A sprawling, engrossing fantasy that deftly explores Christian themes in a dramatic fashion.
Two siblings from Arkansas fight to survive in a magical world.
This debut novel follows in the footsteps of C.S. Lewis, creating a Christian allegory in a fantasy world. Twelve-year-old twins Chayse and Reed Leftwich are home alone while their adoring but overstretched mother is busy at work; their loving yet irresponsible father has moved out. Then a social worker shows up and takes them into custody. After a quick hearing, the twins are handed over to foster parents, but things get complicated when the couple take them from the Ozarks into another world, ruled by the Elfwitch. The Elfwitch demand that the twins hand over silver necklaces they were given by their mother. Reed refuses and is sent to prison while Chayse agrees and starts to follow the Elfwitch. Chayse learns about potions and the Elfwitch’s ambitions while Reed builds alliances with his fellow prisoners, breaks out of jail, and finds out about the new land’s problems. The people have turned their backs on the Judge who set down the Law and sent his Son as his representative, and the Elfwitch conspire to unseat the rightful queen. Chayse and Reed struggle to understand why everyone in this new world resembles people they know in Arkansas—including their parents—and eventually realize that defeating the Elfwitch and restoring the Judge’s rule are crucial steps in their quest to get back to their own realm. While the fantasy world’s Christian symbolism is not subtle (“So the Judge sent his Son. He said, ‘Surely, they will listen to my Son and return to the Law.’ But the people loved the Darkness more and called that the Light”), it is well integrated into the plot and the worldbuilding. Dramatic battle scenes, mysterious enchantments, monstrous creatures, and unfamiliar environments situate the story firmly in the fantasy genre, and the religious themes mesh with the plot. The writing is not entirely polished, but Cummins tells a solid and engaging story.
A sprawling, engrossing fantasy that deftly explores Christian themes in a dramatic fashion.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798985392012
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A well-crafted, supernatural pirate tale with a capable, young hero.
A young girl, the descendant of a famous pirate, joins a magic-filled adventure at sea in this launch of a prospective middle-grade series.
Avalina Jones has only hazy memories of her parents, who left her at a Louisiana orphanage six years ago. It turns out they were keeping their daughter, now 10, a secret for her own safety. A scoundrel named Del Maligno long ago vowed revenge against Davy Jones and has since targeted all his heirs. Avalina is the lone survivor. As per her late mother’s wishes, Avalina boards the Aquatiery, one of four schoolships for pirate heirs. The girl and her new friends study, and, like full-fledged pirates, they scrutinize maps and hunt for treasure. Avalina already has enough to worry about; legend says the evil Del Maligno can control the weather. There’s also a chance she’s got Davy Jones’ “Curse of Bad Luck.” Booting Avalina off the ship is evidently someone’s priority, and she soon becomes the No.1 suspect for an onboard murder. Adams’ pirate-centric story teems with entertaining bits of magic. If the students want to eat, they must first catch surprisingly mobile “enchanted food” (even salads). The author nevertheless zeroes in on winsome Avalina and her equally appealing fellow heirs. The narrative lingers on colorful descriptions of the ship’s decks (“rickety, crooked signs” in “sloppy white lettering”) as well as the surrounding ocean’s “pale blue water.” An unknown antagonist on the Aquatiery incites mystery (if Avalina isn’t the killer, then someone else surely is). While the ending satisfies, Adams leaves plenty to explore further in sequels, like Avalina’s ability to breathe underwater, which she keeps mum about.
A well-crafted, supernatural pirate tale with a capable, young hero.Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73713-120-5
Page Count: 366
Publisher: Spyhop Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An imaginative portal adventure hampered by a muddled plot.
Magical realms and wild exploits entangle a girl in this debut children’s fantasy novel.
The child of an English father and a Malaysian mother, 9-year-old Ashley Sprinkler is happy her family is moving to Kuala Lumpur to live with her maternal grandmother. Yet several months later, her father—the genius inventor Professor Sprinkler—dies suddenly. Ashley inherits his magical/scientific artifacts, giving her a chance to rescue Billy, the neighbor’s rabbit, who became trapped in another dimension. But instead of Billy, Ashley accidentally frees a wizard, Speed Twister, who forcibly transports her (and Bob, the neighbor’s cat) to his Maze Realm. Though they manage to escape, their magical gateway takes them to the Enchanted Gardens Realm, where they meet Prince Jeff, 15, a talented inventor. His kingdom is facing attack from the Three Weird Sisters of the Desperate Valley realm. The sisters killed his parents and have now imprisoned Billy’s kidnappers, Valerie, 10, and her witch mum, who traveled to Desperate Valley to steal magical items. Complicated cross-realm travels through magical portals, battles, and adventures ensue, with Ashley winning allies and learning more about the many powers inherent in her father’s inventions. In this innovative tale, Idid employs the popular portal fantasy motif, the multiple realms giving the author lots of room to explore characters, comical mishaps, and even tragedy. It’s a creative mix but confusingly hard to follow as the plot jumps from one event to another with little sense of an overall story arc. For example, Ashley’s sudden transport to and from an enchanted forest doesn’t advance the plot or develop her character. Techno-magical items aren’t well thought out. It’s more satisfying for readers to learn artifacts’ powers before they’re wielded, but here, their (often unrelated) effects simply appear as needed.
An imaginative portal adventure hampered by a muddled plot.Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2021
ISBN: 979-8535333434
Page Count: 249
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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