Musings of a young adult writer
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Thank you!
I’ve been reviewing books here on my blog since its inception in 2012. When I started out, I was writing middle grade books, and I made a point of reviewing a middle grade book every week. Over time, my review priorities have changed. I shifted to reviewing more young adult books than middle grade–although I’ve always tried to keep my reviews on Mondays for consistency. Several years ago, I introduced a mini-review feature, and it’s become the main way I do reviews since my own book release date has gotten closer. It’s just easier to post short reviews on Instagram and compile them here when I’ve written several.
I don’t know what the future holds for reviews on this blog, but I do know I’m in a bit of a slump at the moment. It’s not the first time this has happened. I keep lists of the books I’ve read each year here on the blog, and they link to the ones I’ve reviewed. Sometimes those lists will have ten or fifteen books in a row with no reviews. And the thing is, it’s not necessarily because I didn’t like those books enough to review them. Sometimes even though I do really enjoy a book, I either have so much going on in my life or in my head that I can’t muster the energy to write reviews. I feel bad when that happens because I want to support other authors, but at the same time I know there is only so much each of us can do in any given day or week.
So, for now I accept that I’m in a review slump and anticipate when I’m ready to get back to reviewing books I love again. What I expect will happen is I’ll read something that will get me so excited I can’t help but gush about it, no matter how crazy things are. Looking forward to that! And who knows? You might still see some reviews from my kids again.
Also, in other news, my new website is coming very soon! My existing reviews will all still be on the new site. The reading logs I just mentioned above will no longer be pages. I’m going to convert them to blog posts since they aren’t very popular anyway š. Working on the new site has helped me figure out what is most useful to my blog readers.
Okay, I’d better go find something amazing to read…
I have quite a mix of books in today’s review roundup–YA time travel, adult dual timeline, contemporary middle grade, YA historical fiction, and YA contemporary. So that should offer a little bit of something for everyone!
As soon as I finished OPPOSITE OF ALWAYS by Justin A. Reynolds, I knew it would be one of my favorite reads of the year (you can hold me to that in December). I mean, itās a YA involving time travel, so that shouldnāt surprise anyone š.
But in case you arenāt familiar, OPPOSITE OF ALWAYS is the story of Jack and Kate, who meet at a party and instantly bond. Over the next four months, Jack falls for Kate, but she dies, and heās zapped back to the moment he met her. Heās set on a Groundhog Day-type loopāonly four months long!ātrying to figure out how to save her. In addition, heās navigating his relationships with his two best friends, Francisco (Franny) and Jillian, and messing things up with both them and his parents at different points.
First off, I love the question this premise poses: If you could do things over, how would you change your actions? But then, what ripple effects do your actions have on others? How many times does it take for you to get things right so that everything turns out the way it needs to? Justin A. Reynolds handles this all so brilliantly. I loved every single character. None of them were perfectāexcept maybe Jackās parents. I do love it when characters have awesome parents. Jack makes a lot of mistakes and has a lot of growing to do. It just makes you think.
I posted last week that I love books with dual timelines, and I just finished a good one that happens to beāgasp!āan adult book. THAT SUMMER by Lauren Willig was actually my reward from the summer reading club through the St. Louis County Library last year, and I just now got to it because, well, adult books just arenāt my first choice anymore. But this one was fantastic.
The story alternates between 2009 and 1849. In 2009, Julia has just inherited a house outside London from a great-aunt she never knew. When she goes to start cleaning it out, she discovers a painting hidden in the false back of a wardrobe, and the story reverts to 1849 and Imogen, trapped in a loveless marriage but about to meet an intriguing painter.
The story skillfully switches between Julia trying to solve the mystery of the painting and following the actual story of Imogen. Quite often when Iām reading adult books these days they just seem so LONG, but this one flew by. The pacing between the two plots was fantastic, and both Julia and Imogen had compelling stories. I was rooting for both of them, hoping theyād get a happy ending. I wonāt spoil it, though š.
I donāt read as much middle grade these days (only 10 out of 109 books in 2019), so when I do itās usually something that has really caught my attention. Iād seen several people talking about FROM THE DESK OF ZOE WASHINGTON by Janae Marks, then I read the description and was immediately intrigued. I also knew my daughter would love it; throughout the book she kept stopping to tell me what she thought would happen next. I do enjoy when we read a book together! On to the descriptionā¦
On her 12th birthday, Zoe receives a letter from her father, Marcus, whoās in prison for a crime he says he didnāt commit. She decides to write back, determined to uncover the truth, even though she has to hide the investigation from her mom and stepdad. They think sheās worried about her bakery internship and proving sheās worthy of auditioning for Food Networkās Kids Bake Challenge. Will she discover Marcus is lying?
I loved the letters between Zoe and Marcus, and I really liked Marcus as a character. From the description, I expected it to be Marcus trying to convince Zoe of his innocence, but it really was more that he just stated it and accepted where he was, while she was driven to prove it. The supporting cast of characters was fantastic, especially Zoeās grandma and estranged friend Trevor. Both relationships are so well-drawn, as are her parents. Itās a story about family and friendship and not giving up on the search for justice, even when it seems like itās too late. I encourage everyone to read this and then to give it to a young reader.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the bakingābecause that part is awesome too. š§
Do you have a favorite legendary character? Iāve always loved the tale of Robin Hood, starting with the Disney movie when I was a child. āRobin Hood: Prince of Thievesā is another favorite. Fun fact: I once sang āEverything I Do I Do It For Youā at a wedding. Yes, I can totally claim the title of wedding singer š.
But back to the reason for this review, which is the recently released HOOD by Jenny Elder Moke. This latest Robin Hood retelling follows Isabelle of Kirklees, hidden inside a convent with her mother, Marien, since birth. At sixteen, Isabelle is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, and her mother helps her escape and sends her to find her father, Robin Hood.
The story is full of action, and I love how Isabelle is both a strong character but also experiences fear and makes missteps throughout the story. The surrounding cast of characters is also fantastic, focusing mainly on the younger members of the Merry Men but of course with appearances from those weād expect from the traditional tale. Iām really hoping there will be more stories to come from the world of this re-imagining!
After reading DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone, which is quite a serious book, I wanted to try one of her other books. I was interested in the central question of JACKPOT: What would you do if you won the lottery?
After Rico, the main character, sells the jackpot-winning ticket, she enlists the help of wildly popular and rich classmate Zan to help her track down the ticket holder, who hasnāt claimed the prize.
JACKPOT is a quest to find the ticket holder, and there are a lot of fun elements, but it also takes a hard look at class and money, as well as frank discussions about race. So the book still ended up being more serious than I expected, but in a good way. I loved Ricoās younger brother, Jax, and Ricoās growing friendships during the book. There was also a really unique element with interlude chapters from inanimate objectsātotally makes sense when you read it :). I stayed up until midnight to finish JACKPOT because I had to find out how it ended! Not going to give it away.
So that’s what I’ve been reading lately. How about you? Anything interesting I should check out?
As I was going through all the old posts on my blog to clean up the categories, I noticed it had been quite a while since I did a general reading post that wasn’t a review. I also noticed a number of my reviews included statements like “any book that includes _____ has my immediate attention,” and I thought it would be fun to compile those statements into a single post. In no particular order…
Any book that includes…
1. Baking – I love to bake myself, so I love to read about it too. Kids baking, teens baking, baking contests, baking camps, eating baked goods–any kind of baking is good. Other kinds of cooking aren’t quite the same, but it might catch my attention if the characters are whipping up something less sweet. If you check out my Instagram, probably one in five pictures are baked goods š.
2. Time travel – I’m completely fascinated by time travel and love to see how different authors tackle it. Can you change the past if you go back or not? What’s the future like? My debut book is a time travel story, except I wrote it in 2018 about a girl traveling from 1995 to 2020, assuming it would be safe to write life pretty much the same two years ahead. Um, yeah…
3. Alternate realities/dual timelines – I also really love stories with alternate realities, where the character gets to experience an alternate version of their life. Maybe that’s what’s happening to us all now???
I also enjoy stories where it jumps back and forth between the present and another time, and some mystery from the past relates directly to the present. When it’s done well, it’s so fantastic.
4. France – If it’s set in France–and especially Paris–I will want to read it and relive my week there 13 years ago. I’ve actually been a Francophile since I was a child, when a French family moved in down the street from us. As a result, I ended up taking French all through school instead of Spanish, which I know would have been more useful. But I adore anything to do with France. I’ve only been there once, but it was an amazing experience. As a sub-note, I also enjoy stories set in other European countries.
5. Jane Austen – I’ve loved Jane Austen since I first read PRIDE & PREJUDICE my freshman year in high school. I went on to read the rest her works, and my honors thesis for college was a comparative analysis of her books and their movie adaptations. Technically, that thesis is my first published work. There’s a copy in the Baylor University library, but it’s super-outdated now, as there have been another dozen adaptations since I wrote the thesis. I would have had so much fun writing about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies…
6. Shakespeare – I fell in love with Shakespeare at an even younger age. In my sixth grade gifted class, we put on a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (I was Titania), and I was hooked! I definitely prefer the comedies, although that is more of a life choice than a Shakespeare thing. But any book that includes Shakespeare, whether it is a retelling, discussion, or performance, is likely to catch my interest.
7. Cinderella – Speaking of retellings, I’m a total sucker for anything Cinderella related. It’s funny, because if you were to ask my favorite Disney movie, I wouldn’t say Cinderella, but I really love books that take a character out of obscurity and give them a total makeover. I really like fairy tale retellings in general, though, especially if they mix a whole bunch of fairy tales together.
8. Twins – I’m totally fascinated by twins and love stories where they have to switch places or are separated at birth or some other sort of craziness ensues.
9. Royalty – I love books about royalty. I don’t care if it’s a prince or a princess; I’m just fascinated by royalty. I’m sure it has to do with some childhood fantasy of becoming a princess myself.
10. Theater/Musical Theater – I love going to the theater, and I participated in it all through school (although I was mainly in the ensemble). Now my kids have both gotten into it as well. Love those drama geeks!
What are the hooks/premises that always make you want to read?
Since 2021 and the release of my book is rapidly approaching–let’s all be honest, we’d all like to time travel at least six months ahead, right?–I’ve hired a web designer to create a new website for me! Many authors are much more talented than I am and are able to create something on their own, but I feel much more confident focusing on the content and handing over design to a professional. My blog will be imported into the new site, so if you are one of my regular readers, I will definitely still be blogging, and from what I understand, you won’t have to do anything to keep following me.
I’m in the process of organizing all of the pages that will be on my website, and while I’m doing that, I’d love to hear what you like to see on an author website. Here are a few questions related to features I’m considering:
If you’ve been following me a while, you know I have a LOT of posts here. As I was looking through other author sites and seeing how their blogs looked, I realized I’d made a mess of categorizing my posts, so I spent the past week and a half adding sub-categories, converting some categories to tags, and deleting others altogether. My goal was to make it easier to search for posts using the categories. I made this word cloud to show my greatly reduced list of categories (you can also see them–with sub-categories–on the sidebar of the blog). Now I’ll just have to make a key so I don’t forget what I did with them š.
The new website is coming in early September. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your answers to the above questions as I’m pulling together all of my content for the designer.
It’s time for another roundup of mini-reviews! In light of recent events, I took a hard look at my reading habits and realized that while I certainly wasn’t reading all white authors, I wasn’t making a concerted effort to read and support Black authors–or to bring those books to my kids’ attention. So as a family, we are working to expand our reading lists, and today’s roundup reflects some of the amazing new authors I’ve discovered, along with a couple of books I already had on my TBR list.
How often do you start reading a book and immediately know itās going to be one you truly love and will read again? Thatās how I felt within the first few pages of TRULY MADLY ROYALLY by Debbie Rigaud. Iād had this book on my TBR list since it first came out, and now Iām just sad I didnāt read it sooner.
Itās about Zora Emerson, whoās just enrolled in a prestigious summer program, and unexpectedly clicks with Owen Whittelsey, prince of a small European country.
Basically, I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Zora is a strong teen girl who loves her community and doesnāt let obstacles keep her from going after her goals. The chemistry between Zora and Owen is adorable; their corny jokes are the best. And then thereās a great cast of additional charactersāZoraās best friend, Skye, Zoraās family, the kids at her program, and the new friends she makes at school. As a writer, I also loved the plottingāso well done! Iāll definitely add this book to my re-read list, PLUS I discovered Debbie Rigaud has other books available, so Iām going to check those out.
Read this book because itās awesome. Also because it showcases a Black teen being awesome.
Is there a place you love so much youāll read pretty much any book set there?
For me, that place is Paris. Iāve only been there once, but it was a magical visit, and I canāt wait to return, so if a book is set there, Iām on it! But when I read the description for THE PAPER GIRL OF PARIS by Jordyn Taylor, I was additionally intrigued by the dual timelines. The storyās about Alice in the present, who has just inherited a mysterious apartment that has been locked for more than 70 years. Once she enters, she discovers her grandmother had a sister, and the story flashes back to Adalyn during World War II, working in the French Resistance against the Nazis.
I loved how this book followed two distinct, heart wrenching family storiesāAlice struggling with her mom in the present and Adalyn heartbroken over keeping secrets from her sister (Alice’s grandmother) in the past. The tension within each timeline and even between the two was fantastic. I found myself completely stressed out over Aliceās concern about what her great-aunt was involved in. Plus, there was a really sweet love story in the present and a deeper one in the past. The resolution was very satisfying.
I highly recommend this book, which came out in May. Such a fantastic read!
I got NEW KID by Jerry Craft for my kids to read (mainly my daughter, who loves graphic novels), and they both finished it within 24 hours. Actually, my daughter grabbed it with the words āMy best friend read this!ā and read it in less than three hours. My son then tore through it by the next morning, so that was a good sign I should read it too.
Itās about Jordan, whose parents enroll him at a prestigious private school where heās one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. I loved Jordanās characterāhis passion for art, love for his family, and struggle to figure out how to fit his different friends and worlds together. This book tackles many different aspects of racism, outright and careless, from other students AND teachers. By seeing it from Jordanās viewpoint, itās clear why ALL of those are hurtful and offensive. Even while there are many characters who donāt get things right, there are also hopeful moments throughout the book.
I especially loved the chapter titles and Jordanās journal entries. I learned so much from this book, and I will definitely be picking up the companion novel, CLASS ACT, this fall.
This book is great to read and discuss with your kids. Also funny and a book kids will re-read.
DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone is about Justyce McAllister, a good kid, an honor student, always there to help a friendānone of which matters to the police officer who handcuffs him over a misunderstanding. Justyce begins studying the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and writing letters to him in a journal, seeking answers. One day, heās riding in the car with his best friend with the music turned up really loud, sparking the anger of an off-duty cop in the truck beside them. Shots are fired.
I donāt want to get into what happens next because I encourage you to read the book yourself, but this book is extremely powerful and explores a number of different viewpoints and experiences. It delves into several aspects of racism, from daily encounters at Justyceās school, to his black friend raised mainly in a white community, to the police bias. But itās also more than just a look at race. Itās about friendship and falling in love and figuring out what you believe about the world and your place in it. Itās extremely well done and I highly recommend it.
I also recommend THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas along these same lines.
This photo shows my expression when I finished reading AURORA BURNING by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I had stayed up until 12:15 in the morning to finish the book, and it was a total cliffhanger! But still, the book was an amazing sequel to AURORA RISING, and I can’t wait for the finale!
If you aren’t familiar, the series is about a squad of misfits trying to save the galaxy from an ancient race that assimilates entire planets in its path. The characters are all hilarious, plus there are bonus romantic story lines and tons of action. If you don’t like cliffhangers, wait until the last book comes out to read these š.
Now that I’ve told you about some awesome books, I wanted to share a great resource. On June 4, I tuned in to the absolutely fantastic #KidLit4BlackLives Rally on Facebook Live, hosted by The Brown Bookshelf store. If you missed it, thereās a recording on The Brown Bookshelf YouTube Channel. The Brown Bookshelf has put on additional events since, and you can check those out on their Facebook page. One of my key takeaways has been that it’s important to read books that deal with racism directly, but it’s also vital to read and promote books that show Black kids and teens living joyfully.
If you have other book recommendations for me and my family, please pass them along!
A couple of weeks ago, MMGM host Greg Pattridge at Always in the Middle informed me I was one of the winners of a box of 10 middle grade books for his 1,000th post giveaway. Since my son has been doing the MG reviews lately, I suggested he address the box to him, and today he’s decided to review one of those books.
EPOCA: THE TREE OF ECROF is an amazing read. It was written by Ivy Claire but was created by Kobe Bryant. I donāt exactly know the difference between written and created, but I think that Kobe Bryant came up with the idea and story while Ivy Claire wrote the book off of that idea. I would like to thank Mr. Pattridge for giving the book away; I had a lot of fun reading it. There were many things that I liked about it and I think you will too.
Set in an alternate classical world dominated by sports and a magical power called grana, EPOCA: THE TREE OF ECROF is the story of two children: the lowly born Rovi and the crown princess Pretia who uncover and battle terrible evil and discover their inner strength along the way.
EPOCA: THE TREE OF ECROF takes place at the most elite sports academy in the land, where the best child-athletes are sent to hone their skills. When Rovi and Pretia arrive, each harboring a secret about themselves, they begin to suspect that something evil is at play at the school. In the course of their first year, they must learn to master their grana in order to save the world from dark forces that are rising.
So, here are some of the things that I like about it.
e pages are colorful. While this is not important to the story, it made me happy looking at unique, colorful pages instead of the regular white pages. This is what the pages look like.Ā ā©I hope you enjoyed this review, and I hope that it causes you to read this amazing book. So, have a good day and happy reading!
Sounds like he needs some recommendations on books with sports. If you have some, please pass them along!
As promised, my middle grader has moved on to book two in THE UNWANTEDS series this week. As of now, he says he’s going to continue reviewing the rest of the series. However, I know he already finished re-reading all of them, so we’ll see if he decides to switch to something else he loves in the coming weeks š. But I’ll turn it over to him now.
Hello, everyone! Just to let you know, like all sequels, THE UNWANTEDS: ISLAND OF SILENCE (Book 2) will not make sense unless youāve read the first book (THE UNWANTEDS). So, because of this, if you read this review it will spoil some of the things in the first book. If you have not read the first book yet (I gave you a week so you should have), then you need to right now. If youāve read all of them and are just reading this as a refresher, then you should just read them yourself, thatās the best refresher. And re-reading lets you dive deeper and read in between the lines. (We learned about that in ELA this year.) If you have read the first book this week, then good job and you are allowed to read this before you read book 2, ISLAND OF SILENCE. If you truly want to read this and youāve read THE UNWANTEDS, then I suppose you may if you wish. Now that thatās all over and only people who have read the first book are reading this, letās begin!
The magical barrier between the dreary land of Quill and the fantastical world of ArtimĆ© is gone. Now residents from both places are free to mingle, but suspicions are high. The artistic warriors of ArtimĆ© struggle to forgive those in Quill who condemned them to death, while the Quillians attempt to recover from the shock of ArtimĆ©ās existence, the loss of their leader, and the collapse of their safe, orderly world.Ā
Alex Stowe has recovered from his wounds since his death-defying role in ArtimĆ©ās victory, but his confidence is shattered. He battles self-doubt after ArtimĆ©ās beloved mage, Mr. Today, makes a stunning request, which is further complicated by the mysterious arrival of two silent orange-eyed teenagers. Meanwhile in Quill, Aaron is devastated by his fall from grace. Spurred by rage, Aaron devises a masterful plan of revenge that will return him to powerā¦ If no one gets in his way.
So, it sounds interesting, doesnāt it? So now that ArtimĆ© has defeated Quill, both sides of the island are mostly at peace and are visiting each other. But, multiple people, including the Stowe twins, are having reservations about what happened. Aaron is now trying to re-take his position and climb higher, to lead Quill. And, he wonāt let anything get in his wayā¦ Alex is completely unsure of himself. He feels like almost dying has highlighted all his vulnerabilities and therefore he is not good at magic at all and is the worst person at magic ever. Mr. Today wants to teach Alex more about magic because he can see that Alex is great at magic, but Alex wonāt let him. Mr. Today devised a plan. To get Alex to learn more magic, he asks him to learn the magic to support ArtimĆ© while he goes on a vacation. But along the way things start to go horribly wrong and ArtimĆ© starts to get desperateā¦
THE UNWANTEDS: ISLAND OF SILENCE is an amazing book that I know you will enjoy. I hope you love it just as much as I have. Goodbye and happy reading!
I hope he does continue these reviews because book 2 was where I stopped reading this series, for whatever reason. However, he is going to camp the next few weeks–with temperature checks and masks and sanitizing and social distancing!–so we’ll see how he keeps up with reviewing. He’ll still be reading for sure š.
While my son has read the entire Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann–including the spin-off books–several times, today he decided to focus on the first book for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann was a great story. Itās so good that Iāve read this series four times. There are seven books in the Unwanteds series. Today Iām going to review the first one. Despite being rather long, they are easy books to get into.
Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.
Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret–behind the mirage of the “death farm” there is instead a place called ArtimĆ©.
So, the Unwanteds is about the twins Alex and Aaron Stowe. This book is basically about Alex learning to have feelings, for the people of Quill are supposed to suppress their feelings, as well as learning to be creative. It is also, however, about Aaron as he tries to fit in as a Wanted without feelings, dreams, or anything that the Quill leader, High Priest Justine, doesn’t like. Which is especially hard while he struggles with a connection with Alex, who he thinks is dead. Alex is changing as he learns that the āDeath Farmer,ā whom he now knows as Mr. Today, has actually saved all their lives as he brings them into his colorful world full of music, art, and laughter. But, a shadow hangs over it all, because if ArtimĆ© is found out, Justine will surely kill them all for tricking her all this time.
The reason I keep coming back to this book is the world building. ArtimƩ is an amazing and wonderful world. Also, I like the characters. Especially Alex. He is awesome.
I know this review was shorter, but sometimes short and sweet is the way to go! I really liked figuring out all the things when I first read it, so I donāt want to ruin the extra surprise for you when you read the book. (By the way, you really should read the book.) Also, after Iāve reviewed all of them, Iām thinking about just talking about what I liked best about the whole series, so some of the stuff in this book might be talked about then. I hope you liked this review! Bye!
Hmm. Sounds like he might be planning to review more of these books. I guess we’ll see in future weeks, although I won’t hold him to it as I expect by the end of next week he’ll already be on book five or six š¤£.
To learn about other middle grade books, visit the Marvelous Middle Grade blog hop at Always in the Middleā¦
My son read another whole series this week! I’ve actually read this one too, and it’s fantastic. Let’s see what he has to say.
So now that I know how to actually do a series review, I donāt think Iām going to do mini reviews. Last week it took me 4 hours to do the review and I donāt have that time. But, this time I am going to highlight some of my favorite things. So, hereās my overview of the series.
Series Overview
The Jack Blank series is a trilogy by Matt Myklusch. It is about a boy named (guess what!) Jack Blank. The book names in order are: THE ACCIDENTAL HERO, THE SECRET WAR, and THE END OF INFINITY. In these books, Jack Blank finds himself to be in a horrible orphanage only to be taken by surprise when he turns out to be from this magical place called the Imagine Nation and has superpowers. But then, things really start to happenā¦ Iāll leave you at that! This is a review, Iām required by law to get you to read the book. So if that means I stop talking about it at certain points to hook you, then thatās okay! I have to do my job. Anywayā¦ letās get on to my āWhat I Likedā paragraph.
What I Liked
End
So, I forgot to do my job throughout it soā¦ you really need to read this book. And thatās not just me saying that because of a so called āJobā that I think Iām important enough to even have a job. But go read this book right now. So, thank you for giving me your time to read this review! Bye!
Jack Blank doesnāt know who or where he comes from. He doesnāt even know his real last name. All Jack knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnabyās Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. Everything changes one morning when Jack receives two visitors. The first is a deadly robot straight out of one of Jackās favorite comic books, that tries its best to blow him up. The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate, including Jack.
Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing abilityā one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat theyāve ever faced.
A little different from last week’s review, but having read this series, I’ll just add that it is full of twists, and it would be very easy to give too much away, so I can understand his hesitation.
Michelle I. Mason 