C. O. Bonham

Hello, today’s post is a review of a cool book I just finished reading. It’s called, An Unexpected Adventure by Kandi J. Wyatt. And the cover is just stunning. 

Protect their community or protect their discovery?

 For eighth graders Chace, Harley, Will, and Cherise, that’s a life-changing question after they find a dragon’s egg while hunting for thundereggs on the beach. Toss in summer jobs, family struggles, and a National Security Agent, and their summer vacation just became complicated.

 Can they find a solution that won’t leave their hearts broken or their community in flames?

It’s available for pre-order here:

 https://www.books2read.com/u/3yDLX6

It’s only 99 cents to pre-order it and the release date is September, 25 2018.

Author Bio:

Even as a young girl, Kandi J Wyatt, had a knack for words. She loved to read them, even if it was on a shampoo bottle! By high school Kandi had learned to put words together on paper to create stories for those she loved. Nowadays, she writes for her kids, whether that’s her own five or the hundreds of students she’s been lucky to teach. When Kandi’s not spinning words to create stories, she’s using them to teach students about Spanish, life, and leadership.

Where to find her:

Website: http://kandijwyatt.com/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/kandijwyatt/

Google: http://plus.google.com/u/0/+KandiWyatt/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kandijwyatt

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kandijwyatt

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13817774.Kandi_J_Wyatt

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kandi-J-Wyatt/e/B00ZTC4T10/

My Dive in Review:

Because this book is for younger readers I am conflicted on how to review it. I usually write directly to my reader but I’m pretty sure that middle grade boys and girls do not read my blog. So I must write to you the reader of my blog, who may know a young reader in need of an adventure.

 An Unexpected Adventure by Kandi J. Wyatt, is the first book in her new Middle grade series, The Myth Coast adventures.

 The first thing I need to say about this book is that I loved the concept. Three boys discover a giant egg while searching for rocks. They take it home and it hatches into a Dragon. The scenes with the dragon are super cute and fun to read.

 The setting was also fun. It takes place in California, near San Francisco. I loved how the coastal culture was integrated into the story. It gave it a very realistic feeling despite the fantasy nature of the story.

 Two tropes involved really bothered me though. These are common middle grade tropes, they are both genre specific (meaning middle grade, not fantasy) and could be called expected even. But I question them anyway.

 Of course the government is looking for the Dragon too. Why are government agents always the bad guys?

  I will say though that Kandi does seem to twist the trope in this story. The government just wants to protect people, but the boys believe they are bad because they are bombarded by movies that tell them the government is always up to no good. It’s all a matter of perception really.

 The second trope, that I can’t really say was fixed, is the hide everything from your parents trope. Why? Do public schooled kids really not tell their parents anything?

 I admit I was home schooled so it’s really hard for me to understand why a school teacher would be more trustworthy than your own parents. But in the end I guess all that matters is that there is adult supervision. They are hiding a dragon from the government after all.

 In the end I give it four stars. It was engaging, had fun characters, and I would be willing to give this book to anyone without any reservations about content. Though when I have kids of my own. We are definitely having a talk about not hiding mythical creatures from mommy. I totally want in on any baby dragons hatching.

 *I was given a free copy of the book to read for review. All opinions are my own and were reached honestly.*

And if you still aren’t interested Kandi said I could share an excerpt with all of you

Excerpt from An Unexpected Adventure, by Kandi J. Wyatt:

After a few more minutes of digging, the stone came free. Will wriggled it until we could get a grip underneath and lift it out. I really had my doubts we could pick it up; I was sure it’d weigh close to a hundred pounds or more. However, to my surprise, it came free and up without a hitch, absurdly light for its size.

“Should it be this light?” I squinted at the rock in our hands.

“I don’t know.” Will shrugged his shoulder.

Chace shifted his grip. “I’ve never seen a single rock this big before. But it should weigh more than this. I still say it’s an egg.”

I was beginning to believe him, but there were some good reasons to doubt it, too. “What bird’s this big, and how did it get here? We’re a long way from the game park.”

The game park was the closest thing to a zoo we had. They had wild animals and some pet deer, sheep, donkeys, geese, goats, and peacocks to feed. They even had an emu and an ostrich, but I still couldn’t imagine either one having an egg quite this size.

Chace shook his head. “I don’t know, but listen.” He took a free hand and tapped ever so gently on the surface.

It echoed hollowly. Before anyone could say anything, a second fainter tap came as if in reply.

“What in the world?” I exclaimed, jumping and almost dropping the thing.

“It’s an egg,” Chace said with firm conviction. “I don’t know what kind yet, but it’s an egg.”

“Wh-what do we do with it?” Will looked like he wanted to toss it in the ocean.

“We keep it.”

Both Will and Chace looked at me as if I had just turned down a shot at a five-point deer during hunting season. I don’t know what I was thinking, but suddenly a fierce desire to protect the creature inside came over me