ELEMENTAL
SUMMARY
A
mysterious and powerful fantasy adventure from a Schneider Award winner
In the
near future, most of the population of the United States has been destroyed by
the plague. The few remaining survivors live in colonies on the barrier islands
off the East Coast. In one colony near Cape Hatteras, almost all the members
have elemental powers and can control wind, water, earth, and fire. All but
sixteen-year-old Thomas. When the Guardians, the powerful adult leaders, are
kidnapped by pirates seeking to take over their colony, it is up to Thomas and
a small group of teens to save them and preserve the mysteries of the island.
REVIEW
Who
doesn’t love powers? Add pirates, secrets, and a hidden dystopian society, and
sounds like you’ve got a grad slam.
Elemental
has all that and more. Making it a fantastic lower YA book.
I
heard of Antony John back when I read Five Flavors of Dumb, which was
absolutely amazing. The characters were well crafted and realistic, the pacing
at a good clip, and the story interesting and worth the read.
So
when I saw that he was writing a book that sounded like The Last Airbender, I
couldn’t wait to see what he pulled out.
The
first thing to note is, Elemental is not Five Flavors of Dumb. John spends much
less time developing characters and much more time creating webs of secrets and
mysteries that middle grade boys and slightly older will love.
Of
course, since there is so much time spent creating the many mysteries that
drive the story, and very little time solving them, readers may feel as if the pacing
is somewhat uneven. But with the cliffhanger of a revelation at the end of the
book, which promises a sequel, it makes sense that John uses much of this book
to set up the solutions that I feel confident will be revealed in later
installments in the series.
The
other thing that makes this book great for younger YA readers is the level of
action in the book. Elemental includes kids spying on pirates, discovering
powers, battling with weapons and powers, and telling the future. All of these
things will keep hesitant readers continuing on in the book long after they
normally would have lost interest.
All
in all a fun book for upper-middle grade/lower YA readers that is chalk full of
excitement and adventure.
INFO
Publisher:
Dial
Published: November
21, 2012
Price:
$17.99
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