Two Reviews!
Downriver
Erik Hare
Reviewed
by Sabrina Williams (This was originally published
on Breeni Books- thanks
for sharing!)
Erik Hare writes of an Earth where humans (Giants) and gnomes (Hopnegs)
coexist. While the Hopnegs are little more than legend to the Giants,
the Giants are very real to the Hopnegs and pose a tremendous threat
with their customs. Oblivious to the damage they inflict, Giants take
ownership of land, forcing the Hopneg people to constantly move and
rebuild further away from the Giant communities.
One young Hopneg called Popey finds himself in this position one
morning, fleeing from a demolished home while the Giants' "Demon" roars
by. He seeks solace in his sister's home, and after a time of
reflection, decides that there must be some way to fight the Giants so
his people don't need to flee from their village. Unfortunately, the
leaders of the village have already made the decision to leave their
homes behind and move on, following the ancient advice of "The Book."
Popey realizes the world is full of knowledge that he doesn't think he
can learn from the limited confines of his fellow Hopnegs and The Book.
He decides to set out on his own to discover a way to defeat the Giants
so that his people are not forever running. Along the path, he meets a
seasoned traveler, Shajee, who shows him the way of the open road and
teaches him how to use the Giants to his advantage. The advice Shajee
provides will carry Popey through important trials and allows Popey to
see the world for what it really is.
Downriver is a tale full of metaphors and subtle admonishments for the
reckless ways we choose to live our lives. It illustrates the power we
allow possessions to hold over our existence and the shift in
priorities from people to things. It is somewhat of a guidebook for
young readers, showing what the world was, what the world is, and what
it could be. It allows readers a glimpse of the reality that each of us
only lives what we know, making the best of what we have, and that may
not always be the right decision, but it is an individual experience
for every being.
The story flows nicely and the colorful imagery makes for a magical
fantasy tale on the most basic of levels. The wisdom between the lines
pushes this book toward the Philosophy genre, despite its teen audience
and fantasy dressings. This book would make excellent assigned reading
material for a middle school audience with all it can offer and the
various interpretations that can be made.
Reviewed
by Laura Williams
When I read the summary of this book, it reminded me of the television
cartoon, "The Littles". I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of
"The Littles". As such, I wasn't sure what I was going to find in this
book and honestly, I was a little wary of the characters and overall
storyline because of that. However, delving into the book though
resulted in a much different idea of the characters and the storyline.
The difference between the Hopnegs of the book and "The Littles", is
the fact that the Hopnegs have a story to tell of finding ones place in
the world, ownership, as well as one's identity in it all. The story
delves into how things as well as relationships can define who you are.
Unfortunately, just as in real life as in this book, the things you own
or rather, don't own, deems what others see you as. Popey lost
everything at the beginning of the story and was seen as a mere nothing
by the other Hopnegs. Isn't that about the same for how people in real
life see others that don't own a certain things, etc.? This is
just one of the examples or illustrations that Mr. Hare uses to show us
how our personal life and/or choices can lead others to perceive us a
certain way, including the company that we keep.
One of the themes that is throughout this book, is determination. The
main character, Popey, is not only determined to help his friends and
family, but he finds the courage to do so.
Overall, this book is a fun read and I'd give it at least 4 gold stars,
reserving the 5th star because I feel this book is more for a younger
reader than myself. I think children ages 12 and older would
probably enjoy this book.