Today I'm reviewing Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by R.S. Mellette. It's an upper middle grade, lower young adult sci-fi adventure novel with a dash of fantasy. There's also a Rafflecopter giveaway at the end, so be sure to check it out after the review. But first, let's take a peek at the book blurb.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
About the Author:
About the Book:
Twelve-year-old Billy and his best friend Suzy Quinofski didn't mean to change the universe. Billy, a quantum physics prodigy, just wanted to find a way to help his hoarding, schizophrenic mother – and maybe impress a coven of older girls in high school. Suzy, his intellectual equal, wanted to help her friend and cling to her last remnant of childhood, a belief in magic. Together they made Billy a real, working, magic wand, and opened a door to the Quantum World where thoughts create reality, and all things – good and bad – are possible.
Amazon | Goodreads
The Review
Billy Bobble is a twelve year old genius who’s a freshman in high
school. His best friend is Suzy, another twelve year old genius who
attends the same school. Together, they invent a magic wand that breaks
the relationship between space and time, allowing them to make
anything happen, provided they can imagine it correctly. And that isn’t
always easy when you’re busy navigating through the perils of high
school bullies, a coven of witches, and army generals. As you might
expect, disastrous things can, and do, happen throughout the story.
I
found the story to be an inventive attempt to mix science and magic.
Although the explanations had some weak spots, overall it was more than
enough to feel right for this type of story. The first section of the
book is told from Suzy’s point of view. Billy has disappeared after an
explosion at their school and the police want to know why. But after Billy
returns from the Quantum world, it becomes his story for the rest of the
book.
What I liked most. The sense of humor
was the biggest draw for me. Plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor can be
found sprinkled throughout the book, much of it involving pop culture
references. I also enjoyed the witty dialogue between Billy and Suzy,
the humor and sarcasm often belying their age.
What I didn’t like.
I thought some of the explanations of how the physics worked might have been too
long and involved for most middle grade readers. Remember how
mysterious and fun The Force was in Star Wars before Lucas started
trying to explain it with midichlorians? Sometimes it’s better to
resist the urge to explain than run the risk of ruining the magic (pun
not intended) of the story.
I was also disappointed
with Billy having no father and his mother being an out of touch schizophrenic.
While this allowed Billy plenty of freedom to do what he wanted (which
is why roughly 99.999% of MG and YA fantasy books seem to have one or more
parents missing in action), I’m always hoping authors will work harder
to find ways to write these kinds of stories with relatively normal
parents. But that’s a small nit to pick, I suppose. Why change what
works?
In summary, I enjoyed the book, although the
level of humor often seemed more aimed at adults than at middle graders.
Not that kids won’t enjoy the story, but don’t be surprised if some of
the jokes and references go over their heads. But that's okay, since I suspect some of the adults in the house will want to read this book too.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author:
R.S. Mellette has written, directed, designed and acted in theatre, film, television, and publishing for over 30 years. His credits in various jobs include XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, BLUE CRUSH, and his own JACKS OR BETTER, which won Dances With Films Best Screenplay award in 2000. He has been working with the festival ever since.
His novel, Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand, released in December 2014 from Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. For novelists, Mellette blogs for From The Write Angle. For filmmakers, he writes for Dances With Films.
Giveaway:
1st Prize- *signed* copy of Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand
2nd Prize- Season two of Xena: Warrior Princess
Open to US only
Ends 2/25/15
Ends 2/25/15
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to read my book and post your thoughts.
Thank you so much for hosting a tour stop and sharing your thoughts about the book!
ReplyDelete