Official Review: The Adventures of JoJo Smith

[Bluefirerose]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Adventures of JoJo Smith" by Tony Leslie Duxbury.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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If you could choose any time period in history to visit, what period would you choose? Perhaps the Renaissance would appeal to you, or the Industrial Age? What if you were granted a chance to visit a different time, but you had no control over what time? The Adventures of Jojo Smith by Tony Leslie Duxbury is the story of a guy who, by the power of magic, was able to do just that. Jonathan Joseph Smith a.k.a. Jojo is taken against his will out of his normal life in modern day England and dropped into what we would recognize as The Middle Ages. The rest of the story is his struggle to cope with his current situation (which at times he has little trouble with) while trying to figure out how to find his way back home.

In this 21st century take of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, the reader is introduced immediately to Jojo’s innermost thoughts. This is due to the story being written in first person. Jojo is a deep thinking character that likes to keep his thoughts to himself. It is obvious from the beginning that he sees the world in general as dog-eat-dog and the goal is to not get eaten first. This thought process is a running theme throughout the book; Jojo doesn’t trust anyone, from the ancient and (mostly) knowledgeable wizard Shadlow who brought him to the strange land of Farrowmarsh, to the ruler of the land King Thomas, a stereotypically glutton full of his own power as well as plenty of lavish meals. There is a bevy of interesting characters, some you will grow to care about, others you may loathe from beginning to end. Just like in real life, not every person is as they seem.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the change that came over Jojo as the story progressed. In a lot of stories where the main character isn’t exactly a shining beacon of righteousness, a major experience occurs that changes their outlook and they end up becoming a better person for it. This isn’t the case with Jojo. He does go through personal change, but it is a more realistic change. He ends up having to do what most people do in extreme situations; doing things that he never thought he could do (or would do), and then having to come to terms with those actions. I was also pleased with the fact that even though the setting was in a make-believe place, it was relatable. The author didn’t give us a familiar setting, only to change it into something completely unrecognizable.

I did struggle a bit with Jojo’s back-story and how it was not reflected in his conversations and history. He admits point-blank that he really hasn’t had much of any formal education, yet he regularly says things that don’t fit that statement. One example is in the very beginning of the book.

My egalitarian spirit helps me to spread around the worst aspects of my personality, as well as the best.

I believe the author has a vast knowledge of language, but may have not realized that Jojo would not have such knowledge. At one point, Jojo mentions reading about King Arthur, so we know he isn’t exactly an idiot. The question is, does this give a viable explanation for his seemingly random use of complicated words? Personally, I think the answer is no.

Also, without giving too much away, the ending of this book was very…abrupt. Throughout the book, everything Jojo does we are able to follow and understand not only his actions, but his feelings. However, there are questions left unanswered until the very end, only to be explained away in a few all-encompassing sentences. If it had been left open-ended, I would have just assumed it was the beginning of a series, but all the loose ends were tied up very neatly. To me, it seems that either the author had a specific word or page count limit, or simply became bored and wanted to finish the story quickly to be done with it.

In conclusion, despite the slightly disjointed portrayal of an uneducated yet intelligent main character, this was an enjoyable and relatable tale. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars for taking a well-known story and turning it on its head. If the ending hadn’t been so rushed, I might have given it all four stars.

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The Adventures of JoJo Smith
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Like Bluefirerose's review? Post a comment saying so!

[tonyleslieduxbury]

I would like to thank Bluefirerose for the review of my novel. I have taken note of your criticisms and will keep them in mind for the future. This is my first attempt at writing and I understand that there some problems with the story, but I am learning. Thank you again for taking the time to read and review my book.

[LivreAmour217]

This is a great review! The book sounds enjoyable and I am interested in reading it. I want to point something out though: you can be highly intelligent yet have little formal education. Sometimes life circumstances can prevent an individual from receiving much in the way of an education, or sometimes a person is just unmotivated in spite of being very smart. I am related to people who fit into both categories. I hope that I don't sound like I am attacking you, as that is not my intention, but I felt compelled to bring this up.

[Bluefirerose]

Thanks for reading my review! I really do hopeoyou enjoy reading about Jojo
About your comment, I agree, you can be intelligent and not have a formal education. It was just that certain words seemed out of place; if he had no real education, where did he learn such words?. I wasn't trying to say that he wasn't smart, just some words didn't make sense for him to have known.

[tonyleslieduxbury]

I was interested to read the above comments. The character of Jojo is based on people that I've met and known. Some people don't do well in formal education, but self educate themselves later in life. They read up on a subject that interests them and go on from there. One step leads to another. Many tend to use language that shows off their acquired knowledge, the same as Jojo.