The Children’s Book Review | April 16, 2014
The Overending
By Rick Johnson
e-Book: 285 pages
Paperback: 284 pages
Age Range: 10 and up
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 25, 2014)
What to expect: Mystery, Fantasy, Adventure, Freedom Fighters, Bravery
In the Overending (the second book in the Wood Cow chronicles), author Rick Johnson continues his story of an intricately detailed world where danger and mystery lurk. The current situation has evolved over countless centuries to reach this point in time—when a young girl named Helga is set to take down the incomprehensible slavery system that is in place and from which her brother, Emil, has only recently escaped.
The story begins with Emil’s daring escape to the safety of a group of strange beasts that have pledged to help slaves escape to freedom—their mantra: “Act wisely, learn quickly, and think bravely, that others may live.” The reader quickly learns through flashbacks the history of the rag tag group of freedom fighters that are currently in their third generation. Surpassing countless obstacles and surviving innumerable dangers have brought them to this point in time.
Learning of Emil’s escape Helga becomes determined to help find him. She is strong and brave and without malice or fear. She is of that rare breed of protagonist—one that the reader hopes to identify with because she is so sure of her mission and her responsibilities though perhaps she never expected to be the leader of the revolution. She never wavers in her quest, and her intelligence and cunning help her through the most difficult of circumstances.
A striking cast of colorful characters rounds out this elaborate tale of bravery and the search for justice. It is best suited to readers aged 10 and older that are interested in fantasy and adventure.
Add this book to your collection: The Overending
For more information on the Wood Cow Chronicles, visit: www.woodcowbooks.com
About the Author
Rick Johnson is a native of the Great Plains, having grown up on a farm in the Platte River Valley of western Nebraska. He loves the wild beauty of the Plains and nearby Rocky Mountains—the too hot, too cold, too empty, too full of life extremes. Typically, the awesomely diverse and the awesomely stark are much the same, even as they are different. Although he has lived in Michigan, North Carolina, and British Columbia, the western plains, mountains, and desert are in his heart.
For his day job, for over thirty years he has been a faculty member and administrator in higher education. Teaching broadly in the liberal arts, including creative writing, his professional publications include educational materials, poems, and 28 stories for young readers. He is a member of SCBWI.
Visit: www.rick-johnson.com
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