Lionboy

The Lion Boy trilogy is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining series to be published in years. The full-formed characters of Charlie, Rafi, King Boris, and crew draw the reader into an exciting adventure filled with kidnappings, wild animals, and a fight to put an end to a mysterious evil laboratory. Add in exotic locations such as Morocco, Venice, and Africa, and you've got a book you can't put down. The narrator of the audio book does a fantastic job of bringing the many characters to life. My only complaint with this series is that the first book did start out rather slow, which is too bad because some readers might be lost with the slow beginning. But the pace picks up considerably with the next two books.

This book is set in some unexplained future (oil reserves are run out, everything's electric or wind-powered but then there's an animal wandering around that sounds like a sabertooth tiger, from the description). The protagonist, Charlie is ten- though he often sounds much younger. His parents are scientists and get kidnapped, Charlie sets off to find them but is very much frightened by a local thug who appears to be chasing him. However he has a secret ability- Charlie can talk to any member of the feline family (the backstory on how this happened is both charming and rather simplistic). So with cats as allies to spy for him and bring him messages, he sets off on a hopeless-looking quest to rescue his parents. Not very far into the show more book he winds up on a traveling circus, that's on a ship. As in, the ship is permanently decked out to house the animals and people, and give performances in a big top rigged in the center. Very elaborate and imaginative. Charlie is both awed and thrilled by the circus, and dismayed at how the lions in the act are treated- drugged to keep them calm and compliant. He makes a mad plan to help the lions escape the circus, and they in turn promise to help him find his parents again. All along, there's hints at bigger secrets looming than just his cat-communication ability which I'm sure will be explained in further books, as this is the start of a series that purports to be full of adventures.

This was fun, and the cats are just great (better characters than the lions, in my opinion). I certainly enjoyed reading it, although there are some awkward points. Lions don't purr, for example (unless in this future they've evolved to do so?) ... I did like that the author made some obvious points against stereotypes- Charlie himself is from a mixed-race family, and he often comes up against people make erroneous assumptions about his background, or about people of other nationalities as they travel, which he quickly points out are wrong. There's also the thoughtful contrast between Charlie's love of the circus flair and skill of the performers, and his unhappiness at how the lions are kept captive. But then there's this other storyline thread of big business and pharma going at odds against those who are actually trying to cure disease (asthma). It's an odd mesh of themes... I don't know if I quite liked it well enough to seek out the sequels on my own, but if my nine-year-old wants 'em, I'll be happy to read the rest.

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Well-done world-building and character development. No cliches or tropes. The description of the circus is reason enough, imo, to read the book.

I love how Charlie is a kid - brave, clever, but still a kid. I love how we spend time with the parents - they aren't just vaguely waiting to be rescued. I love how even minor characters are well-developed.

I found the book both intelligent and exciting. My only quibbles are the big heaping pile of luck at the end, and the fact that I don't quite care enough to follow the rest of the adventure.

Charlie Ashanti, a boy who can speak the language of cats, volunteers at a circus in London. When his scientist parents are kidnapped, he joins the traveling show to find them—using his unique gift to connect with the lions and help orchestrate their escape. Along the way, Charlie embarks on a thrilling journey across Europe, using bravery, cleverness, and empathy to rescue his family.

If I had found a book written by a mom-and-kid team back when I myself was a kid, I would have been inutterably thrilled by the coolness of it. What a great idea!

This story was lots of fun, and I didn't have trouble with the improbability factor until I tried to visualize lions sneaking unseen across Paris. Plus the cover art is really striking, a beautiful print job. Too bad the kid I loaned it to is much more interested in the Internet than anything else, I would have liked to get a kid's perspective on this book.

Charlie Ashanti's parents are brilliant scientists, and they are on the brink of finding a cure for asthma. The world should be rejoicing, but the people who profit from selling asthma medications are not too thrilled. That may be the reason they've kidnapped his parents and Charlie finds himself in deep danger. Charlie has a special gift, though, he speaks Cat. And, through this special ability, he is able to enlist the aid of cats everywhere to send secret messages to his parents and communicate with them about his attempts to find and rescue them. Along the way, Charlie finds himself aboard a huge liner traveling the seas with a circus that travels from town to town. He is in kahoots with the proud and restless, yet very cruelly show more trapped, lions. Together they formulate a plan that will help Charlie find his parents and in so doing, help the lions return to their homeland of Africa. They plan to hop a train and travel from Paris, to Venice, and eventually onward to Africa. Evil villans are on their trail, though, and if it weren't for the understanding, kindness, and aid of King Boris (who is traveling on the very same train), Charlie and his pride of lions would be left out in a blizzard without a prayer to find their way home. The Lionboy sage continues in the second book, Lionboy:The Chase. show less

I picked this up as a potential title for my Chatterbooks group, but as it turns out I can't get enough copies for everyone so it is a non starter. Probably just as well, since I think they would be frustrated by the fact that the story doesn't actually end. Turns out it is the first of a trilogy, but nothing about the edition I read made this clear. So that was a bit of a downer for a start. I suppose I should have expected it from the pacing. There is a very long scene in the circus describing the acts at length, which slows the action right down. It may be intended to build tension, but it doesn't quite work. At least not for me.
It wasn't a bad story, the basic premise was really interesting and I'm slightly curious to read the next show more one to find out what happens, but it didn't grip me as much as I expected it to from the blurb. show less