ARC REVIEW: The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman

The Wells Bequest

by Polly Shulman

 Release Date: June 13th, 2013

This ARC was provided by the publisher at my request.

Synopsis:

Leo never imagined that time travel might really be possible, or that the objects in H. G. Wells’ science fiction novels might actually exist. And when a miniature time machine appears in Leo’s bedroom, he has no idea who the tiny, beautiful girl is riding it. But in the few moments before it vanishes, returning to wherever—and whenever—it came from, he recognizes the other tiny rider: himself!

His search for the time machine, the girl, and his fate leads him to the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a magical library that lends out objects instead of books. Hidden away in the Repository basement is the Wells Bequest, a secret collection of powerful objects straight out of classic science fiction novels: robots, rockets, submarines, a shrink ray—and one very famous time machine. And when Leo’s adventure of a lifetime suddenly turns deadly, he must attempt a journey to 1895 to warn real-life scientist Nikola Tesla about a dangerous invention. A race for time is on!

In this grand time-travel adventure full of paradoxes and humor, Polly Shulman gives readers a taste of how fascinating science can be, deftly blending classic science fiction elements with the contemporary fantasy world readers fell in love with in The Grimm Legacy.

Characters:

Leo: The main character, Leo is pretty level-headed for a teenaged boy. He's sweet and swooning over the girl he likes, and smart to boot. He comes from a family of incredibly intelligent people where he's a bit of an outcast, not because he isn't smart, but because his brain works in different ways. However, when he's visited by his future self, his life becomes a tad bit more interesting as he learns about a library that will change his life. He's a likeable kid, cautious and respectful of things like Time Machines and Death Rays... you can't help but admire those qualities.

Jaya: Headstrong and defiant and the girl that Leo is swooning over, Jaya is a character from The Grimm Legacy, the companion book to The Wells Bequest. At first I was worried I wouldn't like her, since headstrong girls are often obnoxiously portrayed in books... but I found Jaya completely likeable.

Simon: Simon is the villian of the story, but one could more aptly call him "The Teenaged Boy of the story" and be totally accurate in their description. He's actions are ruled totally by hormones, unfortunately, he just so happens to be a bit more connected than your average teenaged boy, so he can cause a bit more trouble.

Plot:

For me, this book cleared up the issues I had with The Grimm Legacy, I didn't read this one thinking, "Wow, they just solved that HUGE problem really easily..." I felt like a little more time was taken in this one to really craft each encounter that the characters had. This story was cute, the adventures were well paced and I truly enjoyed their historical and present-time interactions.

All around, a lot of fun, and I can't wait for more in this series from Polly Shulman!

After reading this book, I've also decided I need to figure out a new rating rank that is around 4 Squeeds, but instead of saying (but probably wouldn't read again) it needs to say (and will absolutely read this to my children). :)

Conclusion:
This is a book I highly recommend to not only friends, but also to the teachers I know. The combination of classic literature along with historical figures will entice any kid to want to learn more about these topics. Much like The Alchemyst series by Michael Scott, this is the kind of book that is going to make kids sit up and take interest in the past.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Well, I have to say, I enjoyed this book. I hope there is a sequel, but I can't find any information about it online, and it ended in such a way that a sequel isn't necessary.

The story is about a young girl, Elizabeth, whose life is a bit like a fairytale itself. She has a beloved, passed-on Mother, and a rather unlikeable Step-Mother and two rather unlikeable step sisters... and while you get a sense of her home life being not quite happy and a tad unfair, the author doesn't spend too much time delving into it, because that isn't what this story is about.

This story is about a repository in NYC that holds collections of things to be checked out. Among those collections there is a collection of items from Grimm fairytales... all very magical (because in this world, magic does exist)... there is also a William Gibson, H.G. Wells and H.P. Lovecraft collection... which I'd love for them to delve into more!

Elizabeth gets hired as a page, and steps into the middle of quite the conspiracy. Items from the Grimm collection are being stolen, and employees are all suspect. Everyone is walking around looking at everyone else sideways, and Elizabeth is not quite sure who to trust, because it seems everyone is acting a bit shady, except possibly Doc, the man who runs the place.

I enjoyed the interaction between the main characters, because they made decisions as children their age *would* make decisions... trying to protect the ones they love, trying to protect themselves, and being motivated by things like the promise of friendship and love.

This story wasn't quite as well crafted as some I've read before (that might be asking a lot though when I'm comparing her to the likes of Howl's Moving Castle and Ella Enchanted), but the concept was absolutely enjoyable. I feel like this author will only improve... and I fully intend on reading more when she writes it :)

(To explain the comment above... when I was reading the story, the characters would encounter problems... and it felt, to me, as if these problems were a bit too easily solved. Things happened very quickly and without a lot of explanation... issues that seemed like they were a big deal would be resolved a page after they were introduced... in fact, the whole ending of the book was a bit anti-climactic.
There were just too many things that happened that were TOO helpful and TOO glossed over. Despite that though, this really is a VERY fun and enjoyable read!!!)

Book Cover: 5/5
Book Title: 5/5 (the title is what made me pick it up)
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Ending: 2/5