Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Book Review- Kevin's Point Of View


By Del Shannon
Published by Flatiron View Books
Released October 26th, 2010
Source- Book received from author for review
Ages 12 & up
3.5 stars

To escape the emotional turmoil of his father’s death 12-year-old Kevin Tobin has retreated inside himself, developing his imagination into a dangerous foil and a powerful ally. While he antagonizes everyone with his superhero antics, his ability to escape inside himself becomes critical to his survival after his life is once-again turned upside down a year after his father’s death. When a mysterious package arrives in the mail, Kevin and his best friend are hunted by a ruthless villain who is determined to retrieve the package, which holds the key to his plans for world domination. After enlisting Kevin’s teenage sister and her pizza-delivery boyfriend in a battle for control over time itself, the group escapes into the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado and eventually discover that Kevin’s entire existence is because of the love of someone we never expected.

Kevin's Point of View is Del Shannon's debut novel and shows a deep appreciation for the powers of imagination, family ties, and the desire of young boys to both escape reality and prove themselves within it. The fast-paced, adventure-filled storytelling style makes this a book with wide appeal for readers of all ages (quoted from Goodreads).

Twelve year old Kevin has a very active imagination, and it's his imagination that helps him deal with the death of his father, and keeps him and his friend Tony alive after their hair raising adventure. What I liked about Kevin is he can turn the most normal, every day and even boring thing into some sort of fun game. He becomes whatever character he can imagine, doing what every daring thing he thinks up. I couldn't help feeling sympathy for Kevin, he was doing the best he could in coping with his father's death and at times I think it was easier for him to lose himself in his made up characters.

Let me take a moment and introduce you to Kevin from my point of view. Kevin is just a normal kid who has an amazing imagination, which becomes his coping mechanism after the death of his father, who died prior to the start of the book. Kevin's adventures and real trouble starts when he receives an unknown package in the mail. Thinking that a relative sent it to Kevin, his mother hands it to him. What Kevin receives wasn't for him and the holder of the object, or Influxitron as it's known, has a power never before seen. Not only does this land Kevin and his friend Tony in danger, it also has the power to take Kevin back in time. I found Tony to be comical, since he's constantly Kevin's voice of reason. These two provided a few laugh out loud lines

Kevin's Point of View was a good, clean cut read. It's full of adventure, silliness, and has a great mystery that surprisingly I didn't see coming. I think I would have enjoyed Kevin's Point of View if my son was at the age targeted age to read this too. He's not quite there and I'm planning on reading it with him when he gets there. The only think I didn't like about Kevin is how extreme he can get with his crazy ideas, and I'm sure Tony would nod his head in agreement. lol I would recommend this to boys 10 & up. I think they would enjoy this fun story and getting to meet Kevin and Tony.
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~