Reading Tai-Bo

Yes I’m still reading about Leven. I love it when I discover a new author and they already have a bunch of books out so I don’t have to wait. Well this week it was Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want and despite several really gross moments I enjoyed it a lot. All of the Leven Thumps books are not good reading if you are eating something. What with the horrendously obese caregivers spilling things and talking with their mouths open and the icky sticky monsters of foo attacking and (new this book) seeing the shriveled, raisin-like eyes of the Want dangling from his sockets as he blathered on to our hero, it kind-of turns your stomach.

This author is obviously a Jr. high boy at heart and is catering to that audience. Note to self: add gross eyeballs and bad table manners when writing for this age and gender. But this book was also a study in surprising turnarounds. Instead of urging the hero to let go of what he knows and feel the force and blindly trust his mentor (think Luke and Yoda) this mentor student relationship took a different turn and the reader finds herself screaming at the protagonist: “Just think, think for yourself and don’t trust him and maybe you’ll survive. Think I tell you! Aaaaaahhhh!” Just like that.

And there was a wonderful/awful reveal at the end that taught me about surprises and turning a story on it’s end and hiding things skillfully that the reader really should have picked up on but didn’t because of the author’s craftiness. Good lessons, good times. Go Seven Lumps…I mean Leven Thumps! Oops.