“Zorgamazoo,” by Robert Paul Weston

“Zorgamazoo,” by Robert Paul Weston is a fantasy novel written in smooth, flawless verse.

The book begins with a delightful invitation:

Here is a story that’s stranger than strange.
Before we begin you may want to arrange:
A blanket, a cushion, a comfortable seat,
And maybe some cocoa and something to eat.

The main character in this poetical adventure is Katrina Katrell, a young girl with a strong sense of perception and the ability to see things that other people ignore.

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Review of "Zorgamazoo" by Robert Paul Weston

“The Treasure of Savage Island,” by Lenore Hart

“The Treasure of Savage Island,” by Lenore Hart is an adventure story that includes a runaway slave, pirates and buried treasure.

Molly Savage lives with her father in an inn that the Savage family used to own. But her father gambled it away and now it is owned by a cruel woman who works Molly and her father like servants. Rafe is a young boy who ran away from the plantation where he was a slave. For Rafe staying hidden is a necessity, because if he is discovered slave catchers will take him right back to his former life. When Molly discovers Rafe she decides to keep help hide and feed him.

Molly and Rafe will have to work together when looting pirates attack. They're after a legendary treasure supposedly hidden near the inn where Molly and her father now live. Can Molly and Rafe survive the pirate attack, or perhaps even better, find the treasure for themselves?

“The Treasure of Savage Island” isn't exactly a masterpiece of writing. The combination of pirate themes and an escaped slave is unique but the storyline is lacking a certain amount of believability. Most of the characters are slightly cliché, and their interactions are almost routine. To summarize “The Treasure of Savage Island” is an average book, but it lacks that special zest that I like to see in the books I read.

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“Beyond the Western Sea - The Escape from Home” by Avi

“The Escape from Home” by Avi is book one in the two part “Beyond the Western Sea” series. This amazing historical fiction adventure explores the experiences and feelings of three children as they leave their homelands and set off for America, the New World.

Two of these children, Maura O’Connell, age fifteen, and Patrick O’Connell, age twelve, are from Ireland. At the start of the story they are living in a small village called Kilonny with their mother. Gregory O’Connell, the father of Maura and Patrick, emigrated from Ireland to America to try to find work. For nearly a year they have received no news from him, and they are beginning to fear that he has not survived the dangerous passage over the Western Sea. But then they receive a letter from him containing fifteen pounds, which Maura, Patrick, and their mother are to use to buy passage to America.

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Review of "Beyond the Western Sea - The Escape From Home" by Avi