We received a paperback copy, which the author graciously signed for Mr J. (Her 10 year old son) in exchange for his honest opinion. As always, Rae will paraphrase his words for the review. He was asked to read, report, and review Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb as apart of his homeschool curriculum. As a parent, I found the mystery and fantasy based synopsis to fit my son's favorite genre (fantasy).


On to the review ...


This took me a little longer to read than most stories, but it was a larger book and mom gave me weekends off from reading for the summer. There were also a few words that I had to look up in my dictionary, but now my vocabulary has expanded to include some nifty scientific words that I can confuse my little brother with. He's learning to read still, so it will be awhile before he can read Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb all by himself. Of course, mom said I should read it to him.

I really enjoyed learning about Shakespeare and it's really cool that Lizzy is related to him too. That makes it pretty awesome, and what kid wouldn't want to find out they're related to someone famous?
Setting:


The story takes place in New York, and I'd love to visit someday. Too bad mom and dad moved us away from NJ before I got to go. Thankfully there are books that can transport us to different places until then.
Characters:

There were all kinds of fantasy creatures in this story. Cyclops, a satyr, and witches enticed me to read further . I'd never read about one-eyed monsters before, but I wasn't scared at all. They were good, but the witches kept showing up in Lizzy's dreams.


Dmitri Marlowe is the real bad guy. He even wears an eye patch. He's so diobolical that in order for Lizzy to get back her father, which he's kidnapped, she must put on a play for him. But she's tough cookie, and won't let anyone or anything stand in the way of rescuing her father.
Plot:

This an epic feud, lasting five hundred years. It began with Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. When Dmitri plots against the Speare family, it's up to Johnathon Muse, the twelve year old Lizzy and her friend Sammy to come to the rescue.

When they come together the action filled fighting and magic really begin. This was my favorite part, but that's expected for boys, and why I enjoy books that I can loose myself in. I'd recommend this for kids my age and up, and mom adds, anyone who enjoys fantasy with a historical twist. I'm also eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. ( )

Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb started off promisingly, especially from the point of view of someone who loves Shakespeare. The problem began when it dawned on me (less than 50 pages in) that the author was throwing everything she loved about the liberal arts into this one volume of what is apparently going to be a series. Malinenko has the chops and the knowledge to be a good writer. I believe, however, that the book would've been much better had she picked one focal point and stuck with it. Also, the audience is tweens (based on the cover art, the age of the characters, and the dialogue), but the vocabulary was way beyond their years. A bit of a vocabulary challenge is a good thing, but when the author includes words like "phrenology" which even I had to look up, it becomes a bit much. (BTW if you are curious, phrenology is the science which studies the relationships between a person's character and the morphology of the skull. Now give me a minute while I look up morphology...)

By the time I was at the climax of this volume in the series, the author had referenced Macbeth, witches, the Statue of Liberty, Christopher Marlowe, the digitization of libraries, muses, fairies, alchemy, elves, Alice in Wonderland, Central Park, the Empire State Building, keeping journals, maps, The Fates, public domain, The Beatles, Vatican City and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edgar Allen Poe and the Raven, and Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats. Having had a liberal arts education (I was an English Major), I caught the references, but a young teenager would miss most of them. For those references that the author wanted to be sure were not missed, the author had a character explain them.

I'm a librarian who has raised two children and who used to be a Children's Librarian. This book has a lot of great information, but it was too much great information. At no time was I able to get lost in the story and forget that the author was trying to teach me. The line from the book that best captures this is when Lizzy realizes that "if she had been forced to learn this in school, it would have put her to sleep" (p. 115).

Malinenko has a noble goal: to entertain young readers while educating them. Good intentions don't necessarily translate into a good book however. Malinenko would do better to find one focus, remove herself more from the book and entertain the readers while making the references less obvious and toning down the explanations. As I was taught during my liberal arts education, a writer should show not tell.

In summary, there is a lot of good material here, but the author needs to trim it and focus it. Otherwise, she's not going to reach the audience that she so genuinely wants to reach, and that would be a shame.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, please note that I was given a free review copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.
( )

Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb started off promisingly, especially from the point of view of someone who loves Shakespeare. The problem began when it dawned on me (less than 50 pages in) that the author was throwing everything she loved about the liberal arts into this one volume of what is apparently going to be a series. Malinenko has the chops and the knowledge to be a good writer. I believe, however, that the book would've been much better had she picked one focal point and stuck with it. Also, the audience is tweens (based on the cover art, the age of the characters, and the dialogue), but the vocabulary was way beyond their years. A bit of a vocabulary challenge is a good thing, but when the author includes words like "phrenology" which even I had to look up, it becomes a bit much. (BTW if you are curious, phrenology is the science which studies the relationships between a person's character and the morphology of the skull. Now give me a minute while I look up morphology...)

By the time I was at the climax of this volume in the series, the author had referenced Macbeth, witches, the Statue of Liberty, Christopher Marlowe, the digitization of libraries, muses, fairies, alchemy, elves, Alice in Wonderland, Central Park, the Empire State Building, keeping journals, maps, The Fates, public domain, The Beatles, Vatican City and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edgar Allen Poe and the Raven, and Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats. Having had a liberal arts education (I was an English Major), I caught the references, but a young teenager would miss most of them. For those references that the author wanted to be sure were not missed, the author had a character explain them.

I'm a librarian who has raised two children and who used to be a Children's Librarian. This book has a lot of great information, but it was too much great information. At no time was I able to get lost in the story and forget that the author was trying to teach me. The line from the book that best captures this is when Lizzy realizes that "if she had been forced to learn this in school, it would have put her to sleep" (p. 115).

Malinenko has a noble goal: to entertain young readers while educating them. Good intentions don't necessarily translate into a good book however. Malinenko would do better to find one focus, remove herself more from the book and entertain the readers while making the references less obvious and toning down the explanations. As I was taught during my liberal arts education, a writer should show not tell.

In summary, there is a lot of good material here, but the author needs to trim it and focus it. Otherwise, she's not going to reach the audience that she so genuinely wants to reach, and that would be a shame.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, please note that I was given a free review copy by the author in exchange for an honest review. ( )