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A review by jscarpa14
The Forbidden Stone by Tony Abbott
4.0
The story opens in a gripping manner that is reminiscent of both Dan Brown's Davinci Code Series and the multi-authored 39 clues. By this I mean you get a few random, but still interesting scenes and you're gripped because you're trying to figure out how they fit together. It does slow down a little in a section of the first quarter of the book when longer explanations than I think were necessary are given to explain cypher codes and krackens, but once you get through those explanations that were in my opinion more drawn out than needed the story picks back up.
One thing I did like about this book that you don't see in a lot of Middle Grade and YA fiction is that the parents aren't neglectful, absent or abusive. Wade has a great Dad who will do whatever he can to protect him. He thinks about the welfare of the children and put their safety ahead of their wishes. He listens to them, he talks to them and he's an active presence in their lives. While there are multiple scenes where the four children are alone, they're alone not because he's ignoring them, but because he's separated from them to draw off enemy attention or fire in order to protect them. I really love that the author has managed to tell a great middle grade story, or section of a story, without creating poor parents as character in order for this to happen.
Like the 39 Clues, it's clear that this is only a section of the story but at the same time you're offered a resolution in reaching the first step of the journey. You have to study different historical figures in order to find what you're looking for and you're competing with another group who will do anything to stop you. Or rather the characters are because you're not actually in the story.
I happen to really enjoy this sort of fiction and love how it mostly teaches without boring kids in the process because they don't realize they're learning anything until the story is over and someone brings up one of the real elements that were part of the story. Such as after reading this they'll know who Copernicus or Magellan are where as they might not have known that before, depending on what parts of history they've already covered in school. These's aren't the only educational pieces of the book but they're woven in such a way that it's not pounding learning into the reader's head even as it is teaching them.
The book is exciting with interesting characters that I look forward to learning more about. It's in my opinion more plot driven than character driven, but I'm hoping to know the characters better in future installments. Definitely recommended.
One thing I did like about this book that you don't see in a lot of Middle Grade and YA fiction is that the parents aren't neglectful, absent or abusive. Wade has a great Dad who will do whatever he can to protect him. He thinks about the welfare of the children and put their safety ahead of their wishes. He listens to them, he talks to them and he's an active presence in their lives. While there are multiple scenes where the four children are alone, they're alone not because he's ignoring them, but because he's separated from them to draw off enemy attention or fire in order to protect them. I really love that the author has managed to tell a great middle grade story, or section of a story, without creating poor parents as character in order for this to happen.
Like the 39 Clues, it's clear that this is only a section of the story but at the same time you're offered a resolution in reaching the first step of the journey. You have to study different historical figures in order to find what you're looking for and you're competing with another group who will do anything to stop you. Or rather the characters are because you're not actually in the story.
I happen to really enjoy this sort of fiction and love how it mostly teaches without boring kids in the process because they don't realize they're learning anything until the story is over and someone brings up one of the real elements that were part of the story. Such as after reading this they'll know who Copernicus or Magellan are where as they might not have known that before, depending on what parts of history they've already covered in school. These's aren't the only educational pieces of the book but they're woven in such a way that it's not pounding learning into the reader's head even as it is teaching them.
The book is exciting with interesting characters that I look forward to learning more about. It's in my opinion more plot driven than character driven, but I'm hoping to know the characters better in future installments. Definitely recommended.