Fun Fiction Friday - July 21, 2017

Fun Fiction Friday
July 21st, 2017

Welcome back to Fun Fiction Friday.

In my Fun Fiction Friday I share the books the older girls and I are reading, and a short review of a Young Adult or Juvenile book I have finished, if applicable. I will also ask the girls to tell me something they would like to share about the book they are currently reading. As I am also reading books for adults, I have started my book blog up again. Last week I shared my Friday Finds, Book Beginnings on Friday, and The Friday 56 in my Friday Fun post. I will also be sharing my reviews of any adult books over there. If I do, I will share links to those reviews in my Fun Fiction Friday post. 

I am currently reading four books. Well, sort of. I haven't gotten much further in three of them. I did finish Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones, which was one of my four last week. This week I have been focused on The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, because I have to return it to the library. 

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer was a book I spied on display in the children's section of the library. Knowing how much I enjoy shows like Once Upon a Time, I was definitely intrigued by this tale where the two main characters find themselves in the Land of Stories by falling into a fairy tale book their grandmother gave them. I'm about halfway through and hope to be able to share my review next week.

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen is a Christian Historical Fiction book. A couple of years ago I read another book by Julie Klassen and really enjoyed it, so I am hoping I will enjoy this one just as much. I haven't gotten very far into it as of yet. 

I am rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. It has been years since I finished the series and haven't reread it yet. Used to be, between the release of each book, I would reread the books. When I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago, I realized I had forgotten quite a bit about the books. Especially the last couple of books because I hadn't read them as much. 

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore was a suggestion by the librarian the other day. I wasn't going to read it right away, as I have a slew of books out thanks to the Summer Reading Program for adults at my one library. But while I was sitting in my car I started reading it because I didn't have Time Stoppers with me. I was hooked at once. As it is a Young Adult book, I will probably share my review over on Me, Myself, I Read (and Write). 

Tabitha and Amelia were at camp this past week, so they didn't really get any reading in. I'll make sure they have something to share next week. 

Fun Fiction Friday

Book Review

Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones is a book that a fellow homeschool blogger brought to my attention. It is a juvenile fantasy book. Anne Nobody and Jamie Hephaistion Alexander both live in the same town, though they don't know each other. They have both had horrible childhoods. If you think Harry Potter had it bad, well, it isn't near as bad as what these two children have had to deal with. Annie is an orphan who has been passed around from foster home to foster home, never having a place to call home, always treated bad, especially in the new home we see her arriving at during the beginning of the story. Jamie on the other hand lives with his "father" and "grandmother," though as you read the book you learn they are probably not his real family and are raising him for something quite sinister and disturbing. 

The first eight chapters detail the horrid situations Annie and Jamie are living in before they are rescued by a girl on a hovercraft snowmobile. A girl who ends up being a dwarf and who takes them to a hidden town called Aurora where all sorts of magical creatures live. 

However, their thrill in finding this new world is short lived because they learn of a danger that is trying to destroy the town and the people who live there. A danger that is now threatening because the protection around the town has been stolen (though it never is explained how it could have been stolen if it was a protected town to begin with). But, if you were paying attention earlier in the book, it is easy to figure out where the protection is and what they are going to have to do to get it back. So, the children who only just arrived in Aurora suddenly need to leave to get it back and save the town. Fortunately, Annie discovers she is a Stopper and can stop time, and probably has other powers we don't really understand yet. Though at the beginning of the book it is made clear that there is something magical about her. 

Both Annie and Jamie, along with Eva the dwarf and Bloom the elf, plus a dog named Tala work together to save the town. 

I really did enjoy this book, though as I was writing the above information I realized there were some things that were a little too convenient and almost feel as if the book is rushed at points, even though it is a 367 page book. This is the first book in this series, though it is a new series and I am not sure how many books there are going to be. I do know the second book recently came out, but I am not able to get my hands on it yet. I am hoping the library gets it soon. 

Some of the things that these two main characters go through at the beginning of the story are quite disturbing and scary. In fact, I would think those who foster might take offense at how awful foster homes are made to sound, as Annie is told she is a "nobody" by everyone, including the social worker. Though I can't help but wonder if that was done to protect her from being discovered as it appears she is going to be quite powerful. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't see why she had to be treated so cruelly. Jamie is also mistreated and neglected, never having enough food. The reason for this really is quite disturbing as I mentioned, but I am not going to give it away. 

The magical town of Aurora sounds like a lovely place, though I didn't quite feel it was fleshed out enough. They arrived in the town, met a bunch of people that I was having trouble keeping straight, and suddenly the "bad things" arrived and they had to leave to save the town. Though they had just run away from the horrid situations and were supposed to be finding refuge in the town. It almost seemed a bit impossible that they were capable of these feats after years of being told they were nothing. They didn't have a chance to grow into these news roles, they just suddenly went from down trodden, abused, neglected children to heroes in a matter of a couple of days. 

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book. It's just now as I am writing this review that I realized it does have some downfalls. Not to mention our heroes end up having to turn into criminals by stealing a police car at one point. 

All in all, Time Stoppers was a fun book, one I had trouble putting down. It moved fast, maybe too fast at times. And it might be a bit disturbing for younger readers.  I let my daughter read Harry Potter when she was 7 1/2 I believe. I think this may have been too scary for her at that age, though I think she would enjoy it now at 10 years old.