Lord Arkus is a villain, and, not just any villain, mind you. He’s a mean, nasty villain and proud of it. So, when his villainous acts are mistaken for good deeds, things change in his life.
In My Sparkling Misfortune, written by Laura Lond, Arkus is tricked by his greatest rival, Prince Kellemar, and swears revenge.
To retaliate, he must secure an army and a strong right-hand man. He’s been told if he can capture a Gormack, an evil spirit with special powers, he can bargain with it and secure servitude in exchange for its release.
After capturing what he thinks is a Gormack and securing six years of his service, Arkus discovers what he has captured is not an evil Gormack, but a Sparkling, a creature known for doing good deeds, not evil ones. Arkus thinks he has been stuck with a useless do-gooder, but he learns the Sparkling has powers too, but ones that can be used only for good works.
Once the Sparkling comes into his life, Arkus’ attempts at villainy seem to back-fire, making him look like a good guy when he wants very much to be the bad guy. For starters, he inadvertently “rescues” the King’s daughter from bandits, making him appear to be a hero in the King’s eye. His attempts to explain himself fall on deaf ears and his life is basically turned up-side down from that point on.
The pencil sketch illustrations by Alla Alekseyeva are quite detailed and are scattered throughout the book.
What I Like: I like the writing style. It was fast-paced, entertaining, and even witty at times.
What I Dislike: To call this a Christian children’s book would be a stretch. There are elements in the story line that could be related to religion, such as the idea of both good and evil spirits. And, even though Lord Arkus “repents” in some respects, he doesn’t go from being a villain to being an entirely good guy; he keeps many of his old ways.
Another thing I dislike is there were many typos throughout the text; I found them distracting.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: No age was given, but I would say this book is for middle grade readers.
Publisher Info: Dream Books LLC, 2010; ISBN: 9781616580834; Paperback, 161 pages, $9.99.
Buy now at Amazon.com $9.99!
Special Info: Visit the author’s website.
In My Sparkling Misfortune, written by Laura Lond, Arkus is tricked by his greatest rival, Prince Kellemar, and swears revenge.
To retaliate, he must secure an army and a strong right-hand man. He’s been told if he can capture a Gormack, an evil spirit with special powers, he can bargain with it and secure servitude in exchange for its release.
After capturing what he thinks is a Gormack and securing six years of his service, Arkus discovers what he has captured is not an evil Gormack, but a Sparkling, a creature known for doing good deeds, not evil ones. Arkus thinks he has been stuck with a useless do-gooder, but he learns the Sparkling has powers too, but ones that can be used only for good works.
Once the Sparkling comes into his life, Arkus’ attempts at villainy seem to back-fire, making him look like a good guy when he wants very much to be the bad guy. For starters, he inadvertently “rescues” the King’s daughter from bandits, making him appear to be a hero in the King’s eye. His attempts to explain himself fall on deaf ears and his life is basically turned up-side down from that point on.
The pencil sketch illustrations by Alla Alekseyeva are quite detailed and are scattered throughout the book.
What I Like: I like the writing style. It was fast-paced, entertaining, and even witty at times.
What I Dislike: To call this a Christian children’s book would be a stretch. There are elements in the story line that could be related to religion, such as the idea of both good and evil spirits. And, even though Lord Arkus “repents” in some respects, he doesn’t go from being a villain to being an entirely good guy; he keeps many of his old ways.
Another thing I dislike is there were many typos throughout the text; I found them distracting.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: No age was given, but I would say this book is for middle grade readers.
Publisher Info: Dream Books LLC, 2010; ISBN: 9781616580834; Paperback, 161 pages, $9.99.
Buy now at Amazon.com $9.99!
Special Info: Visit the author’s website.
1 comment:
So glad to have found your site. It's getting harder and harder to find worthwhile reading for children (especially in middle school/high school). Looking forward to searching out some great recommendations.
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