REVIEW: "Yaakov the Pirate Hunter" by Nathaniel Wyckoff

It's 2025, and the Peretz family has a variety of robots to do their bidding. When Yaakov and Yosef are playing Frisbee one day, Yaakov throws it much too high and it lands on the roof. Yaakov uses the climb-bot to get the Frisbee, but an impatient Yosef throws a baseball that knocks the climb-bot right off the roof. Because of that throw, the boys discover a treasure map hidden inside the robot. Following the map sets a series of events into motion that takes the Peretz family halfway around the world to follow some pirates and attempt to thwart their evil plan to steal a sacred scroll.


Written by Nathaniel Wyckoff, this middle-grade novel follows Yaakov and his family as they chase down the pirates who stole some precious belongings. Originally created by the author to satisfy his own children's hunger for stories about robots, there is a sweetness to this story that is very similar to the Boxcar Children series. Somewhat far-fetched with amazing coincidences and adults who readily share their secrets, the storyline is rather simple and will appeal to a younger audience. Yaakov is a precocious 11-year-old who calls the shots and manages to put the pieces of the puzzle together. His character was interesting and young boys will likely relate well to his sense of adventure. On the other hand, I never really got a feel for Yosef and I'm left with this image of a sullen boy with no real personality. Rachel, the sister, was more interesting, allowing me to form a picture of what she may be like. Set in 2025, robots play a prominent theme, but everything else seems amazingly similar to today. It would have been fun to see a few more innovations that would allow the younger reader to imagine the world 14 years in the future as different and exciting.

One thing I really loved about this book was the seamless weaving of the Jewish culture into the storyline. As a child, I learned an awful lot about other cultures and peoples from the books I read. This book is poised to introduce a child to vocabulary and cultural practices of Judaism, while offering a fun and exciting story. At the same time, this provides a familiar context for Jewish children. Children enjoy reading about familiar things, and I haven't seen a plethora of middle-grade adventures starring children from the Jewish culture. On a down note, I felt the series of events in the story almost made it feel a bit disjointed. The events did flow into one another, but it felt like two major sections to a book rather than a smooth ride to the climax. Additionally, the ending really threw me for a loop. It was so abrupt and unexpected in ending where it did, I had to look back again to be sure I didn't miss anything. The last few pages of the story seemed to be gearing us up for another part to the adventure, but the story ends instead. I think perhaps it would have been better to leave that ending part about the sig-bot out entirely, or else follow through with Yaakov's idea.

Pleasant and entertaining, this book will appeal to a younger audience.


3 /5 stars

Available at Amazon

REVIEW: "Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town" by Scott Neumyer

Jimmy Stone has had a hard life. It all really started when his mom came home from the hospital with a puppy instead of the new baby sister he was expecting, and it went downhill from there. Now, he's been relocated to "Boredsylvania" with his largely absent father. With no friends, he finds himself the number one target of the local bully gang. Luckily, he manages to make friends with David, who has successfully survived his year of being the gang's whipping boy, and David is willing to teach Jimmy some survival tips. A spontaneous walk with this new friend in the woods behind Jimmy's house leads to an exciting discovery, and an unexpected adventure. Now Jimmy has to solve a riddle that foretells the end of everything Jimmy holds dear. Can he save the seven realms in time?

I've mentioned before that I don't usually notice cover art, but I must say that I love the cover of this book. I think it's fitting to the story, and quite striking to boot. While I usually skip right by the cover, I find myself mesmerized by this one. That being said, on with the review! This middle grade novel by Scott Neumyer begins when Jimmy is in third grade and his family suffers one tragic loss after another. The story is told from Jimmy's point of view, and you can feel his frustration and lack of understanding in the events that took place. I found the writing in the beginning sections very fluid and engaging in telling the story from Jimmy's point of view. During the course of the book, however, the writing flips between present and past tense with no apparent reason (that I could see). Although I found the beginning of the story to flow well, I found it flowed less in the latter half of the story. The writing and dialogue seemed a bit more disjointed and immature later in the book. Additionally, although I found the overall writing style and storyline to be appropriate for the intended age group, there was enough extraneous swearing to definitely make me think twice before sharing this story with my own middle grade sons.

Jimmy's character was developed enough that I got a good feel for him, his life, and his feelings. I found him interesting and, swearing aside, age appropriate. I liked the relationship between Jimmy and his dog, Trex and I felt it added a nice texture to the story. The character of David, on the other hand, confused me. He seemed almost psychic in places, and I expected that to play into the story more. I expected him to have a mysterious connection to the ghost town in the title. Instead, he seemed just as surprised by the ghost town, and his actions and dialogue just plain confused me in places. I'm not sure if it was a lack of development or just inconsistencies, but I think a lot more could have been done with his character that would have added to the storyline.

The story itself was disjointed to me. It was almost like two halves of a story linked together by a walk in the woods. During the first half of the story, I found myself wondering when in the world we were getting to any ghost town. When it happened, I wondered why the extended back story on Jimmy's life. I kept waiting for them to tie together, but it never really happened. Things were hinted upon, but then the ending came somewhat abruptly and prematurely. I didn't see anywhere that officially listed this as the start to a series, but I can't imagine it's anything but. The ending really sets itself up for six more books- one for each of the mentioned realms. I think further books could really help solidify the connection between Jimmy's past and his future, as well as further develop David's character.

In spite of what I felt were shortcomings, I did enjoy the read. I think the author does possess some nice fiction writing skills that could really bloom with tightening of a storyline, and particular attention paid to consistency.

3 /5 stars

Available at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

REVIEW: "The Talisman of Elam" by Jim Mastro

Jason Hunter’s got your typical problems. His parents relocated him to a new city, where he promptly made bad by coming to the aid of a geeky boy and getting himself on the jock “hit list.” Speaking of his parents, they’ve been acting a little, well, distant lately, and then there’s the question of the crazy new neighbors who seem to be spying on him. When he chooses to follow them one night, he makes a discovery that forevers changes what he thinks of himself, his friends, and his family. 

A middle grade novel by Jim Mastro, this book has action and adventure that holds particular appeal for its intended age group. Jason is a believable 12-year-old boy who finds strengths he never knew he had as he pulls together with his friends to find his parents and, basically, save Earth. The adventure takes us into space to visit other planets with advanced civilizations, and introduces us to a federation we never knew existed. The three children in this book, Jason, Kevin and Amelia, are engaging and nicely developed. Each has a distinct personality, and each is valuable to the storyline in his or her own way. Jason may be the star of the story, but his two friends are equally important to the outcome. Shalan, one of the aliens who has a particular interest in protecting Jason, fades a little into the background, which may be fitting for a book geared towards pre-adolescents. The kids are really the stars, and the adults have their place, but are truly secondary. 


Nicely paced, the storyline flows fluidly through several settings and builds up to its finale, which is really just the beginning of the planned trilogy. Although it's just the first installment, the book provides closure, while still setting the stage for the next adventure. One theme in this book relates to the power of children, and this theme is something I always enjoyed when I was in this age group. The idea that an unpopular pre-teen actually has the power to change the world, to do amazing things, and to be so important is an idea that empowers and excites those in this age group. It's the classic story of the underdog making good, in ways that may surprise any who didn't believe in him. This is the first novel for the author, who has been writing predominantly non-fiction for decades. It's a great first jump into a trilogy that is sure to find fans in all age groups. The writing is appropriate for the age level, overall. There were a few instances where the dialogue was a little awkward or unbelievable, but it seemed to ring true for the most part. Some of the adults are more two-dimensional and less believable, but that only puts the spotlight even more on the kids. The ending seemed slightly rushed and perhaps a tad confusing after all the build-up in the story, but it didn't detract from the overall experience.

Very kid-friendly, this book is sure to appeal- especially to those interested in science fiction and space travel.

4 /5 stars

Available at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

You can also read chapters for FREE on the book's website!