When thirteen year old Jack is saved from drowning by his brother Michael, he is not prepared to live with the guilt he feels for his brother's near death and lapse into a coma.
To escape from the sadness at home, Jack attends the town carnival where he sneaks onto a hot air balloon. Without warning, the balloon lifts off and takes Jack to Venus. Here a Venusian gives Jack a magic crystal which he believes will heal his brother. Instead, he finds himself in a mess when he crash lands on Pluto and meets Danko, who will stop at nothing to obtain the crystal.
Jack returns to Earth and buries the crystal in his neighbors corn field and rushes to get it back after discovering that hiding it brings more trouble. At times I found myself confused as to what powers the crystal had as it seemed they seemed to change or get new ones often. As much as I like science fiction, I was more drawn to the back story of Jack's feelings toward his brother. While Author, Ann Tufariello, establishes a tender sibling relationship, I was left struggling with the fantasy aspects of the plot. Good for the 10-12 year old science fiction and fantasy lover. Also good for those with brothers. Ages 8-12.
Publishing Information
- Publisher: Arctic Wolf Publishing
- ISBN 10: 0-9841233-0-X ISBN 13: 978-0-9841233-0-8
**Disclosure: As per FTC guidelines. I did receive a book from the author for review purposes. However, that book was also the contest prize and will be given to the contest winner. I did not keep it and did not receive any compensation for this post.
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