...similar to the wonderland from Alice In Wonderland and the Harry Potter books, except twice as good...
4 STARS!
"Ethan Fox isnt like every other thirteen-year-old. Hes far from normal. Why? Well for starters, he cant seem to remember anything that happened to him before he was 8. Its like all those memories have been erased. Want another reason? Vampires tried to kidnap him. Not enough? Well, maybe its because of the blue bunny with yellow polka-dots that was waving at him at the beach while he and his parents were vacationing. Or it could be that strange poem he wrote in his sleep. Its a tie breaker.
When Ethan Fox goes on vacation with his parents, he was not expecting the impossible to happen. At first, vacation was great. He met a sweet girl by the name of Haley who seems to have no recollection of anything before meeting Ethan at the amusement park. Then things just got weird. i.e. the blue bunny.
Ethan and Haley enter a world where the impossible is downright achievable and where the weird just gets weirder. But why is this happening to them? Why did vampires try to kidnap Ethan? Why cant Haley remember anything? And what does the mysterious poem Ethan wrote in his sleep mean?
The Eyes of the Desert Sand completely blew me away. I cant say how much I loved reading this book. Its a fantastic story that took me on a journey through a whole new world hidden inside our own. A similar version to the wonderland from Alice in Wonderland and the Harry Potter books, except twice as good. Edwin Wolfe has created a world full of wonders from his vivid imagination. A place where imaginary creatures and story-tale creatures collide into a remarkably refreshing outcome.
What I loved best about this book was its unpredictably. Seriously, I had absolutely no idea what would happen next. Things were so random. At first Im all like This sounds okay, but its sort of cliche-ish and the writing makes it hard for me to really get into the story, but then a blue bunny with yellow polka-dots pops up in a beach. Expected? Uh, no. I can guarantee a surprise almost on every page.
The story is told in third person. The characters were unique (and I really mean it when I say they were unique, I dont think Ill find any other characters like Ethan or Haley or Daavic in any other book) and lively. Ethan was smart and just as fun as his dad, but somewhat naive. His character definitely developed throughout the book. He started off by being the kid with wide innocent eyes and he ended up as someone entirely different. The only trouble I had was that I couldnt really connect with most characters. And by connect I mean not being able to see things their way and struggling to understand why they did certain things. It wasnt that big a deal, but I wished I could get to know the characters a bit more before all the action starts.
The plot was impressive. I certainly admired the way Wolfe shaped his world. Its an endless supply of surprises that kept me guessing the entire time. The pace is consistent throughout the book, maybe a little speedy here and there. There was ceaseless amounts of non-stop action, original creatures popping out of nowhere (and lots of legendary ones as well), a little bit of romance (which is invigorating), and loads of magic. The only downfall was the authors style of writing. It seemed inexperienced and more juvenile than anything else. There were lots of obvious mistakes through the book, dashes where ellipses should have gone, semicolons missing, some misuse of words, and some misspellings as well. I found it kind of hard to immerse myself into this wonderful new world. But I still loved it, even though I struggled with the writing.
Overall The Eyes of the Desert Sand is one fantasy read you dont want to miss. Youll fly through the book wishing for more (just like I did). Im giving it 4 stars out of 5 because of the writing style, but other than that, this book has made its way to my all-time favorites.
Thank you for giving me the chance to read and review The Eyes of the Desert Sand. It was truly captivating and I definitely cant wait for the second book to come out! :) " - Daniela @ YA Book Season
She also posted the review on the following links:
Blog: http://yabookseasons.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-eyes-of-desert-sand.html
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/368504074
Barnes & Noble: http://my.barnesandnoble.com/reviews-ratings-Daniela07/id/3431218/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AGVV8JZ0NCRQH?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_thx_pdp
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/work/12197404/reviews/88167601
