Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Vanishing Sculptor




Title: The Vanishing Sculptor
Author: Donita K. Paul
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7339-9



“Return to the world of the dragon keepers, where the fate of three missing statues will determine the fate of the world.”

I have a son who just started high school and hates English. I know ~ sometimes I wonder if he really could be related to me at all. :o) One way I entice him to embrace the subject is through reading. It can be difficult to find good reading material that is not too “boring” or filled with objectionable material for a mom with too many other things to stress about.

When I come upon an author I don’t know, I often pre-read the book before I give them to him to read. This book must have been destined for us. Not only did I purchase it (and several of her other books) but I also won a copy in a contest that I will be passing on to one lucky winner.

When I read the front cover it claimed it was “A Fantastic Journey of Discovery for All Ages.” I think that’s true. I wasn’t bored reading this story ~ though I think it’s geared more for the young adult crowd. Even younger children could read it, provided they had a good vocabulary because she does not dumb down her language at all.

In fact, that was one of my favorite parts of the book. This is a fantasy book, filled with dragons and strange creatures we have never seen. So the descriptions need to be lush and make the world come alive. I could picture them in my mind… Could hear the squawking of the giant parrot the crackling and rustling of… well never mind, I’ll let you discover that for yourselves. :o)

Each one of these characters was unique. They had me smiling, laughing, wondering what would happen next… worrying about their safety… and there was a wonderful message embedded about the difference between myths and the true God – and trusting on our own strength versus relying on Him.

It was a fun book that I only wished continued on past the ending so I could find out what happened after the last pages. (The back cover reveals that this book acts as a sort of prologue to the rest of the series.)

If you would like to win this book, please make a comment to that effect and leave your e-mail address. Indicate if you are a follower; that will give you an extra entry. I will select the winner on Mon, Nov 2nd.

8 comments:

  1. Please don't enter me cause I read this one and really liked it. Wanna read some more of her books. :)

    But I would like to suggest the Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo for your son. It's a really great series. I think he would like it...you can check it out here: http://www.robertliparulo.com/blog.html

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  2. I second the recommendation for Robert Liparulo's books. Also look at Wayne Thomas Batson, John Olson, LB Graham, Andrew Peterson, Bryan Davis, Jonathan Rogers, and D. Barkley Briggs.
    On my website I have a list of recommendations for many genres.
    Umm, you don't need to enter me in the give away contest. I have a few of those books.
    Thank you for the enthusiastic review. You bloggers are great for introducing new readers to our books. Authors really appreciate you.

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  3. Thank you, Angie for the suggestion. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series myself. :o)

    Donita - Thank you so much for stopping by the blog, for your books and for all the wonderful hints on more names to look up. I'll be sure to visit soon.

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  4. This book looks really interesting!! Thank you for sharing. It's been a really long time since I've read a fantasy book! Maybe my little brother would like this too. He has to read 12 hours worth of books for school and he always has a hard time finding interesting books. Please enter me and I'll post a link on my blog. I'm a follower too!

    xoxo~ Renee
    steelergirl83(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. This looks like an excellent series! I'd really love to win it and read it!

    I'm also a follower!

    hmsgofita at hotmail dot com

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  6. Please don't enter me...I just wanted to say "good luck" to everyone! *waving*

    ~ Lori

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  7. Thank you, Renee.

    Hi & Welcome hmsgofita.

    Waving back @ Lori. lol

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  8. Yeah, I won! Thanks so much, Lee! This does look really good!

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