Official Review: Danbury by Rob Mundt
Posted: 30 Jul 2016, 07:28
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Danbury" by Rob Mundt.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Danbury Stine is a young boy living in a foster home named Arcadia Place. On his tenth birthday, Danbury receives some strange gifts and letters from a mysterious source which will change his life completely. Amongst these birthday gifts is a special belt, known as the Gateway, which teleports Danbury to an unknown location on its first use where he begins to learn about his purpose in the most unusual way.
Sent on missions, known as labors, and confronted with Gods and enchanted materials along the way, Danbury sets out to discover where he came from. Along with his best friend, Clayton, and a newfound friend in Chadwick, Danbury learns to use The Gateway to transport himself to locations he wants to go to, and places he needs to go to in order to complete the labors that have been asked of him.
Thrust into a world of Gods, demigods and revenge, Danbury faces adventure after adventure in search of his parents. Defying the rules at Arcadia Place in order to seek the truth, Danbury uses the Gateway to transport himself into the dangerous world that no ten-year-old boy should have to face. Through this, he learns about his real parents and the story of him being left at the foster home before anybody initially wanted to tell him.
After learning about his parents, Danbury finds out that he's not a normal boy; something the Head Keeper (Ms. Delano) of Arcadia Place was aware of, but was unable to tell until the young boy was ready. With the truth now revealed, Danbury is challenged with becoming the hero in order to reunite with his parents and keep the magical items he has recovered on his journey from falling into the wrong hands. There are many twists, turns and unexpected encounters along the way, which will keep readers on the edge of their seat and eager to turn the page.
The only real problem I had with the book and the flow of it was the repetition at the beginning of each chapter that covered what had just happened previously. I did take into account, however, that the book is for younger readers and the recaps may be beneficial for them in keeping up with the plot, so it wasn't such a big deal and it didn't hinder my overall rating too much.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The plot and the idea behind it is magical and something that I feel a lot of children will really become enthralled in. The characters will be easy for young people to relate to and I expect they'll be able to put themselves in the position of Danbury or one of his trusty sidekicks, Clayton or Chadwick. In a way, it reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter and it would really suit fans of that series. There's also an element of education in regards to Greek gods which will give children some insight in a fun way.
I didn't give it 4 stars because it did seem to fall flat in places and there were a couple of tense changes in the narrative that broke the flow of reading a little bit, along with a few typos I noticed. There are little things that could be improved upon and maybe a little bit more attention paid to proofreading and editing but, overall, Danbury was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it for young readers who enjoy fantasy and magical adventures.
******
Danbury
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3 out of 4 stars
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Danbury Stine is a young boy living in a foster home named Arcadia Place. On his tenth birthday, Danbury receives some strange gifts and letters from a mysterious source which will change his life completely. Amongst these birthday gifts is a special belt, known as the Gateway, which teleports Danbury to an unknown location on its first use where he begins to learn about his purpose in the most unusual way.
Sent on missions, known as labors, and confronted with Gods and enchanted materials along the way, Danbury sets out to discover where he came from. Along with his best friend, Clayton, and a newfound friend in Chadwick, Danbury learns to use The Gateway to transport himself to locations he wants to go to, and places he needs to go to in order to complete the labors that have been asked of him.
Thrust into a world of Gods, demigods and revenge, Danbury faces adventure after adventure in search of his parents. Defying the rules at Arcadia Place in order to seek the truth, Danbury uses the Gateway to transport himself into the dangerous world that no ten-year-old boy should have to face. Through this, he learns about his real parents and the story of him being left at the foster home before anybody initially wanted to tell him.
After learning about his parents, Danbury finds out that he's not a normal boy; something the Head Keeper (Ms. Delano) of Arcadia Place was aware of, but was unable to tell until the young boy was ready. With the truth now revealed, Danbury is challenged with becoming the hero in order to reunite with his parents and keep the magical items he has recovered on his journey from falling into the wrong hands. There are many twists, turns and unexpected encounters along the way, which will keep readers on the edge of their seat and eager to turn the page.
The only real problem I had with the book and the flow of it was the repetition at the beginning of each chapter that covered what had just happened previously. I did take into account, however, that the book is for younger readers and the recaps may be beneficial for them in keeping up with the plot, so it wasn't such a big deal and it didn't hinder my overall rating too much.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The plot and the idea behind it is magical and something that I feel a lot of children will really become enthralled in. The characters will be easy for young people to relate to and I expect they'll be able to put themselves in the position of Danbury or one of his trusty sidekicks, Clayton or Chadwick. In a way, it reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter and it would really suit fans of that series. There's also an element of education in regards to Greek gods which will give children some insight in a fun way.
I didn't give it 4 stars because it did seem to fall flat in places and there were a couple of tense changes in the narrative that broke the flow of reading a little bit, along with a few typos I noticed. There are little things that could be improved upon and maybe a little bit more attention paid to proofreading and editing but, overall, Danbury was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it for young readers who enjoy fantasy and magical adventures.
******
Danbury
View: on Bookshelves | on Barnes and Noble
Like Leese's review? Post a comment saying so!