Loralee Evans's Blog: Loralee Evans, page 34

Passage to Avalon by Mike Thayer

The world building in Passage to Avalon by Mike Thayer is magnificent. I was thoroughly impressed by the detail of this world; the magic systems that are in place, the unique species, the established government etc. Middle grade readers, especially kids who love fantasy, will absolutely enjoy this book!

Mike Thayer is a master at creating a unique and completely believable world; one that is separate but parallel to our own. And I might add, close enough that the main character is actually able to communicate on occasion, (when he can find enough bars) with the Earth side of the dimensional divide.

Passage to Avalon (c) 2018 by Mike ThayerWhile Samwise (Sam for short) Shelton and a friend are pulling a mean prank on someone, they experience an earthquake and subsequently find themselves transported to Avalon, a world separate but parallel to our own. The particular geography of this parallel dimension seems to match ours, and Avalon is where New Zealand is on our half of the dimensional divide. There, he encounters a society that is similar in dress and thinking to the middle ages of Europe, but also with a magical system as well. When coming into contact with a couple of ne'er-do-wells, Sam unwittingly defeats them, because, as it turns out, he is what the people there call a "void" someone who isn't affected by magic at all, and can actually drain it from others. As the story goes along and as he meets new allies, he learns to use this odd skill as he sets about trying to rescue his friend who came over with him, but who landed in another part of Avalon.

What actually happened when he finally comes into contact with his missing friend was something I predicted long before it happened, though the target audience of middle grade readers might be surprised by it.

For myself, and taking into account that I am not a member of the target audience, I really did not like Samwise. He is a downright cruel boy who plays mean tricks on people, thinking himself clever and witty as he does so, and calling the mean tricks "pranks" to justify them. This is usually something that turns me quickly away from a book, though I understand its appeal to many middle grade readers. I hoped Sam would grow as the book moved along, but from what I saw of him, he largely didn't. As the story neared the end of the book, he even said that the "pranks" he played were only done to people who "deserved" it. I wondered what the librarian at his school had done to him that was so terrible that she deserved to have her lunch ruined which is a difficult thing at best, and at worst could be outright dangerous if she has health issues and needs to eat regularly. Being young should not excuse him from being unkind or ignorant to such a potential problem. He's not five years old; he's fourteen and at this point in his life, he has the ability to know better. If he doesn't know better, it's because he has consciously chosen not to learn better. He mentioned, also toward the end of the book, that pulling his so called "pranks" was something his dad (who is deceased when the story begins) had taught him to do. I was a bit surprised at this. If his dad would approve of and participate in such meanness, then alive or dead, he's not a great guy. But would his dad really approve of Sam treating people in such a cruel way and think it funny? I seriously doubt it, and am certain that the mean pranks Sam has pulled on teachers, police, and likely others is more a misguided interpretation of harmless and playful jokes his dad taught him.

In addition, again near the end of the book, Sam still hasn't learned much about honor or honesty and shows it when he lies to one of the characters who asks him if anyone could learn to use his phone; he leads the person to understand that he, Sam, is the only one who can or ever could use the phone the way he does. The person who asked wasn't a bad or dishonorable person, and Sam had no reason to withhold the truth from the person. It will be disappointing if, at the end of the series, he still sees half-truths as acceptable, or  teachers as dross, and as suitable brunts of cruel jokes like he does at the beginning.

That being said, much of his acting out in such mean ways may have something to do with the fact that his dad passed away before the story began. Also, Sam does try to rescue his friend, and even endures difficult and dangerous situations in his attempt to find and save the other boy. It will be interesting to see if he learns to extend that compassion to others including his mom and other adults (teachers, the police and other authority figures) in our dimension (not just the cool cowboys and rebel leaders in Avalon's dimension) and if he learns to appreciate the often raw endurance that such adults exercise when dealing with a child like him and what they all do and go through for him by the end of the series.

Of course, this is just the first book of a series, and the following books may see Sam learn and grow in surprising ways. The world building, as I already mentioned, was absolutely astounding, and Avalon, with its environment, people, magic system and rules, and the deliciously corrupt government is completely riveting.

Middle grade readers will find this book engaging and exciting, and will look forward with much anticipation to the rest of the series!

The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill

The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill is a touching middle grade novel about a young girl who doesn't know what to make of life and her relationships when her dad leaves, and she doesn't know where he is.

Three Rules of Everyday Magic, The (c) 2018
by Amanda Rawson HillThe book gives young readers a good look at the realities of depression and dementia, and the readers learn, along with Kate, how to care and trust, even when the people she once trusted the most let her down.

Kate's dad, once her best friend and once so seemly happy, now has depression and doesn't seem to want Kate to know where he is.  Her grandma is sinking deeper into dementia and Kate doesn't know what to do about that.

She tries following her grandma's advice about "everyday magic" but at first, things don't seem to work, and even backfire on her. Or at least don't work out the way she expected. But as she learns about all the rules of "everyday magic" she begins to come to a greater understanding about what her dad is suffering and what her grandma is going through and is able to develop greater compassion for each of them.

This book is a good book for young people, especially those who have loved ones who are dealing with depression and/or aging.

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen is a powerful book aimed mostly at older kids, but it's something that adults would appreciate as well.

Resistance (c) 2018 by Jennifer A. NielsenChaya Lindner is a young Jewish girl whose family is torn apart by the Nazis during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Despite the terrible risks to her, she chooses to fight back by running messages, food, etc. into the ghettos. She even manages to sneak people out. She faces terrible risks, and great danger, but still presses forward.

The things that she sees in the ghettos, (starving people, etc.) and the terrible risks she faces may be scary for really young kids, but this is a story that needs to be told. I believe older kids and teens as well as adults will learn valuable lessons about WWII, the cruelty of the Nazis, and most importantly, the strength of human courage by reading this book.

History should not be forgotten if we do not want to repeat it, and the extent to which human depravity can sink should never be underestimated. And yet Chaya's example shows that the opposite is true, too. The extent of courage that can be shown in the face of great evil also should not be underestimated.

I recommend this book without hesitation to older elementary kids, teens, and adults.

Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Squint (c) 2018
 by Shelly Brown and Chad MorrisSquint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown follows Flint (Squint as some kids call him) as he works to create the graphic art of his original superhero Squint and his side kicks. As he makes friends with McKell, he starts to get to know her brother Danny as well, but not directly; only through the challenges he offers people through his youtube channel, that encourage them to do difficult things that stretch them and help make them better, kinder people.

As McKell and Flint work through Danny's various challenges, they grow and learn, sometimes in unexpected ways. But when tragedy strikes, will they be able to continue forward and work through the last few challenges?

Squint is a great book for young and not so young alike, and leaves the reader with something positive to think about.

Grump by Liesl Shurtliff

Grump by Leisl Shurtliff is a middle grade novel that follows the life of Borlen (also known as Grump) who ends up being one of the dwarves who help Snow White.

Borlen is unlike other dwarves. Because of an accidental cave in, he wasn't born where most dwarves are born, deep down, in the best caverns, he is born near the surface, so close that his parents can see tree roots growing down into the cave where he is born. Because of this unfortunate predicament, the only things they have to feed their baby are pebbles, except for one nice ruby his father was saving for their child when he was born.

Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because of something inherent in his character, Borlen is fascinated by stories of the surface world and always wants to go there. One day when his crew of seven dwarves (they always dig in crews of seven) is digging in a tunnel, they come across his namesake, borlen, and realize they might be close to the surface. Few of the other dwarves want to stay here, but Borlen convinces them that he should, and bring back the borlen, which is a prized commodity in dwarf communities. They let him, but when he digs a little bit further, and finally breaks through a few more rocks, he sees sunlight streaming in. What happens after that? You should read the book and find out for yourself!

People who enjoy the story of Snow White would enjoy this unique look at the lives of the dwarves before they met Snow White, and especially at the life and background of Grumpy before and after their encounter with her.

This was a really fun book for me to read, and I think that adults as well as kids would enjoy it!

Rush Revere and the First Patriots by Rush Limbaugh

Rush Revere and the First Patriots by Rush Limbaugh is a fun way for kids and adults to experience history. It is the second book in the series, the first book being Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims, and in my opinion, it is just as fun as the first.

In this second book, Mr. Revere, a substitute teacher at Manchester Middle School, is teaching in place of Ms. Borington, the regular history teacher. But Mr. Revere has something that Ms. Borington doesn't have. He has the ability to travel to any time in history where something happened that affected the United States. He doesn't have this skill on his own, though. He has a time traveling horse named Liberty who can talk, and can travel to specific events in American history.

In this episode, four students, Tommy, Freedom, Cam, and Elizabeth are able to travel through time to periods just before the American Revolution began. They meet people like Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, King George, and others who were participants in that period of history.

Tommy, Freedom and Cam are nice kids, Elizabeth is not. She's a power hungry child who wants to change American history so that King George knows about the Boston Tea Party before it happens. She is a decidedly unpleasant child, and I would enjoy watching what happens to her in continued episodes. Perhaps she will change for the better, and learn that Freedom and Liberty both the concepts and the people) are pretty great.

I recommend this book because of its fun characters, and its exploration of historical events in a creative and entertaining way.

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims (c) 2013
by Rush LimbaughRush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims is a fun book written by Rush Limbaugh for a middle grade to junior high audience, and is a great way to teach young kids about the history of America. I listened to the audio book of the story, read by the author, Rush Limbaugh, and he does a great job, The story follows the adventures of four main characters, Rush Revere, the title character, his talking horse Liberty, and two kids, Tommy and Freedom, who are from the middle school where Mr. Revere is teaching temporarily.

Liberty is no ordinary horse. He can talk, and he can time travel. He was born in the 1700s, and his backstory is given a little bit about how he and Mr. Revere came to be friends. A lightening bolt struck near him, propelling him into the 21st century. Confused, the horse wandered around for a while until he saw Mr. Revere. Mr. Revere had been dressed in a costume from the 18th century because he'd been promoting something for his company. I forget exactly what. But seeing someone dressed in clothes with which Liberty was familiar, the horse proceeded to follow Mr. Revere along. Realizing that a horse was following him, Mr. Revere began a dialogue with the animal in which he discovered that Liberty could talk. They also discovered, some time later, that Liberty could time travel to any period in American history that was involved in some way with the establishment of our current government. So he could travel to anywhere from recent history all the way back to the landing of the pilgrims.

In this particular story, the first of the series I believe, Mr. Revere, Liberty, and two young kids, a boy named Tommy and a girl named Freedom, travel back and interact with the first pilgrims and the Native People who saved them, including William and Dorothy Bradford, Samoset, Squanto, Miles Standish, and Massasoit. The difficulties the pilgrims faced, including the death of Dorothy Bradford is mentioned in the book; William Bradford speaks of his grief at losing his wife, but not to the degree that it brings the fun and light-hearted mood of the book down (the main characters, in their travels back and forth in time were not present at the deaths of Dorothy or the others who died during the Starving Time).

I really enjoyed listening to this book, and highly recommend it to adults and young people alike as a way to explore the early history of the United States.

Angels Can Laugh Too by Alberta Rothe Nelson

Angels Can Laugh Too is a sweet, uplifting story written by Alberta Rothe Nelson and published by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media. The story follows Randolph Rippenhoffer (also known as R squared) from just before his death through his adventures as a guardian angel. He helps various people through various trials, some of them are funny, and some of them are sad.

The saddest was a story of a boxcar full of Jewish orphans during WWII. It was interesting to watch R Squared's emotions as he tried to help the children. Imagining the emotions of a soul who has passed on was a sweet addition to the book. It makes me wonder who might be watching me, trying to help me through various blunders. I also liked the addition of the bad "angels" that R Squared had to deal with as he tried to help the man battling his alcohol addiction. The bad "angels" reminded me of C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters, and the devils in that, which were trying to tempt people in the wrong direction for their own insatiable hunger. I liked that even though R Squared didn't reach his goal with the man, that he didn't give up on him, and made plans to continue trying to help him.
I really enjoyed listening to this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading inspiring, religious stories.
  Angels Can Laugh Too (c) 2004 
By Alberta Rothe Nelson

Samantha, An American Girl by Susan S. Adler, Maxine Rose Schur, and Valerie Tripp

Samantha, An American Girl (c) 1998The American Girls collection is an inspiring series of stories about girls from different eras of American history. Samantha's story begins in the Edwardian period, specifically 1904, and follows Samantha through various adventures believable to the time period.

I listened to the Samantha Story Collection about Samantha, a little girl growing up at the beginning of the 20th century. The stories were written by Susan S. Alder, Maxine Rose Schur, and Valerie Tripp.

Samantha is a good example for young readers. She is a wealthy, yet compassionate girl who is not afraid to befriend anyone who needs and appreciates her help. She is extremely altruistic, going to great lengths to help her friend Nellie many times throughout the series. Yet she doesn't come across as a character who is fake, or too good to be true. She seems realistic and genuine, and her actions show the value of friendship and believing in one's own abilities.

Since the story happens around 1904 there are various themes that are addressed, which were realistic concerns of the time, particularly women's suffrage, and child labor in unsafe factories. These themes are addressed in a way that the target audience, children, can understand, and also that adults can appreciate.

I recommend the Samantha Story Collection to young elementary aged readers. Adults reading with children will appreciate the stories as well.

I have not read all the American Girl Series, but from what I have read, the books are well written, entertaining, and teach valuable morals to their readers.

Alpha- Movie Review

Alpha, (c) 2018 by Albert HughesKeda is a young teenager who lives 20,000 years ago, going on a hunt with his father and the other men of his tribe. But when he's tossed over a cliff by a buffalo, his father and the others think he's died, and go home without him. Later, he regains consciousness, gets himself to safety, and gives himself first aid. As he's trying to make his way home, he's attacked by a wolf pack, and as he's climbing a tree to get away, one grabs his leg, and he stabs it with a knife, then gets up into the tree. The other wolves give up on catching him, and leave. But the wounded wolf isn't able to go. Unable to bring himself to kill the wounded wolf, Keda takes care of it. Over time, the two become friends, and the wolf, whom he names Alpha, continues his journey with him.

I enjoyed the movie, and thought it well made. There was a twist at the end that I did not expect, but it made sense, and I liked it.

It was directed by Albert Hughes, and produced by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It was put out on DVD in 2018.

The movie is PG-13 because of scenes related to hunting animals. There is no swearing in the movie. I think that dog lovers would enjoy this movie.