The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone, was written by best-selling author and film
director, Alex Kendrick, along with Bill Muir from Youth for Christ.
Billy’s father, Dr. Michael Stone, is an archaeologist. He
has heard the legend of a lost medallion, made of gold with a special stone in
the center. It is said to have great powers and was lost on Aumakua
Island about 200 years ago. Many
don’t believe the medallion exists, but Dr. Stone does and he has searched for
it his entire life. After his wife died, he continued his search, to the
detriment of his finances. Broke and desperate, he needs to find the medallion
now.
Billy believes the legend, also. Before his mother died, she
gave him a stone she claimed came from the legendary medallion. The medallion
has no special powers without the stone. Billy wants to join his father’s
archeological dig so he can find the missing medallion but is not permitted to.
So he searches for it on his own.
But Billy and his father aren’t the only ones looking for it.
Cobb, a descendant of Cobra, wants the medallion very badly. 200 years ago,
when King Keili was in power on Aumakua
Island, Cobra tried in vain many
times to overtake the islanders and steal the medallion. But always, the its
power stopped him from doing so. Cobra succeeded in killing King Keili, but not
before the stone flew out of it (the same stone Billy now has in his
possession) and the king had the opportunity to bury the medallion.
With the use of a metal detector, Billy and his friend,
Allie, find the missing medallion. He then takes out the stone his mother gave
him and it inserts itself into the medallion. Billy thinks all of his and his
dad’s troubles are now over, but that’s not the case. He and Allie go back to
show Billy’s dad the treasure, only to find Billy’s dad tied up in a chair,
guarded by two men. When Billy flashes the medallion, the two men try to grab
it. Before they can do so, Billy says, “I wish this had never happened.” This
seemingly innocent wish transports he and Allie 200 years back in time to the Island
of Aumakua, to a time when the
medallion is still missing.
Now Billy and Allie have a chance to change the past to
change the future, but will their efforts make things better or worse?
What I
Like: The children in the story are searching for a medallion that has special
powers. But, they learn as they go along that the medallion’s true power comes
from the Source of all power, and the person who possesses the medallion must
have a clean heart in order for the power to manifest itself. An evil person
can not harness the medallion’s power. They also learn every person is a
treasure to God.
What I
dislike: This is a good story, with a good message, but I had a few issues with
it. For one thing, when the children were transported back in time, the authors
have the speakers talking in modern-day slang. I don’t think that would be
appropriate to the time period.
There
were a couple of discrepancies in the text. When Billy goes back in time, he
has a wooden staff with him that belonged to someone who had lived in that area
200 years ago. The staff is mentioned when the kids first show up on the island
in the past, but when the kids are forced to jump off a cliff, I had to wonder
what had happened to the staff. It wasn’t mentioned in the text for quite a few
pages after that. I would think it would have been very difficult for Billy to
have recovered the staff, but no mention was ever made of that.
I also
found a few typos in the text.
Overall
Rating: Good.
Age
Appeal: 8-12.
Publisher Info: BH Publishing Group, 2013; ISBN: 9781433682063;
Hardcover, 218 pages, $12.99.
Special Info: The original book was published in 2011, but has been reissued. It coincides with the release of a movie by the same name.
1 comment:
We saw the movie at ICRS this year, and then I got it for my kids ages 8, 8, 12, 18, 21, 22 and they actually all enjoyed it. I haven't read the book, didn't even realize there was one.
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