Heather M. Elledge
Infinity Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780741447289
Reviewed by Dylan James (age 12) for Reader Views (2/09)
“I hate you so much; I wish you didn’t exist!” Those were the last words Carla spoke to her mom. That night her parents died in a car crash and she is besieged by guilt. She is moved to her Grandma’s house. The snow globe that her Grandma gave her started glowing; it moved towards her, murmuring her name, “Carla, Carla, help…” Then she is transported into the globe, summoned to save the Dwarf King!
This book is a definite drama. The main character’s parents just died, and she has to live with her Grandma, who she had never met before. The backbone of the story is the challenge Carla has to overcome; realizing other people still want to help her and coming to terms with how she had spoken to her parents before they died. Do NOT read this book if you have had your parents or someone close to you die recently. It will only open wounds that you probably don’t want opened. This book has plenty of action, especially at the end, which is pretty tense and gory. Ages 12 and older will have fun with this book only if they like drama, have not had their parents die recently, and are not scared by mystery murder.
The biggest thing I personally did not like was that Carla always seemed sad. I was bogged down with how she was sad, and how she made everyone around her sad. The word “hate” is overused.
This book has a limited audience, and if it wants to become successful and famous it HAS to broaden the range of customers. But in the specific range of drama/mystery/suspense lovers, ”Craven Deeds” by Heather M. Elledge will definitely leave the reader wanting more and will succeed no doubt. The writing is good; it is able to capture suspense lovers and my imagination, but all successful books are successful because they appeal to all sorts of readers. That is the biggest change needed for this book and the specifics are: cut down the violence at the end, have more comedic activities, and have noticeably less drama.
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