Book Review XI

Title: Riddles of Epsilon Author: Christine Morton-Shaw Genre: Fantasy Summary: A family moves into an old house far away from their teen-aged daughter's troubled friends. While exploring her new island home, the girl discovers a cottage that is the beginning of an adventurous summer. What was Good: The story was fantastic. As in many fantasy novels the crux of the problem came down to Good vs. Evil. The author made it better, however, through her illustration of the difficulty in deciding what is Good and what is Evil. What wasn't: The story was told through journal entries and online chat sessions. The chat sessions were nicely done. The journal entries were not realistic. I once was a 13-14 year old who kept a journal and know for a fact that journals aren't written as this one was. I'm a 28 year old journaller who didn't find it believeable either. I believe that the purpose of the journal was to add credibility to the narrator. It wouldn't have been necessary. First person limited, without the journal-like entries would have been as effective and more credible. The Take-Away: It could be said that every story has been told. The trick is finding what is new in the story. Ms Morton-Shaw accomplished this trick quite well. I'll be looking for the release of her next book. Recommendation: Buy a copy and read it. Then pass it onto your favorite teen reader.