Where did I find this book?
NetGalley.com. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was released on Amazon on the 21st of August, 2018.
Book Summary
A young man wakes up to a buzzing, fizzing commotion on his kitchen table. He dashes out of his house to avoid what he believes is the complete destruction of his home.
Except, it doesn’t explode.
A series of events follows that completely upend his life, can he pull through intact?
Cover & Description
I’m still not sure why it’s only kids books that have fun covers. I’d read a book with a cover like this one. It fueled my (q for) curiosity.
Since I’m a bit of a space nerd and excited at the prospect of meeting “intelligent” life that didn’t evolve on this planet, I believed this book would be right up my alley, and it was. I thought the story would be more about the rock than Jack (the protagonist), but the title still fits the story well.
I’ve never read anything written by S.M. Locke which didn’t sully my opinion of the work because I enjoy discovering writers and works that have not been promoted ad nauseum.
Perspective, Voice & Style
The book is written in first person, and you get a real sense of this gangly 19-year-old man working and living and trying to figure out why the stone chose him.
This book was a quick and quirky read (I finished it in one evening) about all the possible things that can happen when you open yourself up to the ridiculous creativity of the human mind.
I enjoyed it, mostly because I wish Fred would come and land on my kitchen table so I can have a similar adventure.
Strangely enough, I also thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author didn’t once tell me what the characters looked like. My imagination really thrived in that situation, allowing me to make up my mind about what I thought these people looked like. It was strangely gratifying and probably the main reason why I enjoyed the book.
Nothing felt overly described, which I tend to find really boring and understand that it is my own quirk.
I have to say, I was disappointed with the ending. Maybe writing him out of his predicaments would have made the story too long and transformed it into something the author didn’t want. It was a letdown.
The generalization of Africa, where it is a jungle on one occasion, and a desert on the other, with rabid senseless and uncaring weapon holders ignoring the plight of children… *sigh. Will authors who are not of African descent ever get this right?
Read this book if…
- You’re a young reader,
- Your preferences tend towards ridiculous adventures that happen to regular people with no powers,
- You want to learn new words and a little bit of geology/geography,
- You enjoy a quick read.
Overall Score (out of 5 stars)
– setting up the adventure. It grabbed my attention right at the beginning.
– light on the description so I could exercise my imagination.
– quick and fun read.
Let me know if you’ve read this book and what your thoughts are. Would you be interested in reading it?
Bwandungi Writes 