Review ~ "The Talisman of El" by Alecia Stone

Talisman of El by Alecia Stone

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Source:  NetGalley ARC
Age Recommendation:  Tweens
Genre: Action/Adventure/Paranormal/Fantasy (A little of everything)
Publication date: May 20, 2012




Description from Goodreads: WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE? 

One Planet. 

Two Worlds. 

Population: Human ... 7 billion. 
Others ... unknown. 

When 14-year-old Char­lie Blake wakes up sweat­ing and gasp­ing for air in the mid­dle of the night, he knows it is hap­pen­ing again. This time he wit­nesses a bru­tal mur­der. He's afraid to tell any­one. No one would believe him ... because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died. 

Char­lie doesn't know why this is hap­pen­ing. He would give any­thing to have an ordi­nary life. The prob­lem: he doesn't belong in the world he knows as home. 

He belongs with the others.


My thoughts: I am not positive, but I think this is Alecia Stone's first published book.  I am quite impressed. She has done a wonderful job in sharing a very entertaining story.

This book has a little of everything in it.  First there is Charlie, the orphan boy who is shipped to live with another foster family.  Nothing has worked out well for him and it seems at first that it is an ideal placement.    Charlie is a little different.  He has dreams of the future.  He can't seem to stay out of trouble, and his new foster father is not the good guy that he thought he was at first.

Charlie makes some wonderful friends in his new home. They  help him keep his life together and keep him grounded during a difficult situation.  One is Alex, she is the tomboy best friend.  Charlie and Alex hit it off right from the start and he couldn't have asked for a better friend.  They meet Richmond, another orphan who has run away from his foster family and is living in a run down shack.

The three of them are pulled into a fantastic adventure.  This adventure takes them far away and they meet many new and fantastical people/creatures who all are after the same goal, to save the world from the apocalypse.  Charlie finds himself in the center of events and isn't too happy about it.

This is a wonderful book for kids who are inbetween a middle grade book and almost to a YA book.  It is good clean fun.  I think even reluctant readers will love this book.