Handicapped Child

There is a boy who is different from other boys. He has special powers. He can do strange things just by thinking about them. He is different, has never fit in; he’s an orphan, mistreated and unwanted. He has a strange mark on him. Sound familiar? It’s not what you think; but, it is the start of a ripping good fantasy for young readers.

Farworld: Water Keep, the first in a series of what will become five books, begins with the story of Marcus, a wheelchair bound orphan bullied by his schoolmates, who can conveniently make himself unseen and who dreams of an imaginary land called Farworld. One day a man shows up to inform Marcus that he’s taking him to his long lost parents, an orphan’s dream. But something is unsettling to Marcus….

In the meantime, we switch to another world where an orphan girl, Kyja, is attempting to perform magic. It seems everyone in Kyja’s world can perform magic, but not Kyja. This has left her a shunned outcast too. Even though Master Therapass, a wizened wizard, believes she has magic inside of her, Kyja is downtrodden. Kyja’s first magical power will be saving Marcus from the man, Bonesplitter, and the adventure will begin…

Marcus and Kyja are not only special, they are the great hope for saving both Farworld and Earth from sinister forces bent on destroying them. Filled with suspense, action and all the best elements of a great fantasy, Farworld: Water Keep is a wonderful addition to our fantasy shelves.

Author J. Scott Savage does many, many things right with his tale. He invents a plethora of creatures to spark the imagination, including the Elementals which will make-up a large portion of the five story’s thematic focus as the children will have to get them to work together in order to save their worlds. The first group of Elementals we meet, the Fontasians, control water and are as otherworldly as one can imagine.

The tale opens with a surprise and continues at a quickened pace, divided into manageable chapters and sections for young readers. Critics might argue that the pace becomes overly fast, but when set within the realm of children’s literature, it’s important to remember that faster-paced, shorter chaptered novels assist young readers. And while the plot does evolve at a break-neck speed through mostly action, the exceptional foreshadowing further propels the plot. The tale also jumps smoothly and believably between worlds. Very rarely, if ever, do we get more than one world within a chapter. This provides for excellent breaking points.

Characterization is handled well. Marcus’s disability is thoughtful and matter-of-fact. Savage isn’t overly cautious with having his protagonist disabled, meeting the challenge head-on and credibly. I would like to see some further character investment, but think this will happen as the story progresses through the four remaining books, as the first novel in a fantasy series almost always spends large chunks of effort on character and setting introduction.

My only qualm is with the good old suspension of disbelief factor that plagues fantasy. I kept worrying about how the world jumping would affect the children. At times, it became too easy and convenient. Marcus’s half-there, half-here sickness was never fully resolved. I’m hoping this silly little doubt will be explained in further novels, as I’ll be reading them all.

Perhaps the thing this reviewer liked best about Savage’s style was his calling out of the Harry Potter comparisons. When Marcus meets Kyja and her world, he asks her if she can, “fly on brooms and send letters with owls like Harry Potter?” Her response? “A hairy what?” This puts the comparisons comically to rest.

Recommended for readability level grade 4 and up, as a read a-loud for younger elementary students, for students with disabilities, and lovers of high fantasy.

Also Reviewed on The Wild Rumpus Starts Children's Literature Website ( )

This book was seriously engaging. I also really appreciated that Savage began the story with his main character in a wheelchair. Persons with disabilities are seriously under-represented in literature. In addition, there was a strong value put on caring for others, self-sacrifice, and just being a nice person. All this is not to say that “Water Keep” got preachy or righteous, that is not at all the case. This is a fun book and one where I cared about the characters, particularly Kyja and Marcus.

If you’re depressed that there will be no more Harry Potter books and would like a new young adult fantasy series to ease your mind, this is it folks! J. Scott Savage has a five book deal, so get in on the ground floor.

For the full review:
http://www.devourerofbooks.com/2008/0... ( )

One of the first things I do when I crack open a book is to read the dedication. This one I read out loud to my husband and he immediately zeroed in on the mention of solving Ultima games. As a result, he plans to read this book based on that alone. Okay, so maybe that isn’t quite true. He does enjoy a good fantasy story and that may have something to do with it too.

Thirteen year old Marcus Kanenas is alone in the world. He is an orphan, having moved from place to place, school to school, and he isn’t sure how long he’ll be at the latest one. Bound to a wheelchair and the target of bullies, he has learned to be resourceful. He has a talent for disappearing and sensing what is to come, gifts he does not fully understand, but which have come in handy in a pinch. He often dreams of a far away world, one full of magic and talking animals and trees. He calls it Farworld. He daydreams about a young girl about his age whose name begins with a K, an imaginary friend—or so he believes.

Marcus discovers that his dreams are not so farfetched, however, when a man comes for him, posing as an attorney representing his long lost parents. Once the man has Marcus alone, his true identity and intentions are revealed and Marcus must fight for his life. A helping hand comes from an unexpected place—an unexpected world, in fact. Kyja reaches out to Marcus, sensing the danger he is in, and pulls him into her world, that of Farworld. Farworld is even more amazing than Marcus imagined it would be. He marvels at the joking horse and the singing flowers. He is enamored by the commonness of magic.

Like Marcus on earth, Kyja is a bit of an outcast in Farworld. Magic is commonplace in her world, a natural ability that everyone shares. Everyone that is except for Kyja. Like Marcus, she has had to endure stares and jokes on her behalf. She has learned to live without magic, and yet it is something she longs for. Perhaps it is buried deep within her as her friend and teacher, the wizard, Master Therapass suggests.

Kyja’s opening the way for Marcus to enter into Farworld has much bigger ramifications than either can imagine. A balance has been disrupted and both will quickly discover that they are a part of a bigger plot. The Dark Circle is growing more powerful and will stop and nothing to find Marcus and Kyja to either destroy them or bend them to their will. The only hope is for Kyja and Marcus to bring together the four Elementals—water, land, air and fire. Their search will not be an easy one. Not only do they face the threat of the Dark Circle and its minions, but also other enemies such as the mimickers and unmakers.

While separately the two do not seem like much of a threat against any evil, together they make quite a team. Their friendship and faith in each other is strong, but will it be strong enough to see them through to the end?

Water Keep is the first in the Far World series by J. Scott Savage. There is innocence about both Kyja and Marcus that is instantly endearing and yet both characters are wise beyond their years. They have had to overcome a lot in their thirteen years, faced loneliness and learned to make do with what little they had. Neither thought they were special in any way, and yet when faced with danger, they both proved they had more courage and strength than most people would probably have shown in the same situations.

The author did a great job of capturing the wonder and newness of Farworld to Marcus and of Earth to both Kyja and Riph Raph, the skyte. Kyja especially touched my heart; she is thoughtful and caresabout complete strangers in need. She never asks for anything in return, just doing what she knows is the right thing to do. She also is quite blunt when she needs to be, standing up for what she believes and is not willing to back down just because danger is too close at hand.

J. Scott Savage has created characters that will appeal to young audiences as well as older ones. It is definitely a young adult series, the story is not overly complex and the characters are easy to relate to.

Farworld is an amazing place, full of magic and life. While avid fantasy readers may see some similarities in the set up as compared to other well known fantasy novels, there are plenty of differences and fresh ideas present as well. There is definitely a connection between Earth and Farworld, and I look forward to discovering more about it as the series progresses. J. Scott Savage’s Far World series was a delightful reading experience. I can’t wait until the next adventure. ( )

Marcus and Kyja are orphans, both with handicaps that mark them as outsiders. Marcus was discovered as a baby with crippling injuries to his arm and leg that would keep him confined to a wheelchair for life. His only relief from the struggle of everyday life is his uncanny ability to make himself "disappear" and his daydreams of an imaginary magical place called Farworld.

Kyja is without magical powers in a world where magic is commonplace and used for everything from cooking to playing children's games. She can neither practice magic nor be affected by the magic of others. When Marcus finds himself in a life or death situation, he and Kyja suddenly find themselves united in a distinctly unimaginary Farworld where it falls to the two of them to undertake the dangerous journey to save Farworld from the Dark Circle despite, or perhaps, it seems, with the help of their weaknesses.

Water Keep is a very promising start to what promises to be another addictive young adult fantasy series. Marcus and Kyja are engaging characters, easy to sympathize with as they are burdened with the fate of Farworld with only an evasive old wizard and their wits to guide them. Savage's Farworld is populated with fascinating creatures of all sorts ranging from the evil Thrathkin S'Bae, to the invisible Unmakers who feed on the magic of their prey, to the self-involved Water Elementals upon whom the fate of Farworld may well depend. A great page-turner with positive, but not preachy, messages of turning weakness into strength and finding the magic inside of yourself, Farworld: Water Keep is a tantalizing start to the series that already has me waiting for the next book. ( )