Future Hero

My son loved reading this . I’ve been looking for books where he looks and can relate to the main character. He said this was a fun read

My 7 year old and I enjoyed reading this together. The plot was interesting and it sparked some good conversation between us.

A good read for the young man in your life. The story is interesting and should hold the interest of young boys.

My son hates reading. I've been making him read more chapter books because he is 9 and seems to only want to read comics or graphic novels. We started the summer with a reading challenge which he did not complete because the first 2 books were so boring to him. Ohhhhh, but this one!!!! He is more than half way done and has requested the next book in the series. *My son never asks me to buy him a book*. I just purchased the next book and will be getting him the entire series and am looking for more books from this author.

What worked:The action-packed plot moves very quickly so it should hold the interest of most young readers. In the first few chapters, Jarell goes from being teased in school to emerging as the savior of Ulfrika in another dimension. Ulfrika has qualities of an African culture blended with science fiction. Jarell meets a young, spear-wielding, armor-plated warrior named Kimisi who’s able to transport them to new locations via portals or pilot a futuristic plane. They’re forced to hike across a desert on their way to a volcano while encountering a painted wolf and were-hyenas. The events are depicted in accompanying illustrations to help readers envision characters and settings.Jarell needs to overcome self-doubt due to his school bullying and comparisons to his older brother. His brother has all of the confidence and athletic skills so Jarell feels inadequate following in his footsteps. Teachers and classmates mock Jarell when he daydreams about a fantasy land of warriors and goddesses. He draws these images to escape bad experiences with people but that leads to his distracting imagination. Others see him as absent-minded and weird which only makes him want to retreat into his sketchbook. However, readers quickly discover these make-believe characters and locations aren’t totally fictional.What didn’t work as well:It feels like the story is over before it barely gets started. The whole plot involves locating and retrieving one piece of a powerful staff and Kimisi is able to find it fairly quickly. There are a couple of complications and battles along the way but the story lacks depth or development. This style may not work for many students but it will be attractive for middle-graders who are not avid readers.The Final Verdict:This book is one of those engaging, quick-reads that help motivate reluctant readers. The energetic adventure jumps from one exciting conflict to another as Jarell and Kimisi try to stop an evil being from gaining enough power to invade other worlds.

My son loves reading this book.

Easy to read and really good story

It was a really good book. It was short, though I quite enjoyed reading it, I will immediately start reading the next book. Great for kids as I am one

Book arrived fast and the kids have already started reading it.

Exciting read set in a real and magical world. Well written with rich vocabulary yet accessible.

This is a wonderful read. My boys loved it. I plan to read to my third grade class this year as part of the Global Read Aloud.

I love the description of the characters, the scenery descriptions and the whole story!❤️