Bookstore
ADVENTURE/YOUNG ADULT
MYSTERY
matthew livingston and the prison of souls
Read A Review:
Matthew Livingston and the Prison of Souls, is Marco Conelli's tale of three teens who form a rather unlikely alliance in order to catch a thief and in so doing end up saving the life of a fellow student and forging a friendship that promises to bring them further adventures before graduation.
I enjoyed this story very much, but not always the way in which the story was being told. Mr. Conelli has a delightfully nerdy character in Matthew Livingston who uses odd phrases and conducts science experiments in his garage, however he seems more of a caricature than a character. The other teens in the story tend to use awkward phrases and sound more like police investigators than teenagers. The dialogue doesn't seem to match with the setting of the story. It is one 'gee-willikers' away from an old episode of Leave It to Beaver.
More than a few times in this very short book (54 pages), I felt as if I were reading a first draft rather than a finished product and this made me very sad. A story with this much action, that many twists and turns and such delightful characters has the potential to be a great read! With more character development, and better, more current dialogue, this story could be an award-winning novel!
Laine Estep
Matthew Livingston and the Prison of Souls, is Marco Conelli's tale of three teens who form a rather unlikely alliance in order to catch a thief and in so doing end up saving the life of a fellow student and forging a friendship that promises to bring them further adventures before graduation.
I enjoyed this story very much, but not always the way in which the story was being told. Mr. Conelli has a delightfully nerdy character in Matthew Livingston who uses odd phrases and conducts science experiments in his garage, however he seems more of a caricature than a character. The other teens in the story tend to use awkward phrases and sound more like police investigators than teenagers. The dialogue doesn't seem to match with the setting of the story. It is one 'gee-willikers' away from an old episode of Leave It to Beaver.
More than a few times in this very short book (54 pages), I felt as if I were reading a first draft rather than a finished product and this made me very sad. A story with this much action, that many twists and turns and such delightful characters has the potential to be a great read! With more character development, and better, more current dialogue, this story could be an award-winning novel!
Laine Estep