Journey to the Hopewell Star
Journey to the Hopewell Star
He wore a black metallic suit covered in strange, gold hieroglyphic markings. The suit accentuated his form, jutting out horizontally along his shoulder, making him appear strong and well-protected. Parts of the suit included additional plated enhancements, made of what looked like reinforced material, like armor. Only, it didn’t look like anything Sam had seen before. It glistened in the light, almost as if the suit were alive and contained some energy. His suit was tattered along his right shoulder and arm, and Sam could make out his body underneath, if only barely. His torso looked oddly muscular for a boy of his age. He held a helmet in one gloved hand. Despite the suit, he didn’t look properly dressed for the winter months. In fact, he looked quite out of place here.
Sam goes to the barn in search of her dog during a snowstorm one night and encounters an alien life form. The alien, Boj, has come in search of Sam with birthday gifts from her parents who are scientists on an extended mission. Sam, who is about to become 12-years-old, hasn’t seen her parents in months and is living with her grandfather while they are away. With no communication from them, Sam is beginning to wonder if she will ever see her parents again. Boj presents Sam with the gifts from her parents, including a klug which allows Sam to help Boj get back to his own planet since Boj was injured during his crash landing on earth to deliver Sam’s gifts. Once on Boj’s planet of Kryg, Sam finds out she is THE ONE – The Chosen one – the queen who can save both Earth and Kryg. She just has to figure out how to do it.
With the main character, Sam, being just 12-years-old, this story is aimed at readers who are younger. Most young readers, as we know, like to read about protagonists who are at least a year older than themselves. This book is far too complex and the language is very sophisticated for 10 to 12-year-old readers who are likely to pick up this book. Older young adult readers are not as likely to choose this book because the main character is so young. As I was reading, I pictured Sam being at least 16 years of age and feel the story is actually aimed for the young adult reader of 14 to 16 years of age who will give this book a miss because the main character is only 12.
I found a lot of the vocabulary in this story very difficult for young readers. There is a lot of detailed information about science fiction gadgets and how some event will be accomplished through science, and much of the language is very technical. I feel a young reader would get confused and possibly bored. As well, there is a lot of extraneous information that does not advance the storyline or the plot in any way. Throughout much of the story, Sam is just going about her daily life, going to school, hanging out with friends, and there is no sense of urgency that Earth is in trouble or that Sam should be trying to figure things out. Indeed, in a few instances, many pages go by – even a chapter – before the idea of saving the Earth, or what’s happening on Kryg, or how to find the Hopewell Star occur to Sam at all. I felt that Sam ‘forgot’ her mission many times throughout the story. For all of these reasons, I do not recommend Journey to the Hopewell Star.
Mary Harelkin Bishop is the author of the “Tunnels of Moose Jaw Adventure” series published by Coteau Books as well as many other books, including her two newest books Mistasinîy: Buffalo Rubbing Stone and Skye Bird and the Eagle Feather. Tunnels of Time, the first book she published, has recently been re-issued through DriverWorks Ink. Mary retired after thirty-plus years as teacher-librarian, literacy teacher and educational consultant. Always busy and interested in kids and writing, she is currently undertaking writing projects with schools. She is looking forward to spending more time writing, giving writers’ workshops and playing with grandchildren.