The Giant’s Fall(Imagine.. #4)

Matt Koceich

3.5 stars

Synopsis:

The last thing fifth-grader Wren Evans remembers (before the world as she knew it disappeared) is getting off the school bus to discover her house engulfed in flames. What happens next can't be explained as Wren finds herself in a beautiful valley with a shepherd named David—in ancient Israel! Imagine. . .The Giant's Fall is the fourth release in an exciting epic adventure series for kids ages 8 to 12 written by schoolteacher Matt Koceich. The Imagine series brings the Bible to life for today's kids as they ponder what it would be like to live through a monumental biblical event.

My review:

This is one of the cases where I should have paid more attention to what the book was about before requesting it. This is definitely a book I would not have chosen, since I don’t really get into religious material. Keeping my own personal thoughts out of this, I reviewed based on story flow and how I feel the target audience would receive this.

This essentially is Wizard of Oz meets Bible Stories. I could understand the emotions and thoughts that Wren was experiencing at the beginning of the book. I feel that a child processing grief could potentially benefit from this book.

Now onto my critique. I feel the pacing was off. At times I felt ‘lost as to what was going on. I also feel good vs evil was portrayed a little too much as black and white. For the target audience that may be a good thing but evil isn’t always obvious nor is it always easy to escape. I also feel as though Wren accepted things too easily. 

To sum up: Plot receives a 4 star review. Execution receives a 3 star review.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley to review.

Silent Lee and the Adventure of the Side Door Key

Alex Hiam 

4 stars

Synopsis:

As if life isn’t already complicated when you have to sneak out a magical side door and enter a different century just to get to school each morning. And now Silent has to figure out what happened to her beloved Aunt Generous, the woman who raised her—which would be complicated enough even if the CIA agents in black SUVs weren’t chasing her—but they definitely are!

My Review:

Silent exists in two worlds. The modern(front door) world and a century old(side door) world. She has been raised by her Great Aunt Generous in the ways of the side door world. When her mother shows up to take her away for a couple of days her aunt ‘dies’ and thus starts Silent’s adventures. She is sent to live with cousins and attends a modern school with new technology. She receives a mysterious note from her aunt indicating she has not died and is instead being held captive. This leads Silent on a mission to find and rescue her aunt. 

First off, I really enjoyed this book. As a child of above average intelligence, it was difficult to find books for my maturity level but also my intelligence level. I feel this book achieves both. It kept me interested enough to keep from trying to guess what happens next. There were quite a few twists and I am waiting for the next adventure to be released.

Now for the critique. For somebody who was portrayed as mature, I found Silent to be a slightly immaturely rude character. I also feel as the the book was overly descriptive at times and wandered off topic to reveal inner thoughts that weren’t necessary to the storyline. The first chapter was the worst with lots of added on thoughts/descriptions(such as this). This is the reason why this is a four star rather than a 5 star review. If you are not bothered by those things, this is a 5 star read.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley to review.

Lifeline

Abbey Lee Nash

4 stars

Synopsis: 

Popular high school senior Eli Ross has the perfect life. He’s captain of the lacrosse team at LionsHeart Academy, and he’s dating Savannah, the hottest, most popular girl at school. But that life comes crashing down when he overdoses at a party and is sent to LakeShore Recovery Center, an inpatient substance abuse treatment program where he’ll spend the next twenty-eight days.

It's there that Eli meets Libby, the sharp-edged artist, whose freshly tattooed scars mirror the emotional scars Eli tries his best to ignore. Eli soon learns that if he's to have any chance at a future, he'll first have to confront his past.

My review:
With addiction becoming so commonplace I was really interested in reading this book and how it relates to youth today. I found Eli, the main character, to be spoiled. I could also feel his pain with how he perceived himself as an outsider within his own family. I knew part of the story involving his dad was missing, but by the time it was revealed, I had already guessed. It was interesting getting an inside look at the recovery process and that some people fail over and over and still try. I found the pace to be a bit slow at times and some parts weren’t believable, but definitely a 4 star read. I feel some of the messages in Lifeline should be heard by ALL teens, whether dealing with addiction or not. I would recommend Lifeline for any teen dealing with, or knows someone dealing with, addiction. 

I received an advance review copy to voluntarily review.