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Paraworld Zero, by Matthew Peterson |
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 Posted: Fri Jan 18, 08 12:04 pm |
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Matthew Peterson's Paraworld Zero starts in a similar fashion as many young adult coming of age books, with a young teenager who feels he doesn't fit in, whose lost his parents, and who hates going to school because there are always bullies waiting for him. All Simon has of his mother is her necklace, and all he wants in life is to find someplace he fits in.
While being pursued by said bullies, Simon is saved by Tonya, who got seperated from her group while on a school field trip. Except her field trip from was the Paraverse, where people can learn to jump from Paraworld to Paraworld – same physical location, just a parallel universe! With the help of Tonya's damaged paratransmitter, Simon and Tonya are able to escape back into the parastream, but lose control of where they end up. Just their luck, they end up Pudo, a friendly, if EM wave (electromagical waves) free world. Being EM-free, and therefore unable to be travelled to and from, Pudo is considered a dead world by the Paraverse. Simon and Tonya are quickly adopted by the Troodle family, whose son Thornapple, is about their age. Young readers will surely have fun on Pudo, watching people eat insects and giant worms for dinner, and watching Simon and Thornapple fumble in their attempts to talk to girls.
Even Simon and Tonya start to feel at home on Pudo, until they realize the race of Big Puds are treated as slaves. Tonya explains that slavery is illegal in the Paraverse, but her new Pud family doesn't see anything wrong with how they treat their Big Pud slave. Peterson kind of beats this concept to death, but that's often the way in kids books – take one important moral concept, and don't let go, to ensure your young readers get it.
Part of Simon's magical abilities is that he is able to read and understand any language. At a local cultural festival, he is able to read ancient texts that could destroy the current culture on Pudo. How will he explain to his teachers and adopted parents that the history they believe in isn't correct? Why would they even listen to a strange little alien boy who doesn't know their world or their culture?
Don't think this book is all fun teenager stuff. Elsewhere in the Paraverse, there is something rotten in the royal family. Lord Vaylen, the younger brother of the king and protector of the crown, is making his own claim on the crown, and will do whatever it takes to take over the Paraverse. We get little snippets of Vaylen and other members of the royal family, and as their actions can destroy or save the paraverse, I was hoping to hear more from them.
At first glance, Paraworld Zero feels a little like Harry Potter meets Star Wars, but it's really closer to Star Wars meets Harry Potter. Sure, there is magic involved, but far more important that any magical spells is Simon's heritage. Who are is parents? What is he meant to do? Is it just his imagination, or is Vaylen's personal assassin after him? There is far more going on here than just a coming of age story for three teenagers and a handful of magical spells.
Parents take note, although on the right reading level for readers aged 10-15, I did find a few issues with Paraworld Zero. Right at the beginning, there are some violent scenes that young readers may find disturbing or hard to understand why someone would do those things. Many action scenes only describe the actual action taking place – they felt like a physical description of an action scene in a movie such as The Matrix, or even Mr. And Mrs. Smith. Great to watch on TV, but did't translate as well on paper. And personally, I could have done without the passages telling me the Paraverse most definitely follows a western feeling Judeo-Christian monotheistic faith.
None of my above mentioned annoyances were deal breakers for me. Paraworld Zero is a sharply written, highly entertaining young adult novel. It is accessible, fast paced, with enjoyable, realistic characters. I usually pooh-pooh young adult novels, and I was often surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Peterson better get started on books 2, 3, 4, and however many more it takes to fully tell this story.
4 out of 5 spaceships.
_________________
If i'm going to become a bond-girl when i grow up, maybe i should learn how to use a cell phone.
http://read-eat-rinse-repeat.blogspot.com/
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| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 08 1:01 pm |
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