he actually looks and the barrier that creates between him and an even seemingly normal life, to his ultimate feeling of ever present guilt ... Robin is downright imperfect.  And that's why it was so easy for me to relate to him and feel sympathy for him.  That's why it was so easy to like him and root for him to win.


Mr. Otte has also shown his hand at plot twists.  Without revealing too much here and spoiling everything, I honestly would never have guessed who the actual villain in the story is.  Not until the very end, and then the revelation was like, "WOAH!  THAT IS TOO COOL!"


And as far as the writing goes... I was drawn into the story at the very first page, held captive there, and after the first chapter, I was completely hooked.  I finished the book in one night.  I simply couldn't put it down.  The writing style flows right along with the story, pulling the reader along as if by a hook in the nose.  I was on edge the entire time.


And for those of you who follow my blog regularly and have read several of my other reviews, you know that I don't give THIS kind of review very often.


And the Christian themes... they weren't subtle, but they weren't in your face either.  The whole book showed the trial of faith that Robin faced, both in his home life, and in his life as Failstate.  Robin often questions God and his motives, and often questioned himself.  He would remind himself of what God's word said about situations, but he couldn't help doubting.  Yet ultimately, God's word came through every time.  Prayer was used adamantly, but again, it wasn't as if the author was trying to push the message in a person's face, or flash it across a neon sign. (I've read books like that before... they get very annoying very fast.)  Rather, the christian themes were there, prominent, but not posted on a billboard. It was mixed in nicely, and my guess is that it probably helped that Mr. Otte is a pastor.


"Failstate" has become a favorite.  It's been a couple weeks since I read it, but right afterwards, and even looking back now, I can come up with no prominent flaws that stood out to me.  Oh, there was a typo here and there, but nothing that took me out of the story, and nothing that can't be easily fixed.


Ultimately, an Amazing read.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars. ^_^


For those of you who are interested, here is a link to Mr. Otte's blog:


 http://leastread.blogspot.com/


And is the link to the "Failstate" Book Trailer:  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6-0-UCvU_o&list=UUavyvbMY-m7UUBlHWLtYmdA&index=2&feature=plcp


And here is the Amazon Link:


http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935929488/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=wwwteenageaut-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1935929488&adid=1A0VGZJWBAGKHHDJMMX9


I seriously suggest that you get this book and read it.  It is so worth the money.




(Links to other blogs on the tour)

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/

The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/

Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/

Books I Recommend • http://noahsreads.blogspot.com/

Colorimetry • http://www.burgandyice.blogspot.com/

CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/

Fiction Fire  •   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocV0yQNVLA

Gillian Adams • http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/

Hornspoon Reviews • http://www.hornspoon.com

My Story Shelf • http://mystoryshelf.blogspot.com/

The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com

Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com/?p=8246

Virtuous Girlhood • http://www.virtuousgirlhood.com/

“Replication” by Jill Williamson – a Review

Hello friends,

It has been a while since I’ve had the time or a sufficient connection to the internet with which to post something more meaningful. I hope you all had a good holiday! Mine has been quite full to say the very least, and while I know that college starts again on the 17th, I’d swear that classes got out for Christmas only a week ago… Oh well. No matter how short the vacation was, it was still time off, and I’m thankful for it. Just know that when school starts again, I’ll be able to blog more often: it definitely helps when you have a reliable connection to the web. But, the time off has helped me get back some of my personal priorities too, like writing (I’ve made some new leeway in SOTD, but I’ll talk more of that at a later time) and like… sleep. In fact, sleep has become so much a priority that sometimes my parents become aggravated; they ask how a person can spend so much time with their eyes closed, and I tell them it’s to make up for a whole semester of trying desperately to stay awake 24/7. Lol! College takes its toll, my friends. Especially when you fill your class schedule with as much as you can manage. I really need to fix that… :P

But enough chit-chat!

Today I’m writing a review for Jill Williamson’s newest book just recently released through Zondervan, titled “Replication”. I can’t tell you how excited I was to receive an invitation for an ARC. Jill is one of the most respected authors on my long and still growing list of favorite authors, and one of the most anticipated. I haven’t posted a review on her “Blood of Kings” trilogy yet, but I will be posting one sometime this year (when I finish the third book. ;D). Besides that however, who wouldn’t be intrigued by the premise? A main character named Martyr? A farm solely dedicated to cloning humans? What’s not to like? :D

Here’s the blurb so you can read it for yourself:

Martyr – also known as Jason 3:3 – is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to “expire” in less than a month. To see sky.


Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door asking about the stars.


As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures – the one for which he was produced, and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is work leaving everything he’s ever known.


Now about the author:

Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. She grew up in Alaska and loved to read books. In 2010 her first novel, “By Darkness Hid” won the Christy Award. She loves to work with teens, and she gives writing workshops at libraries, schools, camps, and churches. Currently she lives in Oregon with her husband and two children. And of course you can find out more about her, her writing projects, and her books at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Also, a word in edgewise, Jill is simply a really awesome person to hang around. I don’t know her very well, but I was able to meet her once in person and it was such an honor. If first impressions are anything to go by, Jill made a good one. She was kind, fun-loving, and she smiled a lot. And come on! What’s not to love about setting out to meet one of your favorite authors for the first time, and having her greet you wearing a medieval Lord of the Rings style dress. ;)


My thoughts about the book: WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

Replication was not quite what I anticipated… it was much better! When I first started looking into the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. How would the clones be portrayed? Why had they never seen sky? Just what exactly did Abby’s father do? I wondered at first if the book wouldn’t have similar qualities to the movie i-robot (which is, by the way, one of my favorite futuristic films.) My mind predicted clichés in Science Fiction, and I pondered the possibilities.

I shouldn’t have worried… my mind couldn’t have been more wrong.

Replication is all about finding God’s purpose for our life and living out that purpose to the fullest. And what is that purpose exactly? Why, it’s living for Him, of course!

The main character, Martyr, is quite simple upon first glance, but we soon find out that he’s much more complicated than his “creators” ever thought likely. They knew he was smart, but they didn’t expect his ability to mentally think over problems to work so well, nor did they think his endless questioning would actually render useful answers.

Martyr’s one wish to see the sky before he expires is what first compels him to disobey the rules. Now for him, this is hard as he doesn’t like to lie – at all – which is an intriguing quality in Martyr’s character that brought into retrospect several interesting thoughts about the consequences of lying. Martyr is also very naïve, an aspect that has him asking curious (and sometimes almost embarrassing) questions throughout the course of the book. This aspect also has him regret simple sins that most of us in today’s world would overlook entirely or justify. That fact in itself was an eye-opener, but it was written into the book in such a way that it wasn’t overwhelming.

Having lived his whole life without ever seeing the outside world, Martyr’s first glimpse of some things in our world – like the sky, the sun, a moose, a car – all were slightly choppy and vague, pieced together with what little he already knew of the world. This was a most satisfying element in Martyr’s character, and one that isn’t exactly easy to pull off, but Jill managed to do it with grace and believability. It’s like a writer asking themselves, “How would I describe something of this nature to a blind person? Or a person who has never seen it before and has no notion of what it is?” The trouble is always in keeping elements that you yourself find obvious knowledge out of the description, and comparing the experience to things that the character would already know.

Here’s an example from the book so that you can see what I mean. It depicts the first time Martyr get’s a good glimpse at the sky:

The sky stretched overhead like a very high, blue ceiling – a lighter color of blue than the picture of Myrtle Beach, but darker than Rolo’s eyes. The sun hung up in the sky, as well, somehow staying there without falling to the ground. It did not have a smiling face or long beams stretching out on all sides like the pictures Dr. Max had drawn. It was a pale, round ball of brightness. It hurt his eyes to start at the sun, so he studied the clouds instead. They were fluffy and white like the snow. (he had already seen snow at this point.)

I thought Jill managed this part of Martyr’s character very well. It was almost like I was seeing these things for the first time too, as I was reading the book. Notice that the sky was like a ceiling, something Martyr had seen before, and the sun was not like the smiley faced drawing he had been shown in the past. These descriptions kept the experience alive and fresh in my mind to the very end of the book.

Of course, the questions Jill posed in this book were good ones: Are clones actually “people”? If they were “created” (so to speak) by man, then did they actually have a purpose beyond the one given to them by man?

In the book, the character of Abby Goyer certainly believed so. Abby is a Christian, though her father is not. She is the one who befriends Martyr in the outside world. Martyr, curious about anything and everything, asks Abby some simple questions about her faith and God which then turn into more complicated ones. Why does she “pray” over her food? Who is she talking to? And so forth and so on. The most interesting thing about these questions was that they truly played on Abby’s knowledge of her faith. How was she going to explain these simple acts that she had taken for granted all of her life to a person who had never, ever heard of such a thing before? And the hardest part was that Martyr’s questions grew larger and more complicated, until she didn’t have answers for them at all.

This part of the story really got me thinking about how well I know my own faith. I’m a Christian, but just how well do I actually know what that means and entails? Or do I just go through the motions half the time, like Abby did on occasion, doing simple things just because it goes along with my faith? And what exactly is my faith? What does it mean, and why do I believe as I do? These questions should all be simple… I’ve faced them before, as most Christians have at one time or another. But the book started me thinking about them again. And, one of the best parts of the book, in my opinion, was watching Martyr come into his faith. He would do things that seemed so simple and sweet… and sometimes things that even Abby couldn’t understand.


(BIG SPOILER ALERT!)

Like when he gave one of his kidneys to the doctor who had cloned him and was going to kill him for both kidneys. Abby asked why he would do such a thing, and clearly thought that he didn’t have to and really shouldn’t have. After all, Dr. Kane, who was dying slowly of Lupus, had been planning the whole time to kill Martyr for no other reason than he wanted his kidneys. Dr. Kane’s justification was that Martyr was a clone, clearly not a real human, and therefore the act was not really murder at all. But as the story progresses there was no doubt in my mind (as I’m sure there will not be in yours) that Martyr and all of the other clones were most definitely human and that Dr. Kane’s actions would have been murder, whether he thought so or not.

Martyr’s answer to Abby’s question opened Abby’s eyes to a completely new meaning and depth of the faith that she called her own. He said simply, “Because Jesus would have done it.”

Abby’s reply was that Jesus didn’t have the option of giving away his kidney, especially to a criminal man like Dr. Kane.

But then Martyr quoted from the book of Luke: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. And then he tells Abby, “I have done so for Dr. Kane. That was my purpose for him.”

(End spoiler)

Wow. I mean really, WOW. That depth, that understanding of God’s true purpose for us… it’s all written right there in the Bible, but how many of us actually think of that verse’s meaning to the extent that Martyr did? How many of us take God’s word and truth that far?

This book was an eye opener. Not only was it compelling science fiction that kept me turning pages long into the night, but it held truths and perceptions that I had either not thought of before, or that I had let my understanding of them go rusty. This was a book well worth reading.

The one trouble I had with the book (and mind you, it is a very small trouble), was how Martyr killed Dr. Elliot. I know it was a sort of pre-considered self defense, and that both Dr. Elliot and Martyr had a mutual dislike of one another… and I know that Dr. Elliot was just plain cruel, partially for the sake of being cruel… but I saw no remorse in Martyr afterward, and for a boy who would give an evil scientist one of his kidneys because that’s what God would have wanted, this seemed partially uncharacteristic.

However, that was just one small scene. Hardly more than a few paragraphs really. Let it not dissuade you from picking up this most excellent book.

I give this book 4 ½ stars out of 5. It was an epic read, and quite memorable for me. That in itself is something to say, as I have read many books, but only a few hold places on my “memorable” list. ;) This is one of them. It’s fresh, funny in all the right places, serious when it needs to be, and fast paced all through. It’s not like any science fiction book I’ve ever read before, and I’ve read enough to tell. I highly recommend this one.

Good luck, Jill, with your other writing endeavors. I know I look forward to reading future books by you. God bless.

And God bless all of you reading this! Go pick up this book: it is definitely worth it. ^_^

Until next time, my friends, HAPPY WRITING! And reading.

Nichole White

CSFF Blog Tour: Corus the Champion (and rambling updates)

Hello Bloggy Friends!!! :D

It has honestly been way too long.  I never meant to disappear for all of November, but that's exactly what happened, isn't it?  Now I have so much I want to talk about!  I went to a weapon's seminar thing that a friend of mine put on for our writer's group... he's what one might call an "expert" hobby-ist when it comes to medieval weapons.  We worked on sword maneuvers and had mock sparing matches so that all of the fantasy writers in our group could get a taste of what their characters had to endure.  Then we were able to pick a "weapon" (made with pvc pipe, Styrofoam, and duck-tape) from his stash of practice pieces, and he taught us all about our choice.  My choice was the Glaive, which is similar to a spear crossed with an axe.  It's a pole arm and can be used much like a quarter staff, or like a spear... and I've discovered that I like the feel of that weapon in my own hands even better than the grip of a sword.  Don't get me wrong!  Swords are awesome, and it was so cool to finally be able to wield one (even if it was fake), but the Glaive just feels right somehow.  When I square up, it's like I already know what to do, and my moves feel smoother -- less jerky and hesitant than I am with a sword. :)

I've also been making a lot of neat jewelry lately.  I took pictures yesterday, and as soon as I can figure out how to work my sister's camera to get the pictures from her SD card to my computer, I'll post them on the P&P.  I plan to start offering the pieces that I'm making for sale, in case anyone is interested.  Just in time for the Christmas season too... *wink, wink*  I'm excited about it because I keep having people stop to ask me where I got my pendant or my earrings, and it's fun to tell people that I made them myself. ^_^  So, if you like what you see when I start posting pictures, let me know.  I'll offer prices with the pictures.  And perhaps it will make you feel better to know that with every piece of jewelry you buy, you help keep a poor College Student  in a car over the holidays. lol! :D

But more on all that later.  Right now I have a review to write. ^_^

Corus the Champion: Synopsis

With Nemesia's defeat, the Barlows have helped turn the tide in the Hidden Lands. An even greater evil stirs
in the north with a fierce new army bent on destruction.  As the twins, Gabe and Garret, discover their own  special powers, a thin thread of hope emerges: long ago, a fabled king was rescued from death on our world and hidden on Karac Tor.  Who is he?

Each brother has their part to play.  Hadyn must travel north to warn the land rulers, which leaves Ewan with a bitter choice.  Will he sacrifice what is most precious to discover whether Corus lives?  Even more important, if Corus is alive, can he wake the Sleeping King of legend... before it's too late?

My thoughts:

So far, I'm really enjoying this book.  I say "so far" because I haven't quite finished yet.  In fact, I'm not quite at the middle of it yet either, which is rather unusual for me, if I do say so myself.  Usually I finish a book within maybe a week... perhaps two... of when I receive it, but this semester has been so crazy, I just haven't had much extra time in between classes, studying, working on commissions, and trying to find another job.

Anyway...

I've been looking into this series since I first heard of the first book, "The book of Names".  The cover intrigued me to no end, and once I found out what it was about... boys traveling to another, parallel world... and learned about the connection these books include between pure fantasy and the stories of King Arthur, I knew that I would be reading them someday.

Unfortunately for me, "Corus the Champion" is the second book in the series... not the first.  So of course, seeing as I haven't read the first book yet, I'm having a little trouble picking up on the back story.  Not to say that this book isn't good on it's own.  In fact, far from it!  I could tell from the very first chapter that I would like reading this one.  D. Barkley Briggs has quite the way with words.  I love how he weaves in details and descriptions without being over flowery.  When I read the words, I truly am transported into Mr. Brigg's world.  And somehow, it feels very real to me... even with all of the elements of fantasy.

Somehow the writing... or perhaps it is the type of world... reminds me of Jeffery Overstreet's Auralia series.  It's hard to explain why this is, because I find their styles to be quite different.  And yet... I can't help but feel as if the two worlds were almost connected.  Strange, I know... and probably very off course, as these are two separate authors we are talking about.  But still.

What do I think of the characters?  Well... at this moment I think I'm slightly in "reader's love" with the strange and mysterious Prince of Vineland.  And I'm rather intrigued by Ewan's ability with music.  The margins in my copy of the book are currently being filled with notes about the things that I like, or a particular use of style that is intriguing, or the writer's twist on a phrase... or a description.  I don't usually mark up my books like this, but like I mentioned before, I keep finding myself inspired while I'm reading this.

On that note, I really, REALLY, wish I had read the first book first.  I think the stories might stand well on their own, but I still feel like I'm missing something.  I would like to know how the Barlows got to the Hidden Land, and learn more about this "Nemesia" that's mentioned in the book's blurb.  Perhaps that's only my thoughts, though.

So far, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.  When I actually get to the end of it, I would like to do an annalysis of the story as a whole.  As of this moment though, I am thoroughly enjoying just taking my time with it.  I keep having to stop, you see, and write a few notes down for  SOTD.   ;D

If you would like to know more about the book, though, you are more than welcomed to check out the other posts about it.  A list of CSFF participants is posted below.  Happy reading! :)


Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Carol Bruce Collett
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Sarah Sawyer
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nichole 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

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.)