Saturday, July 4, 2015

Rebels of the Lamp by Michael Galvin and Peter Speakman –ADVISABLE

Galvin, Michael and Speakman, Peter Rebels of the Lamp, 151 pgs, Disney/Hyperion, 2015. $16.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: PG13
In the distant past a heartbroken magician discovers access to a new level of power, a power that once created, can’t be controlled. After some intervention, the world is safe, but a new group in modern times, is seeking to discover a way to bring the power back.  Parker is a pre-teen that doesn’t have a great home life, and so he likes to exaggerate. This doesn’t go over so well when he has to move in with his cousin Theo in a small town. When chance leads him to discovering a Genie, he couldn’t be happier. Wish after wish soon follow, with fun that is sometimes too extreme for the more mellow Theo and their new friend. But there isn’t just one Genie, and the others are not quiet as nice. Parker and his friends are taken on a harrowing journey that will require bravery and smarts to survive.
Well this is a Disney book and looks very cute, but it is seriously violent. At least for a school library. There is a family that burns alive, numerous and creatively violent deaths throughout the entire book, and tons of gun violence. Elementary school parents would have me out on the street for this book, so I am rating it for Middle School and higher. That being said, this was a fun to read book that was action packed and fast-paced. Students will love to imagine what they would do if they found a genie. The magicians journal from the past, shown in different paper with a different font, are very interesting. Overall the book reads like an entertaining movie.  

MS – ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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