Official Review: The Passions & Perils of the Prodigy

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 04 Jul 2019, 11:59

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Passions & Perils of the Prodigy" by GJ Neumann.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Christopher Martin Storm was born on April 1, 1951, in New England. During delivery, his mother developed a complication and had to be rushed to the hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival, and this had a huge impact on Martin Storm, Christopher’s dad. He blamed his little son for the death of his wife and could not leave the hospital for many days. Therefore, the little Christopher was taken care of by Mrs. Wolf. Christopher Storm had a latent memory gift that astonished many people even before celebrating his first birthday. He preferred storybooks to baby toys and would hold them and make noises pretending to be reading. This boy prodigy most certainly had a promising future ahead of him. This book chronicles the life of Christopher from his birth in 1951 to the time of his disappearance from a farm in Cambodia in 1980.

I really enjoyed reading The Passions & Perils of the Prodigy: The New England Boy Prodigy Becomes the World Renowned Memory Genius by GJ Neumann. The book is made up of thirty-seven chapters contained within its 262 pages. This is a religious historical fiction told in the present tense thus I felt as though I was an observer looking on as various events unfolded. The plot of the story was meticulously built, and all events flowed in a manner that was easy to understand. The characters were also adequately developed. Their qualities and dialogues were so realistic that I felt like this was a nonfiction historical novel. Christopher Martin Storm had a strong personality and a firm faith in God. However, he also possessed weaknesses that made him relatable. This was the same for all the characters in the book.

The author intertwined several themes to produce this fascinating novel. The most prominent themes included love, family, faith, diplomacy, sacrifice, slavery, salvation, faithfulness, pain, and child-trafficking. My favorite themes were love and family. The author did not describe superheroes and superheroines who had perfect relationships but people who experienced challenges in their relationships and had to seek ways to resolve them.

What I liked most was character development. All the characters were endearing, and I found myself looking up to most of them. Every character had a significant role to fulfill. The author also employed vivid description in the book. When describing Duluth, the author reveals a delightful place that most readers will definitely desire to visit. On the other hand, one is left pitiful when the deplorable condition in Phnom Chisoris is described. The ending seemed rushed, though, and this is what I did not like.

The book was well edited although it had a few grammatical errors. These errors did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book, though. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to fans of historical fiction. It will appeal mainly to Christians although anyone with an open-mind will most certainly enjoy devouring it.

******
The Passions & Perils of the Prodigy
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Wyland · Post by **Wyland** » 14 Jul 2019, 05:47

I like how you have introduced the book and the description of Christopher and his father. I am glad he attributes his gifts to God. But his disappearance? How sad. Thanks for your enjoyable review.

DorcasToo · Post by **DorcasToo** » 14 Jul 2019, 07:10

Also loving the introduction it's really catchy and interesting enough to make someone want to read. Nice review.

Cecilia_L · Post by **Cecilia_L** » 14 Jul 2019, 09:44

The author intertwined several themes to produce this fascinating novel. The most prominent themes included love, family, faith, diplomacy, sacrifice, slavery, salvation, faithfulness, pain, and child-trafficking. My favorite themes were love and family. The author did not describe superheroes and superheroines who had perfect relationships but people who experienced challenges in their relationships and had to seek ways to resolve them.

This sounds like a very inspirational story. Thanks for your enlightening review.

Wriley · Post by **Wriley** » 14 Jul 2019, 10:24

With the main character going missing this sounds like a nonfiction book. I like happy endings. The concept of having memories as a baby is interesting. Maybe it's a real ability someone in the world has. I would read this if not for the ending.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 14 Jul 2019, 13:37

Christopher sounds like quite an interesting person. I'm curious about his disappearance. Thanks for all the information on this book. Still, I don't think it's one I'd enjoy.

LinaMueller · Post by **LinaMueller** » 14 Jul 2019, 14:24

Christopher Martin Storm seems to have been a gifted individual and a decent person. His disappearance was really sad. Nice review, kibetious.

Gabriel Merêncio · Post by **Gabriel Merêncio** » 14 Jul 2019, 14:49

This novel seems to feature quite a diverse range of themes and plotlines, from faith to kidnaps and child-trafficking. I suppose the book should be suitable for non-Christian audiences as well since there's plenty of content to please everyone. Characters who are too perfect can ruin a story for me, so I'm glad to hear this author manages to balance the protagonist's strengths and flaws. Thanks for the review!

Meg98 · Post by **Meg98** » 14 Jul 2019, 21:34

Wow. This sounds like a very insightful and tear-jerking read! I am very interested in this one. Thanks for this great review!!

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 15 Jul 2019, 07:58

I love books with well-developed characters, especially when people have flaws but seek to overcome them. This sounds like a very interesting story. I enjoyed reading your review!

janelwhite · Post by **janelwhite** » 17 Jul 2019, 09:29

Thank you for that review. This story sounds intriguing. I like that the characters are endearing. It means so much to have believable characters you can connect with.

Areej Tahir · Post by **Areej Tahir** » 19 Jul 2019, 15:31

Your review has a very nice start, the introduction was well put. Christopher's disappearance is sad and has also piqued my intered. Thanks for this review, loved reading it!