Summary: In modern day Southern California, twelve-year-old Thomas Wildus stumbles upon mysterious bookstore owners, who confirm his suspicion that magic is real. He begins reading a magical book, and strange occurrences invade in his once-normal life.
Thoughts: Thomas is a twelve-year old boy, and his language and interests completely reflect a real pre-teen. His relationship with best friend Enrique was comical and endearing. It was nice to see a strong bond of friendship among boys for a change. Thomas’s friends add some diversity to the story to complement this adorable blond-haired blue eyed kid with a HUGE appetite. (I’ve heard that growing boys need nourishment, but seriously, this kid can EAT!) The adult characters were funny, especially the old chap Professor Reilly. I appreciated the methodical world-building of Thomas’s life, but the plot didn’t start thickening until past the halfway point. After that, I couldn’t put it down. Thomas’ story was engaging and creative, albeit a little creepy at first.
Content Advisory: Profanity was limited to a few utterances of “hell” and “bloody hell” by a British guy. Violence was kept to a minimum. A few instances of harming someone with magic power. Death was mentioned briefly, but no killings were performed in the story. Our boys score with a few pecks on the lips, but that was the extent of sexual content. PG rating when this is made into a movie.
Spiritual/Moral Lessons: There is no mention of Thomas’ religion. His associate, Professor Reilly, utters “Praise the Lord!” in a moment of relief. An alchemist in the story admits his belief that there is a greater force governing the universe. Throughout his magical journey, Thomas learns about perseverance, duty, loyalty, and forgiveness. He emerges a more virtuous and thoughtful person at the story’s end, which is what I like to see in a character.
Impressions: Pre-teen and teenage boys will relish the intersection of a modern boy’s life with a fantastic magical destiny. Thomas is the epitome of a regular guy who stumbles upon a supernatural ability. I recommend this to boys and girls ages 8-15, depending on reading level. Boys will relate to the characters more and be invited to think about their own friendships and creative minds.
Mr. E Review🐘: We journey to Asia in this novel, a continent that I am most familiar with. I have relatives in this area, but they regrettably do not make an appearance in this story. I found this tale to be an exciting romp through magic. Finally I read about boys (Jess picks a lot of books with girl protagonists)!
I received an ARC of this novel from Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, BPS and Mr. Bergen!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Librelephant 