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Hidden gem?

Thunderstone by Barbara Pietron

 

Thunderstone

Publication date: October 30th 2013

Publisher: Scribe Publishing

Number of pages: 262

Series: N/A

Genre: YA Mythology

Source: Received in exchange for review. This is my honest opinion.

 

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Goodreads synopsis:

 

Sneaking out at night, driving without a license, and falling for a guy weren’t things fifteen-year-old Jeni expected to do while visiting Lake Itasca, Minnesota with her family. The guy, Ice, turns out to be the local medicine man’s apprentice, and when he tells Jeni she’s connected to the spirit world, her first instinct is to run. But after Ice’s stories of a mythical underwater monster—that Jeni allegedly released—prove true, she realizes it’s up to her to contain the beast. Jeni must first convince herself that she’s able, and then save the locals, Ice, and ultimately herself.

 

“…well-written and entertaining…Jeni makes for a likeable protagonist that readers will identify with,” – Publishers Weekly

 

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Review:

 

This is one of those little hidden book gems (or should I say thunderstone – sorry, I had to) that you never would have given a second look should it have not been for some strange reason.

 

What initially attracted me to Thunderstone was the notion of reading about Native American gods. I had never read a book (or even heard of one) centred around Native American gods. Roman gods, yes, Greek gods, yes, Christian angels, yes, Egyptian gods, yes, but never Native American gods.

 

And with Native American gods, of course you are going to get Native American people. And here is why this is an extra good thing: there is a huge call out for diverse books at the moment. I don’t know of a single reader who isn’t getting into the We Need Diverse Books campaign and with no super prominent Native American YA books that I have heard of around, I think that this is major bonus points for Thunderstone.

 

But enough commending of the Native Americanness. I have to talk about other things of course.

 

I really took to the main character. She was smart, modest and very likeable. Although I can't say she really...stood out? I immediately liked her relationship with Ice. They were really cute.

 

But perhaps my favourite character was Tyler. I thought his character was funny and I loved his relationship with his cousin (the main character). Yet another thing that is fairly rare for me to find in YA books – blood cousin relationships. I think it’s more common to find characters who are treated like cousins but aren’t actually related in YA books.

 

The actual story was alright. It could have been better but it was interesting enough and made up for it in how the other elements of the story set it apart from others.

 

All in all, I will probably recommend this to anyone looking for a book like this. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected and hope to see more people reading it.

 

3/5 comets

The Earth shook. If they thought the Leaning Tower of Pisa was leaning before...

 

Add Thunderstone to Goodreads

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Goodreads author bio:

 

Barbara PietronA lifetime love of books and the written word convinced Barbara to choose writing as a second career. She began by writing non-fiction for magazines and achieved both regional and national publication. This success was all she needed to encourage her to complete a novel. Her first manuscript was a beneficial learning experience along with critiques, books, contests, and blogs. Barbara sees Thunderstone as only the beginning; she has two other novels in the works and has started a Thunderstone sequel. When not reading or writing, she likes to walk, garden, and sew. She works in a library and lives in Royal Oak, Michigan with her husband, daughter, and their cat—who often acts like a dog. - See more at: http://scribe-publishing.com/barbara-... Follow Barbara on Facebook: www.facebook.com/barbara.pietron.19

 

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