Thursday, March 7, 2019

The Splintered Light by Ginger Johnson –NOT RECOMMENDED

The Splintered Light by Ginger Johnson, 404 pages. Bloomsbury, 2018 $17
Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Ishmael has a boring life helping his mother and siblings try to survive on their colorless farm. Things were better when his older brother Luc was around and his father was alive. Ishmael decides to find his brother and bring him back to help out. So he enters the commons, a wall/building (?) that no one is permitted to approach. There he discovers that he is a Color Keeper, like his brother Luc, who is there. He can now train to help color little mini worlds, which delights him. Now he must decide to stay and learn or try to get Luc to come home with him. In the meantime a rift forms between he and Luc and Ishmael must try to fix it.

I thought the idea behind this book was intriguing. Colorless worlds with a few people who could see color to fill them. But it really just ended up being long, confusing, and strange. I felt like there would come a time where everything would be explained but that time never came. From an adult perspective I thought it was horrible of him to just assume his mother would be ok. I didn’t buy into Ishmael’s evolution from a small farm boy to a leader that pulls everyone together. On top of everything else, this book was SO SO Long. No way an elementary student would stick with this and the characters are too babyish for a middle school student to keep interest.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.

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