The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon (The Expeditioners #1) by S.S. Taylor, Katherine Roy (Illustrator)

A year ago I didn't even know of the existence of the fantasy or science fiction subgenre "steampunk." Lately I've been reading quite a few that fall in that category. This science fiction steampunk novel looks to the future when the world is running out of resources and humans have turned to steam-engines for transportation and other technology. In "The Expeditioners," the gadgets and dirigibles are fun and seem impossible but in a world with Gryluminum, (a play on the word, aluminum), it is easy to envision sleeping bags that can fold into small squares, along with parachutes, and rafts. It is a material that exists in the future that makes the impossible, possible.

Thirteen-year-old Kit West is accosted at the market by a man with a clockwork hand that gives him a map. Kit's father disappeared three years ago and he is living alone with his fourteen-year-old older brother, Zander, and ten-year-old sister, M.K. Kit is an expert cartographer, taught by his father while Zander is a fearless adventurer that knows more about animals than is normal for a someone his age. M.K. is a mechanic that is more aggressive than her brothers. She can sense danger and acts quickly or brashly. She swears and sounds like a kid that has lived too long on the streets without adult supervision. You don't usually see swearing in a middle grade book, but it seems to work with M.K. Life hasn't been easy for her and she's a tough hammer that stands up for the group like a German Shepherd dog protecting its territory which just so happens to be her brothers. She might be the youngest of the trio, but she's the one that bludgeons the agents that come to their house when they threaten to take Kit's mysterious map. She can take down a lion and rescues her brothers several times on their adventures. When Kit determines what the map is, the three take off on an adventure that has them fighting for their lives against others in a race to find a lost treasure.

The name of their parrot is "Pucci," a shortened version of Explorer Amerigo Vespucci, but also sounds like the pet endearment "poochie." However this is no sweet "poochie" of a parrot with its deadly metal legs and talons that were once used to drop bombs on enemies. Not that the parrot is used for that anymore. Zander rescued it from a cat that was making a meal out of it and nursed it back to health. It's high intelligence and ability to fly helps the Expeditioners out of some tight spots. Along with Sukey, an expert pilot and independent thinker. She becomes embroiled in the West siblings adventure when she helps them find some answers. She also rescues the boys a few times as well. I appreciate authors that go against stereotypes and create strong females.

Steampunk tends to lean toward the unbelievable and it is a fine line the author walks when making the story plausible. S.S. Taylor not only does it well, but weaves cartography and government attitudes of colonialism creating a futuristic world full of possibilities. Having just read "Mortal Engines," by Philip Reeve, I can't help but see similarities between the two in terms of political groups that believe in preserving the environment versus those that feel they have the right to take anything they want whether that means relocating natives, exploiting natural resources, or silencing opponents. The Expeditioners must decide between fame and preservation. Doing the right thing can get murky when lots of money is involved. Power is shown to corrupt government leaders making their decisions based on self-interest and money versus human impact.

The world building shows how the people in power making all the decisions oppress the majority of the populace that is starving and running out of water. One of the villains has an action at the end that shows he is not completely bad. Either he has a guilty conscience or he wants to keep a close eye on the West children. It teases the reader into wanting to get the next book to see what happens. Don't miss this treasure hunt.

4 Smileys

Predator Cities #1: Mortal Engines (The Hungry City Chronicles #1) by Philip Reeve

I just finished the prequel called, "Fever Crumb" by Philip Reeve. This book gave me a better understanding of the steampunk world and its government as the world building in this story is more complete. Earth is running out of resources and a man named, Nikola Quercus, designed a machine hundreds of years ago from a floating barge that became a huge city on tread wheels known as a "traction city." Traction cities have become more complex over the years with large machines running the huge treads and the city tiered on top versus slaves on the treads and a barge on top in Nikola's original design. These traction cities originally helped people avoid natural disasters. In the current setting the machines consume other cities as a survival of the fittest; a practice called, Municipal Darwinism.

The setting is on one of the largest and most powerful traction cities called, London, that is run by four Guilds. The gap between the rich and the poor in this autocracy means that the haves and the have-nots are at odds with each other as one group oppresses the other. Even the tier-shaped levels of the city represents the social classes with the wealthy at the top and the poor closer to the pollution and noise of the engines at the bottom. The Anti-Tractionist League is against Municipal Darwinism as the Earth becomes more stable. The two groups are fighting each other as the League tries to restore resources and London continues to wantonly consume all in its path. Tom Natsworthy, is an Apprentice Historian who lives in London, that gets swept up in a plot by a scar-faced girl, Hester Shaw, who is trying to kill an important hero to the city, Thaddeus Valentine. When Tom discovers Valentine's dark past he must make the moral decision of choosing sides in the war between both groups.

Grike, the Staulker, is a fascinating three-dimensional robot assassin. The tie-in with "Fever Crumb" makes Grike all the more interesting as his motivations show a creature that has not completely lost his human qualities even though he is technically dead. In a terrific twist, the reader learns Grike's heart's desire that I did not see coming. I was also glad to see him go partway through the story because he showed up when Tom and Hester were in a tight spot and it would have become repetitious had Reeve kept the same pattern going in the plot. By resolving Grike two-thirds through the story it added interest and then a new twist in the last third.

This story is more violent than "Fever Crumb" and has more romance giving it a Young Adult feel. The author has nuanced villains and characters with distinct voices. Besides Grike, the pirate is a hoot. This helps balance the dark side of the story by lightening the violence. The pirate wants Tom to help him with his "Ettyket" or etiquette. He's a goofball that reminded me a bit of Dustin Hoffman in the movie, "Hook." All in good fun. Reeve also balances kind people with nasty people, that again, doesn't make the novel too dark.

Themes involve idolizing people and then being betrayed, learning to look beyond appearances, making moral decisions, and colonialism. Tom, the protagonist, must decide who to trust and to not trust after he is betrayed by someone he looked up to his entire life. As a person that grew up in London, when he gets embroiled in the politics of the Municipal Darwinism thinkers and the Anti-Traction people, he must choose sides even though he tries not to. He looks beyond the horribly scarred face of Hester Shaw and makes a true friend, but it takes time for the two to trust each other. The Colonialism that threatens to destroy resources versus the Anti-Traction League that he can see working to stabilize Earth, makes him question the morality of what his government is doing in its quest to destroy others. Engines are mortal compared to the Earth's natural resources. A great science fiction story with nonstop action.

5 Smileys

Fever Crumb (Fever Crumb #1) by Philip Reeve

Steampunk novels remind me of surreal art. This book made me feel like Salvador Dali's "Sleep," painting where I mistook the crutches holding up a sleeping head as needles piercing it. I thought the lips were sewn shut. It is a creepy painting, straight from my nightmares. Steampunk oftentimes has a surreal, nightmarish dark side that slurps me into the plot. I can't seem to put down the book even when I want to. If you like science fiction, then you'll like this book. Philip Reeve's world building is detailed and hard to visualize only because it is so darn odd. Barges on wheels. Robot men made from supposedly dead people. Paper boys that can fold into small squares and squeeze through small apertures. Plop down with this crazy, disorienting story with its multi-layered themes and strong character development that shows a child going from dependency on a parent to independence and self-discovery. This is a prequel to the Hungry City Chronicles and can be read without knowing that series.

Fever Crumb is an orphan raised by engineer Gideon Crumb in London. As the only girl in the Order of Engineers, a group that spurns emotions and pleasure as the two lead to irrational behavior, Fever works hard to follow the rules. When she is sent to assist an archeologist, Kit Solvent, it sets in motion a plot to kill her thinking she is a Shriven, or nonhuman. The fanatical Bagman Creech who led the previous riots that overturned the Shriven with commoners committing genocide makes for a fascinating character study. Creech believes in what he does and feels it is right. He doesn't see Shriven as humans because of the spots on their skin. This could launch discussions on fanaticism and terrorism. The Shriven were an elitist group that held all the power and money while oppressing the Londoners. As Fever works with Kit, the scents and sights trigger memories that she can't understand. As Creech chases after her and threatens those she cares about, she finds out more about herself and her odd background that makes for an action-packed story.

Philip Reeve loves to play with words. The dictator's name is Auric Godshawk. He has an aura about him and likes to play God while preying on the dead. Bert Atkinson is spelled, Bert @kinson. The villain curses, "That's a load of blog," or "you great soft blogger," are an interesting look at how the world has changed in the future. The Internet no longer exists but the words reflect the past, but are used different. Reeve's play on words is constant. My favorite was "technomancer" or "technomancy" like "necromancer" or "necromancy." The person with that title was the one that brought dead men to life using technology. He also describes technology without using the word so it was fun guessing what was braces, or tanks, or cars, or hovercrafts were when they are introduced in the story.

Fever begins as a young girl that is dependent on Gideon and happy to be home with him. When she gets her first assignment she is scared and doesn't want to go, but because she is an engineer she has learned to ignore her emotions. She shaves her head like all the other engineers so she is not distracted by pleasures or vanity and feels safe within the rigid order of life at the Engineerium. It isn't until she meets Kit who acts as her foil, that she starts to think for herself and become independent. At the end when she questions the cruel intentions of people using machines, it shows a girl who is becoming her own self. She considers the ethical issues of creating Stalkers who at times show the conscience of their former self and go "mad." She feels that the practice is morally wrong and requires more research.

The floating barge is run literally by slaves on treads. The politics shows different factions trying to take control with one person succeeding at the end. The end has the next ruler of London being bent toward an aristocratic government and a colonization of other cities that is similar to the British Empire.  This sets up for the Hungry City Chronicles government that seems to be more of a plutocracy, but is driven to colonize others as the world becomes depleted of natural resources. Some terrific twists and turns make this story original, memorable, and the questions left at the end will have me scrambling for book 2 when it is released for publication.

4 Smileys

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

Reading books can be like "chasing butterflies over hills." So often, I want to capture the beautiful turn of phrases or word combinations like I borrowed the author's "butterfly" simile from this book. For a "steam-driven" person that moves fast, cooks fast, and reads fast, I'm amazed when a writer can slow me down from a boiling to simmering temperature. Believe me, it rarely happens. This book did just that. I was caught up in the beautiful descriptions, setting, characters, and similes. What starts out as a fairly realistic story turns into an interesting fantasy. Some of the steampunk novels come across as surreal and I liked this Dickens-like setting, although it isn't really any particular city. Sometimes I felt like I was in Europe and others times in New York. The old time sounds of cobblestone streets and coal chutes along with child slave labor flavor the imaginary world with industrialization characteristics from the 1800's. Guiseppe is an orphan that works for a padrone, playing his fiddle on the streets for pennies. His is a harsh life where beatings and stealing is an everyday occurrence. Hannah is a maid at a hotel who is now the breadwinner after her father had a stroke. Frederick is an orphan who lives with a clockmaker as his apprentice after he discovered his talent for gears. When circumstances bring the three together, they become friends helping each to improve their lot in life.

The plot has the three characters points of view that are separate before their paths criss-cross. The author does a nice job keeping the action going and weaving the plot together. I do think that some of my less patient readers might find the pacing slow. While I found the author's word choices delightful, others might be impatient for the action to move along at a quicker pace. Some writer's are wordier than others so I will just have to make sure I let them know that when booktalking its qualities. In the beginning and most of the middle everything seems to be going wrong for the characters, but it wraps up well at the end. The automaton's voice is distinct and there are hints that a fantastical element will kick in which is does around the last third of the book. The magical green violin, the mysterious Madame Pomeroy and her bodyguard, along with the golem clay foreshadow what is to come.

The characters have distinct arcs. Guisseppe must decide how to live free of a life of enslavement. Hannah must face her anger over her circumstances. Frederick has to learn to trust others and let go of his fear of abandonment. I did want some more background information on Madame Pomeroy. She was an interesting character. She sure could reappear in a sequel if the author decides to go that route. Some nice themes have Hannah having to take responsibility for her actions and learning how to make momentous decisions. She seems to face more critical choices than the others and needs to think through her actions based on character. She must decide between good choices and bad choices. She makes both creating an authentic character. She also has to deal with shallow characters such as Walter, just as Guiseppe has to determine how to react to a betrayal by his friend. Many of the situations show characters having empathy for others and being slow to anger.

Here is Kirby's full description: "She leaned close to the pages, chin resting on her folded arms, eyes racing over words, like chasing butterflies over the hills, to catch as many as she could before going to work. She wondered at how such tales of magic could be contained by mere paper and ink for her to read again and again. Which she had." Add this one to your shelf.

4 Smileys

The Cabinet of Wonders (The Kronos Chronicles #1) by Marie Rutkoski

When I was young I hated to cook. I remember purposefully burning the lefse so I could get out of making it with my mom and two sisters. As a newlywed I'd be asked by my mom to bring a dish to some family holiday and it never tasted very good so eventually she asked me to bring the rolls or pickles. Alas, I wasn't trying to get out of that duty, but cooking for me is like flying. I'm only good at it in my dreams. When Petra gets a job at the castle with the plan of stealing back her father's stolen eyes from the prince, she doesn't get along with the cook and purposefully sabotages her recipe. How can I not love a character like that? She's good at using her brains to solve problems and she's courageous; yet flawed. My kind of story. My kind of gal.

Petra's father is a skilled craftsman who builds a clock for the prince that not only tells time, but has the potential to control the weather. The prince takes her father's eyes planning to finish the clock on his own by building the last part to it. (This is a fantasy. Eyes can be surgically removed and popped in and out of sockets like contact lenses.) Petra is spitting mad and with the help of her friend, Tomik, Neel, and Astrophil, she sets off for the castle in search of a job that will give her access to the prince's chambers. She begins in the kitchen before getting shipped off to a job nobody wants with Iris, the "acid lady" that makes fabric dyes for the prince. Iris has skin that oozes acid when she's upset making her a pariah even though she descends from royalty. Gears, metals, and clockworks make this steampunk novel quite different from the usual fantasy trope. 

The plot is organized with the two characters in the beginning having critical parts toward the end of the story. The setting and description of guilds and clocks made it easy for me to picture Prague or even Brussels. The use of the prince as a Hapsburg firmly placed the setting for me in Europe and made me think of World War I starting as a result of a Hapsburg being assassinated, but the end notes explain that the setting presents the 16th century European renaissance. The use of horses as transportation and reference to the historical figure, Dee Smith, placed it at an earlier time and helped give me a clear picture of a place. Clues are given as the story progresses with most of my questions answered except the time Astrophil fell asleep. It progressed the plot so Petra got to go to the Roma camp but it didn't make sense why he passed out. He's a machine. I liked how the Danior story ties in with Jarek and the noble elephant protecting Petra and Neel. Neel's tale of fiddler is a true Roma folktale that reminded me of the Charlie Daniel Band's famous song, "The Devil Came Down to Georgia." I knew the song, but not the origins of the folktale.

An important question that the plot hinges on is why would Petra's father build a clock that controls the weather in the first place? Who would be crazy enough to think of this and why would he not think that the person, such as the prince, would use the weather to attack other countries or use it to his or her advantage? The author presents the father as a bit of a creative ditz who could only see the challenge of building such a machine rather than the consequences. The stronger argument is that Petra's father wanted to be paid for building the clock by getting a full scholarship for Petra to the Academy. Education is only available to the elite and he saw this as an opportunity for his daughter. Her father is presented as a scholar with his own library and this crucial explanation strengthened what could have been a weak plot point. As such, the author gives plausible motivations by the father even if they are not wise.

The author doesn't present the Roma people as stereotypical and when Neel explains the mathematical concept of zero I loved his insightful comment, "The best thing about wandering everywhere is that you can choose what you like of a place and take it with you, like almonds off a tree." As an international teacher, I can relate to the worldly wanderlust of the Roma people. They are good people who take in Petra and give good advice. Even the man who doesn't like Petra is painted in a complex and sympathetic way. 

The characters are particularly well-drawn, pulling me along the storyline like a hooked fish. Tomik is the gadget-man and childhood friend of Petra. Neel is the thief who helps her break into the prince's "Cabinet of Wonders." He helps Petra so he can help his people too. Astrophil is the adult-like person who imparts or teaches background information that explains topics and history that Petra wouldn't know on her own for her age. Petra has flaws but is basically strong and good. She reflects on things such as if she is being selfish or unreasonable (which she was) or how a person can look and act sweet but has evil actions. Her internal struggles with not being sure about wanting to discover if she can work magic or not, to not trusting or trusting other people, to being mentored by her mechanical spider, Astrophil, along with nice pacing and action make for a terrific read.

Reading Level 4.9
4 Smileys

Ghoulish Song (Zombay #2) by William Alexander

This sequel to "Goblin Secrets" is a simpler read at 166 pages. The plot is a straightforward adventure in which a girl, Kaile, plays a flute that separates her from her shadow. The flute was given to her by a troupe of goblins that she invited to play at her mother's bakery. Her superstitious family thinks she is dead and has a funeral. Kaile attends the funeral and says she's alive and well but they ignore her thinking she's a ghoul. She sets off for answers by finding the owner of the flute to understand its history. The flute is made from a bone and she doesn't know if it is human or not. A series of mishaps and adventures propel her to find answers that she doesn't always wants to hear. When the river threatens to flood Kaile is afraid for her mother and realizes she must listen to the river if she wants to save her mother and the town.

Alexander has unusual plots that are not very predictable. While I struggle a bit with visualizing this author's settings because he doesn't do much world building, he has interesting characters and a dreaminess or creepiness to episodes that create a strong mood. At times this book seemed like it was going to get violent such as Kaile getting tossed into a furnace, but then the author pulls back on the tension making it less scary for younger readers. The theme of teamwork is played out in a unique way. Kaile is bossy with her shadow and doesn't respect its feelings. The shadow is afraid of the dark and is disagreeable most of the time. The two don't get along and it isn't until they work together that they can play the flute in harmony.

The overarching theme is about listening to each other. Kaile's mother doesn't listen to her. Kaile doesn't listen to her shadow. The townspeople don't listen to Kaile. When people don't listen to each communication breaks down and people get hurt. In the end Kaile learns to listen and her mother learns to stop and notice Kaile. Alexander shows change in characters but it is subtle and might be missed by readers. For instance, the goblins are prejudiced by the other townspeople and while the theme isn't explored in this book like the first, it is still evident and Kaile is outraged by her parents treatment of them. Kaile also doesn't want to take responsibility for her part in causing the problems in her family and her life. She does at the end but only when her Shadow admonishes her for not admitting her part in causing the Inspection to fail and resulting in her mother's punishment.

Sometimes I felt like there were so many themes and ideas that I wished more were explored in depth. The story about the girl drowning and getting separated from her shadow felt rushed. The tragedy is explained but I can see readers might confuse it with the river ghoul's story. The ghoul is made up of people who drowned for other reasons such as murder or suicide and it is revealed so close to the other girl's drowning that some might not realize they are separate. I might be being too picky, but I wished there was a clearer separation between the two because it's such an important revelation in the plot.

This is the only steampunk writing I've ever come across and am not very familiar with the genre. The odd gearworks and how they are worked into the storyline is not for everyone. I've had many students not particularly care for it because it is so different. Even my fantasy lovers don't always like it. I still am trying to figure out who to recommend this book to when I do book talks. Maybe its best for my hard core fantasy lovers or science fiction readers. Maybe it requires an older reader even though it is written for younger. Maybe it's more of a sixth grade level book. I'll be interested in how this second book fares because it seems less confusing than book one. We will see...

3 Smileys

The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson does great world-building in this fantasy or steampunk novel. Joel is a student at the Armedius Academy where his dad worked as a chalkmaker before his tragic death. The Academy is made up of Rithmatists, those with special powers who give life to Chalklings, paper-like drawings that come to life and do their bidding. The wild chalklings that viciously attack people are threatening to overrun humanity and Rithmatists are fighting a war against them. The Academy trains scholars and the Rithmatists for combat.

Joel loves anything that has to do with Rithmatists war strategy and history. When a Rithmatist professor is ousted from his teaching position, Joel has an opportunity to work with him. Eager to learn more about the subject he meets a girl, Melody, who is failing her classes and taking summer school classes. Melody is melodramatic and annoying, but she and Joel become friends. When students begin to disappear in the surrounding community and then on campus, the ousted professor is put on the investigation putting Melody and Joel smack dab in the middle of the action. They learn to trust each other and use each other's strengths with teamwork making them a formidable force against the evil attacking their Academy.

The magic system that Sanderson creates is pretty incredible in this tale. It uses math and geometry to create defensive ways of fighting with or against Chalklings. I'm not a great fan of math so I skimmed the diagrams and some of the explanations of ways to fight using it. This didn't take away from me enjoying the novel at all and was well-done with illustrations and inserts to simplify it. While some readers will love the details and eat up the strategies, others might find it slow. If you are the later, then you might want to try my strategy. Either way, it is admirable how the author builds such a complex magic system. I read, "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson, and I marveled at that brilliant magic system in that novel as well.

The best part of this book is the ending when the Melody and Joel work together in such harmony that they do something never done before at the school in the "Melee" or dueling ring. I liked how their friendship transformed from one of annoyance to trust. I also appreciated Melody's humor that came out later in the story. I found her just as annoying as Joel at the beginning. Joel's quest to be a Rithmatist is a driving force and I found the turning point where he finds out whether or not he could be one very compelling and a nice twist on the fantasy trope of the protagonist who has superior magical powers. Instead the protagonist, Joel, has to rely on his brains and must figure out a way he can pursue his passion for Rithmatists when he has no magic source. This internal struggle and emotional arc of trying to figure out a career path mirrors real life for so many people.

There is a bit of steampunk going on in this novel with the gear watch and warding off of wild chalklings using clocks but for the most part it is fantasy. Familiar tropes lead to some predictable plot elements with a main character who is an underdog and screw-off, a villain who wants to take over the world, a quest to gain and control magical powers, an absent-minded mentor, a wise leader, and murder mystery. Not all of the questions are answered because there is going to be a sequel, but I didn't mind because the main plot points were wrapped up in this story. The father's death is not answered in full but enough to figure out what happened to him. The villain moves from mostly one-dimensional to a more complex character at the end and I found myself interested in this shift. I believe the sequel will look more into it. I like how Sanderson takes conventional tropes and puts his own unique twist on them making for an entertaining read. If you love fantasy then grab this one.

3 Smileys

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander

I struggled with this National Book Award winner. Not because it lacks originality. The creepy steampunk setting with gear-transformed people, witches, and goblins was well done. Not because it lacked character development. The weird witch, river spirit, goblins, and orphans with a plucky protagonist were engaging enough. And not because of a plot that plods. The 200 page book is concise and clues are slowly revealed. It was unpredictable and imaginative. So why couldn't I immerse myself in the story?

It wasn't a complete loss - I loved the witch Graba, patterned after the fairy tale witch Baba Yaga in Russian folklore with her unpredictable temperament and dangerous ways. In this tale, it is not the house, but the witch herself who lunges around on giant chicken legs made of gears and metal using monstrous talons to grab wayward children. What a great twist on the original! Speaking of twists... Graba gives Rownie a home with food but he is mistreated like the other orphans she takes into her home that echos characteristics found in Oliver Twist's Fagin. Machinery has replaced human parts in the city of Zombay; the police have glass eyes with gears for irises and the animals have coal hearts. Graba has taken in Rownie and his brother, Rowan, but Rowan has disappeared. Rownie joins the goblin theater troupe because they are searching for Rowan. The goblins need Rowan to speak to the river and prevent the flood that threatens the city of Zombay; however, the goblins are not welcome in the city and it is illegal to put on their show which results in all sorts of trouble for the troupe. Rownie combines forces with them only to get caught up in a bigger struggle for power between the goblins, mayor, and witch Graba.

The story is filled with terrific themes from the magic or imagination that comes from within when assuming the identity of a mask to the magic or power that comes from without as symbolized in the witches, mayor, and river spirit; to the social commentary of the goblins being prejudiced by the townspeople; to the humans who can't wear masks to act in plays because it changes them, and more. While there are so many social commentaries, the storyline never stops long enough to explore them. I wanted more of an explanation about the goblin play where the witch uses her reflection to create a bunch of mini-me's who become her slaves; followed by her cooking the heart of one and causing a rebellion. Was this play a suggestion that the witch Graba and Semele were like the rebellious slaves? What is their background? And what about Rowan. Is he with his mother? Why can he wear a mask? How do humans change into goblins? In the end I felt dissatisfied with the overall book and the lack of answers.

The lack of exposition resulted in me going back and rereading passages often and being confused in spots. You really had to figure out the plot as you read along and be patient as the clues unfolded. I kept thinking I missed something but my question would be answered later. As mentioned earlier, not that all questions are answered; you have to come up with your own analysis. I sort of twitched and sputtered through the narrative which never came alive for me. Some spots were jarring or awkward, such as when the characters put on masks and adopted its qualities or when Rownie would think to himself. While not something I noticed all the time, I ended with a disjointed feeling like my gears were malfunctioning. This is a book that I should really reread. I read that the author has a sequel. Most likely some of my questions will be answered. An interesting read.

Reading level 4.3
4 out of 5 Smileys