The Amber Amulet in Aussie Readers

Aug 13, 2012 Mish rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-authors

When I read Jasper Jones I vouched that I will read whatever Craig Silvey releases next, so when I saw The Amber Amulet the whole look of it just through me off. I didn’t know what to think of it….Is it a child’s book, graphic novel and what was Craig Silvey thinking? I was shattered because I really wanted to capture the spectacular feeling I had with Jasper Jones, and I honestly didn’t believed that it will not do it for me.

Anyhow I needed an Audio book for my journey to work, and there it wa When I read Jasper Jones I vouched that I will read whatever Craig Silvey releases next, so when I saw The Amber Amulet the whole look of it just through me off. I didn’t know what to think of it….Is it a child’s book, graphic novel and what was Craig Silvey thinking? I was shattered because I really wanted to capture the spectacular feeling I had with Jasper Jones, and I honestly didn’t believed that it will not do it for me.

Anyhow I needed an Audio book for my journey to work, and there it was, staring at me on the shelves at the library. So I thought why not, I’ll give it a go. I grabbed it and slotted the disc into the stereo. And Wow! It was actually gorgeous, sweet, delightful little novella that will warm your heart and make you laugh.

It’s a story of a 12 year old boy called Liam who has a wild imagination. Liam is your typical boy during the day but whom I also suspect may be a loner. However in the dead of the night is where all the adventure begins. Liam is dressed up in full disguise as The Masked Avenger, sneaks out of his window along with his trusty canine companion Richie and is ready to protect his neighbourhood of evil lurking in the darkness and any potentially dangerous household items. The Marked Avengers powers are enhanced by the precious stone, gems, jewels that he’s collected along the way; each stone represents bravery, honestly, strength, speed etc…

One of the trickiest challenges that The Masked Avenger has had to undergo was when he saw this red-haired beauty at the end of the street that looked extremely unhappy. He was so consumed and determined by the task to make her happy again; he eventually got himself in a pickle which could possibly end the career of The Masked Avenger for ever.

I still don’t know what age group this book would suit. It’s written in a lyrical and intelligent way that I don’t know whether a 12 year old child would understand or appreciate its writing style. Yet the theme is very child like, and Silvey has captured the mind set of a child this age perfectly. If you have children or around children this age, you’d know that when the child is play acting or in character, they put their WHOLE heart and soul into it, and are honestly convinced they are the real deal. My daughter is like this and I can listen to her for hours on end, too afraid to say anything that may spoil the moment. And Liam was no different. I loved the child like enthusiasm in his voice and I didn’t want it to stop.

This book had a lovely feel to it and I’d like to read it again. But I’d like to look at the physical book next time, as I believe I missed out on all the illustration.
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Dec 19, 2012 Snort rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-naive-voice-of-reason, waltzing-mathilda

“I don’t mean to pry, but saving people is my calling…” And thus, the 12 year old Liam McKenzie (self-proclaimed Masked Avenger) and his faithful canine side-kick, Richie, patrol his street and protect the masses. The Masked Avenger brims with potential energy, channels the pseudosciences and wears a stone- studded Power Belt. He maintains a precocious dignity, subsists within his limitations, and when reality intrudes, gracefully withdraws to nurse his secret for the Greater Good. As the puttin ...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Magdalena added it

Liam McKenzie is a twelve year old superhero. When he overhears fighting from the home of a beautiful young woman in his neighbourhood, and notices how sad she looks, he decides he will step up from his usual fodder of flat tyres and crooked gates, and save her. Liam is the protagonist of The Amber Amulet and the book is told through his superhero charged personae. We learn from the start that he derives his power from the trapped potential energy that is all around us – in the minerals of his A Liam McKenzie is a twelve year old superhero. When he overhears fighting from the home of a beautiful young woman in his neighbourhood, and notices how sad she looks, he decides he will step up from his usual fodder of flat tyres and crooked gates, and save her. Liam is the protagonist of The Amber Amulet and the book is told through his superhero charged personae. We learn from the start that he derives his power from the trapped potential energy that is all around us – in the minerals of his Amazing Powerbelt, and perhaps, though this is implicit rather than explicit, in the kindness we do for others.

This hardback book is beautifully illustrated by Sonia Martinez, with scrapbook style pictures, drawings, handwritten notes from Liam, and a very retro feel that puts you directly into Liam’s world. Of course Liam himself is a retro kind of kid, saving his neighbours instead of playing on an Xbox or PC, and using his powers of observation to do good. With his trusty dog Richie the Power Beagle, Liam, aka The Masked Avenger, makes it his business to help Joan, but it takes him several attempts to build up the courage, and when he finally does, he learns some difficult lessons about the way in which energy is distributed, about his own sense of self, and about the world around him. It’s a lovely story, full of subtle and rich characterisation amidst the fun and bravado. Martinez's illustrations are vivid and strange and further adds to the character of Liam, as one almost feels as though we’re privy to some kind of journal, with bits and pieces that he’s culled to create his fringe physics (what he calls his geo-alchemy) and his superhero ethic. Though the book is written in the third person, one gets a strong sense of Liam’s voice throughout – the perspective and intensity of the precociously gifted but solitary only child:

The Masked Avenger paces restlessly into the night. In replying to his Important Questionnaire, she has entrusted him with her care. She is now his civic responsibility. He has inherited her unhappiness. Overturning it has become his duty.
But how? He bounces ideas off Richie, who listens intently but seems ultimately unimpressed. It’s a difficult problem to solve without being privy to the origins of her complaint. For all his expertise in the fields of mineralogy and metallurgy, he can’t be sure that there is a gem that cures unhappiness outright. (31)

In the end, this small, easy-to-read novel goes deeper than its pulp fiction presentation might suggest. Liam’s impact on the world around him and his own subtle transformation is as much a coming-of-age as that of the teenager Charlie Bucktin in Jasper Jones. The Masked Avenger has a sad edge, both in the very adult problems of Joan – something that Liam intuits rather than gets, and also in the underlying loneliness of Liam. Younger children may well enjoy the fun action, the simplicity and imagery of the book, and the appealing character of Liam, his alter ego, and his clever dog, but older readers will pick up on the emotional growth through the soft ache below the surface. The Amber Amulet is a very appealing offering from a writer whose fresh perspective on youth has already created such an impact in the literary world.

Article first published as Book Review: The Amber Amulet by Craig Silvey on Blogcritics. ...more

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