The Boy from Earth by Darrell Pitt
Release: February 26th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Text Publishing
Source: NetGalley
The Boy from Earth Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Bobby Baxter’s not the bravest kid on Earth. His list of things that scare him is up to number 689, and includes lightning, crowds, spiders, alien abductions, crocodiles, falling from great heights, falling from small heights and eggs.
So when he learns that he’s the first Earthling ever chosen to attend the Galactic Space Academy, light years away from home, he’s terrified—and that’s before he discovers that someone at the academy wants the boy from Earth gone.
Review:
A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Text Publishing for providing me a copy of “The Boy from Earth” by Darrell Pitt in exchange for my review.
This was such a fun book to read. The story reminded me of one of a Star Trek episodes that you cannot stop watching once you start. This fast paced roller-coaster keeps you on your toes from the first page. Being a space adventure, I initially felt that the description of the setting and the plot would be hard to follow. However, the story is told in a very simple manner for younger readers to enjoy, and the plot is also interesting for adults to appreciate. There are so many things happening in this story, from secret adversaries, diabolical schemes to children saving the world. This is all blended with good character development where the hero learns about friendship and confidence with a dash of humor. The gadgets mentioned are also innovative, and I wish I had access to the Immersive Learning System to learn all the languages easily.
The characters are unique and charming in their own manner. I liked Bobby as the main character. Even though he is scared of everything, it was inspiring to see him gradually gain confidence. My favorite character was Gooba. He is so bubbly and profound that I wanted to give him a big hug whenever he made an appearance. My least favorite character was Talia, only because of her boring personality and taking everything being said in a literal sense. Zim-Zam were fun, but they didn’t have much visibility in the story. The dialogues are sharp and funny. Each character has a distinct personality and invoked their own unique humor into the story. Even the instructors in the Academy were interesting. I especially liked Instructor Balatron and his scare tactics, and Instructor Oolite for those interesting classes with the ILS. I wish we had these kind of classes growing up.
Darrell Pitt’s style of writing is delightful and smooth to read. He sticks to the point and brings the adventure to life in the story. He doesn’t drag on with too many details, and keeps the pacing consistent. James Hart has also done a very nice job on the illustrations. The illustrations are cute and comical, but have quite a few details that make it stand out.
Overall, “The Boy from Earth” is worth reading. I feel that we have not seen the last of Bobby Baxter and there is a sequel in the works. I rate this book 4/5 stars!
