“The Newton Chronicles: Soldiers, Temples, and Crystals” by Terry Overton

• 02/04/2023
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The Newton Chronicles: Soldiers, Temples, and Crystals

Terry Overton
Emerald House Group, Incorporated (2022)
ISBN: 978-1649600615
Reviewed by Diana Coyle for Reader Views (02/2023)

In “The Newton Chronicles: Soldiers, Temples, and Crystals,” Luke Alexander’s mother truly believes that her husband, an archeologist and historian, is missing and presumed dead from his last archeological search, though her son Luke strongly believes his dad is still very much alive. So, since it’s the beginning of summer break, Luke, along with his two friends, Nathan and Lydia, decide to comb through Mr. Alexander’s home study hoping to find a few clues as to where he headed on his expedition and determine the true meaning of this trip. The question remains, do the three of them find any valuable information amid the unorganized chaos Mr. Alexander has in his study?   

I was drawn into this story right from the start. The whole concept of Mr. Alexander disappearing while on his latest exploration just kept me riveted to my seat. As the three kids were scouring through Mr. Alexander’s disorganized study, I had hoped they would find clues amid all the scattered notes, maps, and trinkets they were looking through and author Terry Overton had me pinned to my seat while I traveled with Luke, Nathan, and Lydia. As I turned each page, I truly felt as if I was next to the kids, flipping through Mr. Alexander’s papers and journals. My heart was racing as each clue was being found, but I honestly was skeptical that with all the disarray in the study, no one would be able to link the clues together. Mr. Alexander was obviously able to make heads and tails of his own notes and journal entries and could easily understand his own scribbles. So, for him to go back to a specific entry he wrote, at a specific point in time, would have been easy for him. Now, how could these three children be able to understand and decipher the scribbles he left throughout all the papers and journals he had left behind in his study? I kept my fingers crossed that each child could help one another break through the scribbles and find something of value that might lead them to some kind of information regarding Mr. Alexander’s disappearance.

Another thing I would love to bring to the readers’ attention is how vivid the travel scenes were with the three children. I loved the deep and vibrant descriptions of each location the children transported to and was glued to the pages when they were transporting to the next location. I wondered if it would bring them closer to finding Mr. Alexander or was it just a dead end for them at the moment? I truly loved how the kids used the special instrument they found in the study and it helped them transport to another time and place in the world. I was excited to see where they landed each time they transported. I just hoped that they weren’t going to get hurt in the process of all these travels. Plus, I wondered if they pressed the gems on the instrument in a certain combination, would it bring them to the actual place Mr. Alexander was doing his research at?

Readers can find out this and more while reading this fantastic travel adventure. I absolutely can’t say enough great things about this juvenile fiction book. I wholeheartedly feel that this book will entertain adults, as much as it will kids of varying ages. As an adult, I was fully engulfed in each and every page and found myself hoping the book was longer!

I’m excited to say that this is the first book in a series. I highly recommend “The Newton Chronicles: Soldiers, Temples, and Crystals,” by Terry Overton to readers of all ages!