I reviewed this novel on 17/07/19 in another blog, now defunct.
Eleven-year-old twins David and Derek Tulley are less than thrilled when they find themselves at their elderly babysitter’s house for the evening. As they settle in for what they think will be the most boring night ever, the twins have no idea everything is about to change when the babysitter’s wheelchair-bound sister, Anna, arrives and offers to tell them a story.
Anna uses a special story stone to help her spin a tale that without warning transports her and the boys to the imaginary land of Pelemnia that is filled with new creatures, tasty foods, and fun places to explore. In the fantastical land, Anna, who has transformed into a little girl again, encounters a childhood friend who helps reveal her past and the mysterious story behind the stone she holds in her pocket. Now the boys must help find a way to turn a poor choice from years gone by into a good choice for today.
In this exciting tale, young twins propelled into strange fantasy land with help from an elderly woman’s magical stone learn valuable life lessons and how to make God a priority in their lives.
Perspective by Peter:
This novel was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! This is Schmitt's debut novel but it does not read as if it is. Written and aimed at the teen market, Schmitt is successful in creating this "feel" and this appeals to an adult's "inner tween" or kid at heart. I found this very enjoyable. Tweens should have no trouble relating to this novel, the pre-teen main characters and the world Schmitt has created. As an adult reader, I was transported to the world she has created. The adventure, action, intrigue and mystique of the world of Pelemnia and of the Stones keep you coming back for more. It makes it very hard to leave Pelemnia and return to reality.
David and Derek are very much typical tweens as they are now called (the ages of 8-12-years, but they are 11 years old). They are twins but from the description, Schmitt has them as non-identical as there are physical and personality differences. This lends itself to the plot and characterisation very well. This can be seen when one is enticed to become King of the race that wants to control the stones while the other does not and stays faithful to their original mission.
Speaking of characterisation, Schmitt is very good at this. The twins are very relational and will appeal to tween readers. A successful author is one who can depict characters as real, appropriate to their gender and age group. I liked Charles as I could relate to his personality and how he is pivotal to everything that happens in relation to the warring factions, the returning of the stones, Anna and her unfinished past with Pelemnia and the final unanswered questions relating to the twins "dead" grandfather.
Schmitt's sense of mystique is one of the factors that hold the story together. It is part of the backstory of the worldbuilding she has created. Now if this was an adult novel, I would expect more depth and detail of this but for this tween novel, it is just enough.
One clever aspect of the construction of this novel is that from one chapter to the next, you never know whether you will be back in the world of Pelemnia or the twin's world. Sometimes you would find yourself back in the latter and then you would find yourself back in Pelemnia. In both cases, it was the events in that current world that dictated how long Anna and the twins would be in either world. This had the great effect off keeping the storyline interesting and fast paced, adding to the mystique, action and adventure and intrigue of the plot.
It is in the last quarter of the novel, that all the questions I had about the world of Pelemnia, the Stones, their power, their origin, the truth behind the warring factions, who is the King of the Hipnoturi, and the lesson the twins needed to learn from being transported to Pelemnia are given their answers. And like any novel, having all these loose ends tied up and story arcs completed lends itself to a satisfying end. However, I would love to see more of the world of Pelemnia and the twins return to it, despite this author intending it to be a standalone novel! But I do look forward to more from her and the world of fantasy and spiritual truths that she is very much capable of as evidenced by this novel.
Schmitt set out to illustrate one major spiritual theme in this novel and it resonates so well in me and in our secular world today: that of our need to worship the Creator and not solely anything that represents Him or is associated with Him. This is highlighted well in this novel relating to the Stones. Leaving God out of our worship but centring it on what is associated with Him or anything that is not, is just idol worship. This equates to the second of the Ten Commandments, and these idols can be of immaterial origin as well as people. This is also similar to the first Commandment: "You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me." And Christians should or need to know what God thinks about this and what is the penalty when we do this and do not return to Him, our first love! How much of this idol worship do we see this today? It is widespread and sadly, even amongst Christians! Schmitt's use of the Biblical story of the serpent on the stick for the people to have a visual representation of God as their healer is so appropriate to this message and illustrates it perfectly. So to have this debut author illustrate why we need to worship Him and Him alone and to have this impressed on tweens (or even from Sunday School) is to applaud her for being daring to do so! I see this in so many "Christian" novels where the Bible's tenets and Gospel are watered down or God is reduced to less than the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient God He is!
My only concern is the cover. Although colourful and represents an important event in the novel, it could be so much more. To me, it is flat and too childish looking. It needs more vibrant colours and a sharper look. As much as the being on the cover resembles the physical characteristics in the novel, it is the pose of this being on the cover that does not match their demeanour or behaviour as depicted in Schmitt's worldbuilding. Tweens nowadays are much more sophisticated than what they were in my generation and those onwards. Like any novel cover, it needs to immediately grab your attention and not let go until you have read the blurb, browsed through it and said to yourself, "I am going to read this!"
I pray future covers can live up to these criteria. So many times, I have passed on a novel due to its unappealing cover and missed a great story! The cover needs to match and showcase what the novel is about and be its first selling point!
All in all, this is an impressive debut novel and showcases the author's talent well. I do look forward to more from her.
Strongly Recommended.
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They also help promote the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.
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