GIVEAWAY and Blog Tour

The Novice Collector (A Boy Between Worlds Book 2)

By Cynthia C. Huijgens

Published by Idle Time Press

BLOG TOUR

Book Review and Giveaway

Review

No Spoilers

The Novice Collector is magical. Huijgens has crafted a teen protagonist who captivates the reader. Between Max's unrealistic dreams of fame, his struggle escape his sister's shadow, and his adventures with an artifact smuggler, Max is both a realistic, multifaceted character and the hero of escapist literature. And that doesn't even take into account the time travel.  Max's escapades take place in Egypt, integrating ancient mythology and modern archaeology and appealing to young Egyptologists in the making. T and I just finished our months-long Egypt unit, and this series would have been a perfect fit. We read a Magic Treehouse book, Mummies in the Morning, which is on T's reading level. The Boy Between Worlds necessitates a higher reading level and is intended for middle grade readers; it would have been great for me to read aloud to T. Children who are moving beyond Mary Pope Osborne's books but not yet ready for Rick Riordan's would be well served to jump into Huijgens's (full disclosure: I haven't read the first book, but I want to).

Although The Novice Collector is an adventure, it is the character that truly drives this story. Max is sympathetic as he balances his new friendships and his artifact-induced-time-travel training with his grandfather. He must balance who he wants to be with who he feasibly can be. It's a universal challenge that young readers will recognize and identify with. And readers will thrill to join in his triumphs.

I have enjoyed The Novice Collector and look forward to sharing it with T on our next dive into Egyptology, and you can be sure there will be another one! Don't forget, I'm the ELA&Ancient Civ teacher who made the newspaper with my Ancient Egypt unit. 

Back matter includes information about modern and ancient Egypt, the publishing industry, and the fusion of British and American writing formats.

Boy Between Worlds: Book Giveaway

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a Boy Between Worlds prize pack! Enter through the link directly above

One (1) grand prize winner receives:
- An autographed copy of Boy Between Worlds: The Novice Collector
- Two (2) 100% pashminas purchased from a vendor in the Khan el Kahlili, Cairo

- A custom bookmark
- An Idle Time Press t-shirt

Three (3) winners receive:
- An autographed copy of Boy Between Worlds: The Novice Collector

Disclosure: Per FTC Guidelines, I hereby disclose partnership with The Children's Book Review and Idle Time Press.