Review: Hollow Earth by John Barrowman & Carole E. Barrowman

Imagination matters most in a world where art can keep monsters trapped—or set them free. Lots of twins have a special connection, but twelve-year-old Matt and Emily Calder can do way more than finish each other’s sentences. Together, they are able to bring art to life and enter paintings at will. Their extraordinary abilities are highly sought after, particularly by a secret group who want to access the terrors called Hollow Earth. All the demons, devils, and evil creatures ever imagined are trapped for eternity in the world of Hollow Earth—trapped unless special powers release them.

The twins flee from London to a remote island off the west coast of Scotland in hopes of escaping their pursuers and gaining the protection of their grandfather, who has powers of his own. But the villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within. With so much at stake, nowhere is safe—and survival might be a fantasy.

___________________________________

I picked up Hollow Earth because I loved the cover. Upon closer inspection, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it features twins... to be more exact, magic wielding twins who can manipulate artwork. I wasn't aware until after I'd read the novel (and absolutely adored it) that the half of the brother-sister author duo, John Barrowman, is well-known among Dr. Who and Torchwood fans from his role as Captain Jack Harkness. The remaining half of this writing team, Carole E. Barrowman, may also be familiar, as she has authored five other book with John before Hollow Earth. 

This book reminded me, in a very good way, of Lisa McMann's The Unwanteds. Both books focus on creativity and art as a means to combat dark forces and feature twins. Though the two books do have these themes in common, the execution and characters in Hollow Earth are unique... I never felt myself confusing details or characters and I wasn't left with the impression that I'd read the story before.

Hollow Earth is nearly 400 pages long, but is an extremely quick read. The action was non-stop and the details and explanations about the magical gift the twins share never bogged down the pace of the novel. 

The title of the novel refers to the place where the dark, evil creatures of the world are banished, a place that few can access. Among those that have the ability to open Hollow Earth are, of course, the twins, making them a target for those who would use their power for their own nefarious gain. The stakes are high for Matt and Emily Calder: they must learn how to control and use their powers for good before they're forced to use them for evil.

I highly recommend Hollow Earth to both MG and YA readers. It's a quick, satisfying read that left me anxious for book two, Bone Quill.

Aladdin, October 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780385741293, 381 pgs.

Review: The Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

___________________________________

I picked up Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities with high expectations. Not only had a heard very positive things about this specific novel, reviewers and readers seemed to extremely excited about her YA offering, Let the Sky Fall. I still haven't read Let the Sky Fall, but I really enjoyed this first installment of the Lost Cities books.

My favorite aspect of Keeper of the Lost Cities is the treatment of the characters. For the most part, the reader only knows as much about the characters as the main character, Sophie, who is naive due to both age and because much of her memory has been blocked by an unknown source. Sophie and, therefore, the reader, are never quite sure who can be trusted or what motivates the other characters in the novel. This novel is full of secrets, some harmless and some dangerous, but it's hard to determine which are which.

I also adored the entire concept of the "lost" cities, like Atlantis. In Keeper of the Lost Cities the places and beings that are considered fantastical myths by humans are actually real and kept hidden from prying humans. In this first book readers only get fleeting glimpses at these places, but I'm hopeful more in-depth exploration will occur in future installments. 

Though, for the most part, I liked Keeper of the Lost Cities, I did take issue with a few elements, especially those that seemed a bit too similar to the world of Harry Potter. I'm not saying that I have a huge problem with Messenger drawing inspiration from another fictional world - there weren't any exact parallels or anything like that, it was more the feel or spirit of the ideas - but I just didn't feel like some of things were executed well. For example, Sophie describes the food and medicine in these lost cities as candy-like and sweet. While these details were probably meant to be fun, I didn't feel that they were all that genuine or necessary. In fact, I found them quite distracting! Sometimes it just felt like the novel was trying too hard to be something else, when it would have been wonderful as itself!

I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, Exile, which is due out October 2013!

Aladdin, October 2012, Hardcover, ISBN:  9781442445932, 496 pages.