Fifteen-year-old Oliver Grain begins his school year fighting off bullies, learning about the boy who committed suicide in his room, and trying to understand why his history teacher, Mr. Gordon, has taken such a personal interest in him. Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe you can make bullies simply disappear? Do you believe you can walk through walls? Mr. Gordon tells Oliver: "When you truly believe anything is possible, you will be able to open doors where there were only walls." And one of those doors leads Oliver to Provex City, which puts him in far greater danger than he can possibly fathom. This is a young adult fantasy novel with mild language, sexual situations, and medium violence. It is recommended for readers in Grade 9 and up
REVIEW
What? Are you kidding me? You cannot end the book like that? I have so many questions! I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book for review and I am SO glad I read it.
Despite the ending that sort of tied up the adventure in this book, but set up some pretty ominous foreshadowing for the second book in the series. Let me tell you, the author had better be hard at work on the sequel, because that ending leaves you with more questions than answers. Well played, Sir. Well played.
My favorite thing about this book was just the way the Author wrote in general. I loved the writing style and I love love LOVED Oliver's character. This book is now in my list of favorite books where a guy is the MC! Let me just talk a little bit about Oliver for a minute.
Oliver, bless his heart, is a regular ole teenage boy. He has bully problems. He is overshadowed by his older brother. He is nervous around girls. And he is NOT perfect. And never claims to be. I loved being inside his head and listening to his sarcastic remarks. Also, I absolutely love the relationship he develops with Desiree after she decides they are going to be friends. It is so sweet! Ah, I love best friends in books. While I am on the subject..
Desiree- I love this girl. She is so fun, sarcastic and hyper. She is a lovely supporting character and since my favorite part of the book was the characters [and they wonderful writing style], I feel safe saying the book would definitely not have been the same without her. [except for like that one page of the book I will hold against her until I read the 2nd book. REDEEM YOURSELF.]
Jared- I love how his brother is cocky, but still a fun character who, despite sibling rivalries, comes through for Oliver.
The other characters are still pretty important, but there are SO MANY [well, maybe not that many. but there are a lot of different characters who are important to the story and contribute- even if they are minor characters]
I love how there are - in reality- around 4 different things going on in this book at the same time, so it is like I am reading a romance, mystery, a fantasy, and a paranormal book at the same time! But they had even screen time, so no one aspect of the story was more prominent.
The actual Fantasy part of the book was a little confusing at first and I think it developed a little too fast right there in the very beginning [and right at the very end], but between that, I was able to just go with the flow. (:
Loved the paranormal and mystery, though! The romance was pretty cute at times, but other times I wanted to slap different people in the face. But! since they are teenagers, and being annoying is in their DNA, It factored into the story quite nicely. (: Plus, Oliver was just so clueless, it was so ADORABLE. eep!
All in all? Great story with an easy to follow style of writing + cute banter. Some bits were a little confusing at times, I will admit, but you can push right on through them. Heck, it may just be me that was confused. ;) The characters were awesome- had one of every personality- type [unique characters]
I loved the alternate world the author created. A LOT of thought was put into this book. I mean A LOT. (:
A lot of the characters are still such a mystery to me! That is going to be the part I am most looking forward to in the sequel; [or coming sequels. who knows how many there will be?] Discovering all the skeletons buried in everyone's closet! There is still so much I need to learn about EVERYONE. O.O. I.. cannot wait for the next book.
Despite the ending that sort of tied up the adventure in this book, but set up some pretty ominous foreshadowing for the second book in the series. Let me tell you, the author had better be hard at work on the sequel, because that ending leaves you with more questions than answers. Well played, Sir. Well played.
My favorite thing about this book was just the way the Author wrote in general. I loved the writing style and I love love LOVED Oliver's character. This book is now in my list of favorite books where a guy is the MC! Let me just talk a little bit about Oliver for a minute.
Oliver, bless his heart, is a regular ole teenage boy. He has bully problems. He is overshadowed by his older brother. He is nervous around girls. And he is NOT perfect. And never claims to be. I loved being inside his head and listening to his sarcastic remarks. Also, I absolutely love the relationship he develops with Desiree after she decides they are going to be friends. It is so sweet! Ah, I love best friends in books. While I am on the subject..
Desiree- I love this girl. She is so fun, sarcastic and hyper. She is a lovely supporting character and since my favorite part of the book was the characters [and they wonderful writing style], I feel safe saying the book would definitely not have been the same without her. [except for like that one page of the book I will hold against her until I read the 2nd book. REDEEM YOURSELF.]
Jared- I love how his brother is cocky, but still a fun character who, despite sibling rivalries, comes through for Oliver.
The other characters are still pretty important, but there are SO MANY [well, maybe not that many. but there are a lot of different characters who are important to the story and contribute- even if they are minor characters]
I love how there are - in reality- around 4 different things going on in this book at the same time, so it is like I am reading a romance, mystery, a fantasy, and a paranormal book at the same time! But they had even screen time, so no one aspect of the story was more prominent.
The actual Fantasy part of the book was a little confusing at first and I think it developed a little too fast right there in the very beginning [and right at the very end], but between that, I was able to just go with the flow. (:
Loved the paranormal and mystery, though! The romance was pretty cute at times, but other times I wanted to slap different people in the face. But! since they are teenagers, and being annoying is in their DNA, It factored into the story quite nicely. (: Plus, Oliver was just so clueless, it was so ADORABLE. eep!
All in all? Great story with an easy to follow style of writing + cute banter. Some bits were a little confusing at times, I will admit, but you can push right on through them. Heck, it may just be me that was confused. ;) The characters were awesome- had one of every personality- type [unique characters]
I loved the alternate world the author created. A LOT of thought was put into this book. I mean A LOT. (:
A lot of the characters are still such a mystery to me! That is going to be the part I am most looking forward to in the sequel; [or coming sequels. who knows how many there will be?] Discovering all the skeletons buried in everyone's closet! There is still so much I need to learn about EVERYONE. O.O. I.. cannot wait for the next book.
Before you ask, yes, these are screwdrivers. And yes, they are relevant to the story! :P
QUOTES
I loved Oliver's quirky/sarcastic remarks and thoughts! But some of the other characters had some unique personalities as well!
I loved Oliver's quirky/sarcastic remarks and thoughts! But some of the other characters had some unique personalities as well!
"Silence the voice in the back of your mind that questions everything you do- the voice playing the devil's advocate." <aaaaand insert spoiler here> "The voice and I have become pretty close over the years. It's pretty hard to just cast out a friend." ~Oliver responding to Mr. Gordon.
“Oliver, don’t be rude. Say ‘hi’ to our lovely and gorgeous guest.”
“Oh, stop it!” she said, biting her lower lip.
“Fine, then say ‘hi’ to our hideously disfigured guest. Just don’t look directly at her,” Jeremy laughed. Leslie shot him a look that would’ve turned me to stone. He didn’t even flinch; he just kept right on laughing.
In gym we took the day off from baseball. It didn't bother me since I associated playing baseball with being a leper quarantined to the outfield. Instead we "ran" the mile. I walked. ~Oliver's thoughts on P.E.
I didn't speak because my answer would've escaped as girlish squeaks or incoherent stuttering. I tried to exude a quiet strength. ~Oliver [hehe]
"I'm going to be a shipwrecked castaway," he said smugly. I immediately saw the brilliance in his choice. He could dress up as a sloppier version of his hippie self and call it a costume. simple. ~Oliver [in response to Eli's costume choice]
Sounds pretty interesting!
ReplyDeleteYes, Interesting is definitely a word I would use to describe it.
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