Pandora Park

by Piers Anthony

In Albany, New York, Mark hates getting dumped at the mall park while his mom shops. It's so embarrassing! But Mark quickly changes his mind after he discovers a mysterious path leading to a magical forest. In Bejing, China, Kelsie finds a similar path, and somehow, she meets Mark in the same magical world! Now the two friends must work together to unravel the origins of Pandora Park. This wild adventure crosses the globe and is packed with magical powers, dragons, talking unicorns, candy trees, on a roller coaster ride that never stops.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Unicorns, Science Fiction, Ebooks

116 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2011

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a children's/middle grade book until I started reading. The writing is very simple to account for this, and actually one of the things I found most interesting was an author's note at the end where Anthony talks about his struggle trying to make the book appropriate for children in that way. The protagonists are cute kids, but I wish the story hadn't leaned a bit on the "natural" differences between boys and girls, it was a bit stereotypical and not representative of reality. Additionally, the pacing in this was a bit off, I feel like the resolution came very swiftly compared to the rest of the story. As someone mentioned in another review, the end feels like it really should be the beginning of a wider plot-line.

[Cyberpope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went on a Piers Anthony ebook spree last month & read al the standalones I could find & a series I'd preeviously not read.

This particular tale was a fun read -- a little time/space travel, a little magic, a lot of loveable characters (okay, two, but you'll REALLY love them both!)

The mystery -- who built this magical park & why?

You'll pick up hints of Xanth in the park itself. . .

[MJ James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting children's novel about two children from the opposite ends of the Earth who discover a 'magic' park where anything seems to be possible. The children, with the support of their parents, work to discover who created it and why.

It is a cute novel that my children and myself enjoyed. However it is short and leaves off in a way that makes you believe that you are truly only at the beginning of the story. My children did not like that. I think it leaves them wanting to creat the rest of the story themselves. The one major downside of the novel is the overwhelming gender bias. Boys are good at math and girls talk too much. Boys are the protectors and girls are overly emotional. For a novel who Warner's about understanding others culture the gender bias should have been written out, and not so blatant and widespread.

[Adam Shields · Rating 2 out of 5]

read on vacation probably won't write a full blog review.

This is Piers Anthony's first children's book and it shows. It isn't horrible but Anthony doesn't really know his audience and it alternates between middle grade, older and I kept having this feeling of dread that some of his more erotic work was going to break through at any moment. It didn't, the book is pretty clean, but there isn't much to really recommend for it either.

[Alice Paterra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Piers Anthony's first book for children, I believe. He didn't seem to know who his audience was. The characters were awfully mature one one page, and terrible immature on the next. He admits in his notes that he had a hard time writing for the audience of schoolchildren. Looking for Xanth? Look elsewhere.

[Aydan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read. It was entertaining and witty, with a good sense of humor. It acted to draw you into an alternate world, creating a good escape and left you wondering about the possibility of stumbling into your own "Pandora Park."