SYNOPSIS

Thirteen year old Jason volunteers at the zoo. He swears he hears music coming from the hippo and falls in the hippopotamus tank. While following the music, he ends up swallowed by the hippo. Instead of being eaten, he is transported through a portal into another world. What could possibly happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

This book is told in the third person mostly from Jason’s perspective. It’s a fantasy book with a “chosen one” trope.

The storyline follows Jason in the new world. He stumbles upon a quest to take down the dictator wizard. He goes from place to place, learning more about the world and getting closer to accomplishing his mission, hoping that in doing so, he will learn how to get home.

The first few pages of the book was pretty dull. I personally don’t like when we see someone before and after they enter into the mysterious world. I get why it’s done, but in the end, the before usually doesn’t matter that much and I didn’t feel interested in the story until after Jason gets swallowed by the hippo.

Because Jason is young, he becomes accepting of his situation quickly. After a while, he meets someone that he ends up journeying with named Rachel. Their banter is funny and the unite for a common goal. Jason does what he can to succeed and becomes a different person than who he thought he could be. The story is kooky and entertaining; the author is imaginative. Each stop has a challenge that needs to be completed or an adversary that needs to be escaped. This will somehow lead them to next stop.

All of the people, they meet along the way are interesting. They all end up serving a purpose. Also, most ideologies or people that seem unimportant, come up again as you keep reading.

The book is a bit gory and the descriptions can be creepy. There’s nothing sexual in the book, but there is violence, mentions of severed heads, and just strange things happening.

Let me also say, the villain is a real villain. He likes to play games because of how confident he is in the system he has created. He respects honor and courage, but doesn’t mind torturing you for standing against him. If he cared about something more about power I’d like him even more.

The end of the book took a turn, both in tone and the events that occur. I didn’t see it coming and it changes everything in a sense. I really enjoyed how it ended, though I could see why some people wouldn’t, and the cliffhanger was perfect.

OVERALL

Overall, I give this 4 out of 5 stars. If you don’t like nonsensical and imaginative depictions, this isn’t the book for you. Some of the challenges, like coming up with a clever pun to earn a government position, are silly. However, I think that type of lightheartedness counterbalances the issues discussed, the main two being government corruption and mass manipulation.

I really went on this journey with Rachel and Jason and was interested in what would happen. I will be reading the second one!