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Book Review: Between Worlds by Skip Brittenham

Between Worlds by Skip Brittenham
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0399176890
Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, Audible edition

 

Between Worlds is a YA mash-up of the science fiction, fantasy, and romance genres that markets itself as providing an immersive augmented reality experience. Augmented reality, if you haven’t experienced it, adds new aspects to your existing reality and allows you to manipulate them in a 3D environment. In the case of Between Worlds, you can download an app that uses the camera of a smartphone or tablet to create the illusion that the people and creatures in the book’s color illustrations are three-dimensional and can move around on the page in limited ways, depending on where you move your camera screen.  This is a pretty neat trick that you would expect to engage teens, and when I tried it out with my son, he got very excited about the concept. However, there were a limited number of color illustrations, and the app didn’t work with all of them, so he quickly got frustrated and abandoned the book.

It’s neat to see publishers trying new things and taking risks to create a more immersive and attractive reading experience, and the idea is an interesting one, but it still needs work. I don’t think it would necessarily work on a large scale, since most people don’t want to download an app for every book they read, and having to stop reading to activate the illustrations actually doesn’t create an immersive reading experience– it breaks it down. Based on my son’s reaction, the AR aspect of the book was enough to catch his attention, but not enough to convince him to read it. This might work better with nonfiction: a few years ago we reviewed a nonfiction book called Horrible Hauntings that used this technology very effectively to simulate ghosts moving around in the illustrations on the pages for each entry.

The story itself was okay, but it didn’t impress me. Although it had some interesting ideas, they weren’t fully explored, and the primary characters, Mayberry and Marshall, were flat and unsympathetic. Mayberry was the brainy new girl whose urban “coolness” and obnoxious attitude left her on the fringe in her rural high school. Marshall was the geeky prankster from a well-known and formerly wealthy family that had fallen on hard times, and who has a secret crush on her. The two bond over their outsider status and love of science. When Marshall learns that Mayberry’s mother, a biologist, is studying a local colony of quaking aspen trees, he suggests to Mayberry that they break in to the restricted forest to seek out the mythical Wishing Tree that is supposedly at the center of the grove. Mild teen rebellion, science fiction, fantasy, and a touch of wish-fulfillment romance ensue. Despite packing all that in (and an alternate reality with the potential to be very interesting), the characters and story just aren’t enough on their own, and with the AR breaking the flow of the reading experience instead of enhancing it, the book is only temporarily enticing.

I think it’s great to see a major publisher trying new things to enhance the reading experience, and I hope we’ll continue to see experimentation. However, the story on its own was not enough to carry this reader, and I don’t think this particular experiment was a success. I look forward to seeing what comes next!

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski


Posted on October 26, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Hannahwhere by John McIlveen

Hannahwhere by John McIlveen
Crossroad Press, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1941408629
Availability: Paperback, Ebook

 

Hannahwhere is a rare treasure for a first novel. John McIlveen began his writing career in the horror genre, but his work has always danced on the edges of the magical. Although popular authors such as Stephen King and Neil Gaiman have experimented successfully with an array of genres and genre hybrids, a relative newcomer with a genre-blending book faces more of a challenge in drawing readers’ attention. John McIlveen has written a book deserving of that attention. The characters maneuver through the pages in fluid fashion, growing into people so believable that it is nearly impossible to contain them. The story and style will take your breath away, fracture your imagination, and carve open your heart.

Set in modern Boston, Hannawhere centers on young Hannah, who is found behind a dumpster, physically healthy but catatonic, two years after she and her twin witnessed a brutal murder in Nebraska. She has obviously been the victim of terrible trauma, and is trapped in an alternative fantasy world that is strange and claustrophobic, yet still inviting,  Hannah’s social worker, Debbie Gillan, enters and tries to save Hannah and find her twin, changing their lives and everything they thought they knew about reality. To say more about the plot would destroy the magic within the covers.

This creep down the rabbit hole will leave many in wonder, often with a tear in their eye. McIlveen has shown that boundaries are for those who refuse to knock the walls down… No such boundaries exist in Hannahwhere. Highly recommended.

Contains: mild horror involving children

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on January 5, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J. A. White

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees by J.A. White, illustrated by Andrea Offermann

Katherine Tegen Books, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0062257291

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition

After the shocking conclusion of A Path Begins, the first book in The Thickety series, Kara Westfall has been forced to leave her village of De’Noran behind and flee with her brother into the darkness of the Thickety,

Although still full of dark events and violent situations, The Whispering Trees contains each of these elements on a lighter scale than the first book in the series. Readers are introduced to a world full of magical, fairytale-like creatures living in the Thickety, and Kara’s ability to connect with animals gives us a glimpse into the minds of the Thickety’s inhabitants, blighted by the dark magic of the Forest Demon Sordyr.

The encompassing theme of good vs. evil, and strength of character development, is still strong in The Whispering Trees. Kara and her brother Taff form an unlikely alliance with the witch Mary Kettle, introduced in A Path Begins as a murderer of children. The Whispering Trees is full of suspenseful situations and unpredictable turns of events as Kara learns that goodness and hope can prevail.

The Whispering Trees shows readers a growth in Kara’s understanding of her powers, and her discovery of the responsibility that comes with such power, She is forced to make difficult decisions that weigh her deep desire to protect and free the creatures of the Thickety against her need to occasionally put them in harm’s way, for the greater good of defeating Sordyr. Readers will also see growth in young Taff as he develops wisdom, and a keen ability to become a strong force in the challenges he and Kara face in the Thickety.

The illustrations of Andrea Offermann are again a perfect complement to the tone of the story. The cover pulls readers into the dark, ensnaring branches of the Thickety and the chapter illustrations provide a perfect visual introduction to the tone of each chapter.

While The Whispering Trees contains less human violence than the first book in the series, it still contains enough frightening imagery and violent events that younger readers should be cautioned. However, those who are looking for a YA series that doesn’t sugarcoat the darker side of a fantastic and wonderfully-told scary story won’t be disappointed. Recommended for ages 10 and older.

 

Contains: Violence, witchcraft

Reviewed by Heather Hurley

Posted on May 4, 2015 by , Reply
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