Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark: Book Review

Title: Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark
Author: Ridley Pearson
Publisher: Disney Editions
My Rating: 4 Stars
Buy The Book:
-HERE-

"In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park “guides” find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI–which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging–Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park. The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming?

Finn’s confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch, Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney’s beloved realm, and maybe more."

I've never been to Disney World, can you imagine that? As if a vital part of my childhood is somehow missing, I still am eager to visit the magical land that has enchanted fans for years. Though I can not pick off of personal experience from the park, I can try to picture it in my mind through others, movies and books, correct? I picked up Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers book on Kindle to help me do just that. While these books are geared more towards kids much younger than I, a college girl, I still was able to enjoy the books immensely!

As the description above tells us, the main character of our story is Finn Whitman, among four other teens, is a new DHI (Disney Host Interactive) to Disney World. These holographic images of the kids guide tourists around the parks, spitting out information about different rides. Though they are hailed as celebrities to the parks, the children soon wish their choice had been different. For when they sleep, they enter into the parks, after dark, as their DHI selves. Upon meeting a mysterious figure named Wayne, they are told a fantastical tale about a group called the Overtakers. But who might these beings be? The animatronic pirates are the first of these creatures the children will meet, but someone else bigger than that awaits them. Maleficent, the evil sorceress from Sleeping Beauty. These Overtakers seek to take over the parks, but ultimately, they want to take over more. Through the mission that Wayne has given the five children, they are expected to search for things that Walt Disney himself has left behind to help stop the Overtakers from prevailing. But will they complete this mission in time, or will they be caught in the act?

I really did enjoy the story. At first, I was a bit hesitant, mainly because the writing wasn't as high quality as I am used to. I put on my realistic cap, though, and remembered that these were geared toward pre and younger teens. As a college sophomore, though, I really did end up quite liking the story! A few complaints was that the beginning seemed to drag on a bit and there were a few grammatical/punctuational mistakes that occurred. It wasn't enough to cause me to put the book down, however. The book turned out to be a great adventure and I very much enjoyed following the children along their dangerous paths. In fact, I've already purchased the second book on my Kindle and am waiting to read it!

I recommend these books to pre-teens on up who enjoy a good modern-day based adventure tale!

What's Coming Up Next?

The Skeleton Key, by Anthony Horowitz

Torrent, by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Life Support, by Robert Whitlow

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling

Love on the Line, by Deeanne Gist

Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn, by Ridley Pearson

Where on earth has Tippie been?

So, where have I been exactly? Let me tell you, a lot has gone on since the beginning of December.

The majority of my time spent away from blogging and major reading goes towards taking care of my mother and our house. My mom had partial knee replacement surgery on both of her knees the end of November. With running back and forth from the hospital and having to keep the dog and the house under control, my life was hectic to say the least.

She returned home about four days later, but that didn't relieve any of my duties. She was confined to laying around, so my household duties were still in effect. She's recovered quite well and even though she is still going to physical therapy as of now and is still in some pain, life has gotten back to being almost normal. I'm no longer running around doing laundry, cleaning the dishes, sweeping the floors or dusting, but back to my studies and reading. How fun!

In a nutshell, that's where I've been this past month. Now that life is coming back on track, I'm going to be getting back to reading as much as possible!

Oh, and g what I got for Christmas this year? A Kindle Touch 3G. Yup, so now, I'll be reviewing books that I not only read from actual physical copies, but also books on a completely awesome e-reader.

Until next time, my readers, until next time. I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging!

Booking Through Thursday: Mystery or Love story?

This week, Booking Through Thursday asked, "All things being equal, which would you prefer–a mystery? Or a love story?"

Wow. This is a tough question, isn't it? I suppos it might not be so hard for some of you, mainly you guys, but it sure is a toughie for me! You see, I've run into a conundrum with this question. While I absolutely adore a good mystery, I also equally enjoy a sappy romance story.

They each have great qualities that I latch on to. With a mystery, there is the whole picking up pieces of the puzzle and trying to solve the whodunit before you are rewarded with the real answer thing going on. With romance, you can sit back and lose yourself into a fairytale romance, relationship hardships and unlikely matches.

I'm going to have to pick (drum roll please!) mystery as that which I would prefer most. While I love sitting down and reading great romance, most of the time, I would probably prefer a mystery. Though, I would be happy with either!

Happy reading folks!