The Emerald Tablet by Dan Jolley
2016; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 70; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2016.0892
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoReviewed by: The Emerald Tablet by Dan Jolley April Spisak Jolley, Dan The Emerald Tablet. Harper/HarperCollins, 2016 [304p] (Five Elements) Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-241165-5 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-241172-3 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4-6 Before Gabe moves away, he and his friends perform a friendship ritual to bind them together. None of them takes the ritual seriously until it turns out it has actual power and they are now wrapped up in an elaborate plot involving cults, parallel worlds, and elemental forces. The kids impressively cope with ghosts, monsters, missing mothers who might be in other worlds, and betrayals with equal aplomb. Gabe is a neat if impetuous kid, and readers will quickly identify with him or one of his group of close friends (who are a multicultural, mixed-gender little gang). Unfortunately, there’s a lot of plot to sort through, even for the introductory novel in a series, and it’s hard to connect with any of the large number of characters amid all the action. In addition, the heavy sense of guilt and doom clashes with the sometimes juvenile humor, resulting in an uneven tone. Even with the concerns, however, this is a promising start with a swift pace, a solid protagonist, and a creepy cool cult as a worthy villainous force. Copyright © 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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