Careful What You Hear by Helen Dunlap Newton - [Book Review]

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Book Details:

Title: Careful What You Hear

Author: Helen Dunlap Newton

Genre: Action and Adventure / Sci Fi

Publisher: Yorkshire Publishing

Print Length: 214 pages

Source: A copy from the publisher for review

Blurb:

After a surgical mix-up gave 13-year-old Noah Baker mind reading powers, he became a spy tasked with stopping the bad guys.

Ever since he accidentally got an experimental cochlear implant, Noah and his secret agent partner, Lena, have been going on secret missions for the government. Now, they're in for a reward for all their hard work-Space Camp! But all is not as it seems. When Noah accidentally overhears thoughts that reveal a plot to steal top secret plans from nearby Redstone Arsenal, he must make a choice.

From award-winning author and educator, Helen Dunlap Newton, Careful What You Hear is an engaging middle-grade read.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Careful-What-You-Hear-Book-ebook/dp/B0DSJVYR9W/

https://www.amazon.com/Careful-What-You-Hear-Book-ebook/dp/B0DSJVYR9W/

My Review:

This middle-grade fiction is about 2 teenagers Lena and Noah who are helping in a government secret mission. This is part 2 of a sequel. 

There are connections to part 1 about an incident in New York on how they were kidnapped in a secret mission, but this book can be read independently.

Lena and Noah are sent to an interesting space camp with 2 secret agents protecting them. Lena is excited to learn about cyber programs while Noah wants to learn flight simulation. But, their space camp fun is disrupted by a dangerous plot. 

Noah and Lena are depicted as perfect teenagers struggling to learn details about secret missions and enjoying their lives in the middle of all the tension. The writing style is engaging and not wordy. The plot has its twists and I loved it. Kids will have fun reading it. It has some action as well. 

The book cover is great and well-designed, apt for the story. 

I would recommend this to young readers between the ages of 9 to 13 years. 

My Rating: 5/5

PS: I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

About the Author:

Award-winning author Helen Dunlap Newton is a veteran middle grade language arts teacher and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Both her first novel, Night of the Amber Moon, and Do You Hear What I Hear? were finalists for the Oklahoma Book Award and earned her the Creative Women of Oklahoma Award. 

As an educator with over 30 years of experience, she understands the power of literature to help children understand themselves and the world around them. Now she inspires them to enter the world of books, not only through her writing but through her author visits to classrooms and libraries. In addition to writing, Newton enjoys reading, music, and helping her husband care for backyard chickens and an energetic Australian shepherd in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Social Media Links – @newtonhelendunlap (Insta) and Helen Dunlap Newton (FB)

Until next time,

The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman - [Book Review]

 Book Details:

Title: The Accidental Time Machine 

Author: Joe Haldeman

Genre: Science Fiction (Sci-fi)

Publisher: Gateway

Print length: 222 pages

Source: A copy from the local library

Blurb :

Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring quantum relationships between gravity and light, his calibrator disappears - and reappears, one second later. In fact, every time Matt hits the reset button, the machine goes missing twelve times longer.

After tinkering with the calibrator, Matt is convinced that what he has in his possession is a time machine. And by simply attaching a metal box to it, he learns to send things through time - including a pet-store turtle, which comes back no worse for wear.

With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose by taking a time machine trip for himself. So he borrows an old car, stocks it with food and water, and ends up in the near future - under arrest for the murder of the car's original owner, who dropped dead after seeing Matt disappear before his eyes. The only way to beat the rap is to continue time traveling until he finds a place in time safe enough to stop for good. But such a place may not exist...

Purchase Link:

Amazon

My Review :

This is different from the books I usually pick to read. Sci-fi is not my favorite genre but wanted to give it a try this time. 

Matt Fuller, a research assistant at MIT accidentally discovers a time machine from a faulty calibrator that he builts. The premise is funny. Every time when he hits the reset button in the calibrator, it travels to a timeframe in a linear pattern - like the first time - a few seconds, the second time - a few days, the next time - a few years, and so on.

Thus, he travels through different times in the future, even reaching the moon and different galaxies. But, coming back is complicated. Since he doesn't know how to do that, he continues going to the future until someone helps him to come back to his past. 

Matt meets different people from the future, and one person, at last, helps him to go back, but not to his time. 

The narrative is interesting and the premise is pretty simple though the explanation about how the calibrator traveled through time is not much clear. The story becomes a bit complex and unrealistic as we move to the future. There are many loose ends to clarify by the end.

The climax is very satisfying and relatable. 

My Rating:

3/5

About the Author:

Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."

Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.

Until next time,

Sleep State Interrupt by T C Weber - Book Spot Light

Science Fiction (Cyberpunk) / Thriller

Date Published: September 1, 2016

Publisher: See Sharp Press

Awards: 2017 Compton Crook Finalist for best first science fiction novel!

In Sleep State Interrupt, a giant media corporation has taken over the Internet, created an addictive virtual reality called BetterWorld, and controls nearly all information. Politicians do their bidding and a brainwashed humanity serves a privileged few.

Waylee Freid, an unemployed Baltimore journalist with ever-worsening bipolar disorder, is the only hope for a brighter future. She and her countercultural friends bust a notorious teenage hacker out of jail and sneak into a closed presidential fundraiser at the Smithsonian castle, where they hope to record incriminating admissions that will wake up the world. Hunted by Homeland Security, Waylee and her friends must reach a sufficient audience by broadcasting their video during the Super Bowl. But to do so, they'll have to break into one of the most secure facilities ever built.

Read the First Four chapters of Sleep State Interrupt, plus a lot more extras, free at http://savethereefs.wixsite.com/sleepstateinterrupt

About the Author

Ted Weber has pursued writing and music since childhood, and learned filmmaking and screenwriting in college, along with a little bit of physics. Trapped at home during the "Snowmageddon" of 2010, he transformed those interests into novel writing, and has completed four novels and a number of short stories since then. By day, Mr. Weber works as an ecologist for a non-profit organization and has had over twenty scientific papers and book chapters published. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Karen. He enjoys traveling and has visited all seven continents.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Blog (publisher’s)

Instagram

YouTube

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Google Play

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Until next time,

The Journey to Magmatic by Ya'akov Halevy - [Book Review]

Book Details:
Title: The Journey to Magmatic
Author: Ya'akov Halevy
Genre: Scifi, fantasy, children's fiction
The length of the book: 132 pages
Source: A free e-review copy from the author

Blurb:

An adventure beneath the earth’s surface

An ancient legend tells of a long-gone continent called Magmatic, buried in a volcanic eruption due to human greed and environmental destruction. Tulip and her little brother Noonie heard the fable from their father, a scientist who anticipates earthquakes. They'll soon find out that the legend is real.

An adventure packed with thrills, humor and surprise

On a field-trip to an advanced scientific pod, Tulip and Noonie find themselves beneath the earth’s surface. Deep underground, they slowly uncover the true source of earthquakes, and how the ancient legend is linked to the real environmental dangers facing the planet.

A fantastic voyage into the earth's belly

In their journey they encounter mythical animals, magnificent sights, great dangers and a world that blends imagination and reality. Together with their companions – a kind-hearted crustacean and a humanoid mindreading computer – they must learn to cooperate and rely on each other if they want to survive… and save the world.

Two children on a mission to save the planet

Will Tulip and Noonie overcome the dangers lurking in the Magma Sea, deep in the belly of the Earth? Will they escape the Monster Crab and the cruel mutants? How will they decipher the ancient prophecy and silence the deadly drill? And will their love for each other survive the voyage? A fantastic adventure about friendship, courage and environmental responsibility. You'll read it with bated breath.

My Review:

I usually don't like Scifi stories but picked this up as it is related to earthquakes and children. The blurb is interesting too. This is the story of 2 brave and inquisitive children who get trapped in a scientific pod which is designed to go to the core of the earth to find the source of earthquakes. What do they experience in their journey? Can they survive and find the source of the earthquakes and stop it? This forms the remaining story.

The story starts well in an interesting way. It is lovely to read about the brother and sister relationship, their courage, their trust to each other and their intelligence. But, later it becomes too much of fantasy. Since the story is set in 2050, it is acceptable but mind reading capabilities of the computer and the incredible concept of the pod which protects itself from extreme weather conditions are unbelievable. There are some inherent messages and morals in different chapters of the book, which are good. I felt bored after reading 50% of the book and skipped a few pages in the middle. The climax is good. The book cover is great and the title is apt. The flow of the events is fine, but editing can be tighter. I would recommend this to sci-fi and fantasy lovers.

My Rating: 3/5

PS: I have received this free e-review copy from the author for review and this is my honest opinion on the book. 

Purchase link:

Amazon

Until next time,

Apocalypse Orphan by Tim Allen - Book Blitz

Sci-Fi / Alternative History

Date Published: January 2016

Commander Orlando Iron Wolf is aboard the International Space Station when a blinking light on his computer console alerts him to a fast moving comet headed for a collision with planet Earth.

With no way to stop the impending doomsday, the world descends into panic and anarchy. Massive transport ships are built to colonize the moon, and evacuation of a chosen few begins.

After a shuttle mission to study the approaching comet goes awry, Wolf is forced into cryogenic deep sleep, and the onboard computer assumes control of the ship.

Wolf awakens 50,000 years later to a wildly different earth. Endowed with incredible strength, he finds himself caught in a war between primitive tribes, and his survival depends on Syn, an advanced computer intelligence who has fallen in love with him.

Will Wolf be able to help restore Earth to its past glory or is civilization doomed to fail?

About the Author

Tim Allen is a twenty seven year veteran Fire Captain for the City of Peoria (Illinois) Fire Department. His writing career began when he had to write a report about a fire incident and he was told to be more descriptive. In his next report, he was more descriptive and reflected about what he had seen and felt during the two minutes of hell. His superiors found no humor in this report and disciplined him. Once several other fire fighters read the report, they were intrigued with his writing and wanted to read more stories.

Allen caught the writing bug. He loves writing science fiction, but currently is working on a murder mystery entitled, "Tethered." With several novels in development, spanning everything from planetary colonization to aliens to time travel, he is also considering writing a few horror stories based on actual past events that have been well documented.

Contact Links

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Purchase Links

Amazon

Until next time,

Prismatic by Sarah Elle Emm - [Book Spot Light]

Today's book spot light is on a scientific fiction. The story is set in future around 2050, where USA is ruled by their new president Elizabeth Nicks who hates people born from mixed races. She divides US citizens and sends them to different zones and controls everyone. Read this book to know more on this Young Adult/ dystopian novel, which is the first part of harmony series.

Book Blurb:

Rare glimpses of birds are the only reminder of the freedoms Rain Hawkins once had. Now segregated into a mixed-race zone within the United Zones of the Authority, under tyrannical rule of President Nicks, Rain is forced to endure the bleak conditions set upon her. The possibility of a way out arises when Rain discovers an organized resistance called The Freedom Front, and learns that she, along with many other multi-racial people, has special abilities. Determined to overcome her situation, Rain sets out on a mission with the resistance that will fill her life with wonder, romance, and the undying hope for a better world.

Goodreads I Amazon

About the Author:

Sarah Elle Emm is the author of the HARMONY RUN SERIES, a young-adult fantasy and dystopian series, released in May 2012 by Winter Goose Publishing. (PRISMATIC, May 2012, OPALESCENT, February 2013, CHATOYANT, September 2014, NACREOUS, August 2015) Her debut fiction novel, MARRYING MISSY, was published by Bird Brain Publishing in October 2011. Sarah is a graduate of The University of Evansville, she has lived and worked in Mexico, Germany, England, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and has traveled extensively beyond. Sarah lives in Naples, Florida with her family. When she’s not walking the plank of her daughters’ imaginary pirate ship or snapping photos of Southwest Florida scenery, she is writing.

Stalk the Author:
Website I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads I Amazon Author Page

Giveaway:

-                                 1 Winner will get a $10 Amazon GC

-                                 1 Winner will get Signed Copies of all the 4 Books in                       the Harmony Run Series

3                     3 Winners will get One Signed Copy of a book of their choice from the Harmony Run                       Series

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Until next time,