The Wondercurrent

Rella PenSword and the Red Notebooks #1

by J.R. Parks

One day Rella PenSword wakes up to find that her dreamworld, Hleo, is real, and it's under attack. To save her friends, the mysterious forests, and the enchanted river that flows through it, she must face her deepest fears.

"The story is the type that will foster creativity. Very highly recommended!" -TCK "The story was adventurous and I definitely would recommend it to my friends. I really want to read the next book!" -AMZ Review, 12 yr old.

Additional details on the Rella's parents, Winter and Julian, are part of a secret alliance of Storykeepers. First, her mother disappears. Then, a few years later, when her father goes missing, Rella is forced to flee her home in the rural village of Ensea (Earth One). In flight, she is mysteriously transported (beneath her grandmother's green quilt) to the magical world of Hleo.

In Hleo she embarks on a quest and teams up with a fellowship of four other Eurie, Quinn, Scarlett and The Wooden Boy Sebastian. Also appearing are an assortment of wild, mysterious and whimsical animal Thalas (a giant, strong-willed hawk), Alister (a sleepy bear who exists halfway in and halfway out of tree trunks), and Menagerie (a shapeshifting-tiger with a sacred family lineage). Will Rella be able to destroy the plague and help save the enchanted refuge of Hleo? Will she find out the truth about her parents? Will the guardians and the fellowship of children be able to save The Wondercurrent...and The Red Notebooks? Dive into this 300 page adventure and awaken your sense of wonder! Fans of the dimensional fantasy like Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman's fantasy books, Kibuishi's Amulet Series, Ursula K. Le Guin, Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, C.S. Lewis's portal fantasy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Susan Cooper's young adult adventure fantasy The Dark is Rising, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl, Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, The Secret Lake, The Neverending Story, and middle grade fiction will find something to love in this story. A few additional themes that parents and children alike may enjoy multilingualism inclusion and cultural humility positive, safe parent and child interactions endangered species and environmental conservation positive friendship and encouragement. overcoming fear of the unknown Note from the "When I started this series, my dream was to lay a foundation for young fantasy and science fiction readers (or potential fantasy and sci-fi fans) that would entertain and encourage unbounded, imaginative thinking. When a 10, 12, or 14 year old picks up my books, I want them to feel safe, to escape from the stress and busyness of everyday life and technology, and to be filled with absolute wonder. There is a Wondercurrent in all of us." Jason (J.R.) Parks is also the owner of ParksWrites and author of the middle-grade poetry/mystery novel Ari's Poetics. Don't forget to CHECK OUT the EXTENDED PREVIEW in the LOOK INSIDE OPTION and READ THROUGH a little of the book to get a sense of the style prior to purchasing.

***This book has also had additional editorial updates since the original publication, so reviews pertaining to typographical errors may be outdated. The original eBook publication and some print copies were released prior to additional edits.***
***ATTENTION FANS of THE WONDERCURRENT....CHECK OUT LEO AND NOTSCH, the newest dragon, wizard, and race car fantasy from J.R. PARKS.***

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens

312 pages, Paperback

Published November 20, 2019

Reviews

[Ben Gartner · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my twelve-year-old son:

This was a story about Rella PenSword who is transported to Hleo and fights the dark waters from entering the Wondercurrent. She’s also looking for her parents. Some of my favorite characters were Rella, Eurie, Quinn, the wooden boy Sebastian, the bear Alister, and the most mysterious one: Samara.

I liked how there was so much adventure, like when Rella first came to Hleo she didn’t know what was happening and then at the end she didn’t want to leave because she met so many new people and animals. One of the scenes I liked best is when they were fighting the shadowsplitters with the yellow orbs and the dark waters were moving up the Wondercurrent.

The story was adventurous and I definitely would recommend it to my friends. I really want to read the next book!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this with my 9-year-old. She enjoyed it.

This book is imaginative and some of the writing is very good, but this is an unfortunate example of the value of a good editor. This book was self-published, and while I’m not saying all self-pubbed books are bad, it is a crapshoot sometimes. There were so many grammatical errors, spelling errors, incorrect punctuation...you name it. And overall, I feel like the story doesn’t fully coalesce in the way it really wants to. With the guidance of a good editor, this book would be AMAZING.

[Brian Clopper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this. Too many ideas and characters and it loses the plot on every page. The author is creative, but the ideas need to be streamlined and channeled better. Also not a fan of the narrator interrupting and addressing the reader as dear reader. It’s unclear why the characters refer to the earth as Earth 1.

[Crystal Biehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have locked myself away from people when I picked this book up! Life’s many interruptions meant I only just finished this book! It was a great read! The language is poetic and the imagery is beautiful.

I loved the story - especially the strong female lead character. It was wonderfully magical story.

I recommend this for kids aged 10+ and adults who like to be transported to magical worlds where good can still defeat evil and believing can make a difference.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here’s the thing: this book reads too maturely for its characters, but perhaps not too maturely for its intended audience. But in truth: I kept being taken out of the story by the seven year old protagonist using SAT words.

The story is interesting but felt slightly haphazard in execution.

Can’t all be gems, I guess. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Heather Huggins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to my daughter who is 8 at night before bed. It had interesting characters that had great potential, but it felt confusing and kind up all over the place. It also could have moved a little faster. We read the entire book hoping to come to a conclusion but it will evidently have another book at some time.

[Eli D · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a good idea but poor follow through. Many times during this book I got lost and even after re-reading the pages surrounding the area of confusion it still didn't make sense. I wouldn't recommend this book.

[Kori Lyons · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish … so poorly edited, my 9 yo who normally devours fantasy realism tossed it aside. I picked it up to read aloud to her, but it’s all over the place and the writing errors are so distracting that I tossed it into the little free library …

[Nicole Cunningham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t finish. Lost interest at typo “pubic library.”

[Gabriellareeds · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like to write reviews on books that stand out to me and this book definitely did THAT in the worst way possible Okay, let me rephrase -- this book was actually fun to read! (but only because it was so entertaining to observe how HORRIBLY IT WAS WRITTEN!) I'm sorry, I'm being a bit harsh, but I literally was reading this book in a bookclub and EVERYONE -even the teacher- hated this book): there were paragraphs of meaningless descriptions and this just shows the power of a proper EDITOR!! I see a lot of people praising the book for its creativity. Was it creative? I guess.... From what I remember there was one part where all the characters were sad because "we need someone to be able to read the invisible ink" (or something like that) and the next minute a wooden boy is coming out of a tree that he has been trapped in for a few years and he just magically escaped AT THE MOST CONVENIENT TIME EVER and he just so happens 😑to be able to read the ink.
(I don't remember exactly but this is pretty accurate it think) Hmmm.... The only thing I remotely liked about this book was the fact that it was sci-fi. That was cool. Yea. Sorry I was a bit harsh.

[Sirah · Rating 3 out of 5]

When she was an even smaller child, Rella lost both her parents to a mysterious quest. She talked to a girl in her dreams. And at some point she arrived in an alternate world where physics are much looser and dreams aren't so far from reality. She discovers that the world is in danger, so she teams up with some other kids to try to do something about that.

On the one hand, this whole book feels like a dream. On the other hand ... this whole book feels like a dream. The style jumps around in a way that resembles how my brain wanders while I'm not fully conscious. There's a lot of head hopping and completely unforeshadowed events and items. And in some ways, it's a neat effect. But in others, it was difficult to tell who the protagonist is and what the point of anything is trying to be. If you go into this book expecting something of an Alice in Wonderland experience, I don't think you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a clear plot and well-crafted world building, this book is not it.

[Barbara Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rella’s parents belong to a secret group of storytellers. First, her mother disappears, eventually her father suffers the same fate. Rella must now flee her homeland. She finds herself in the land of Hleo, where she joins up with four other children. They encounter shapeshifters and mysterious animal guardians. Rella must find a way to defeat the plague ravishing the land and retrieve the red notebooks. Fans of Harry Potter will enjoy this adventure.

Some reviewers discuss errors in the manuscript but many of these appear to have been corrected in this rendition. The characters are interesting and the action fast-paced in the 300 page adventure.

I think younger middle-grade readers might find the read a bit difficult and would classify it more as a young adult read. A good discussion book for issues like friendship, inclusion, facing fears and cultivating humility.

[Hots Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative, vivid worldbuilding with interesting jumping between real world and fantasy story.

Rella is a likable character but seems to act more like a young adult than a 9-year-old!

The explanatory scenes and adult dialogue were a bit heavy, but the fight scenes and exploration are top-notch. I loved the plot twists and clever metaphors for creation!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, yet, pulls the reader out of the story by trying to decipher if in a dream or reality.
The shifting of dream characters to reality made it frustrating to follow. The story in and of itself is what book lovers truly enjoy, books, ink, writing, and the word mightier than evil.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

This story keeps you engaged and wanting to know what’s going to happen next as your reading. A real page turner in my opinion. I can’t wait to read more books/stories in this series.

[Heidi Wunder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to.read the next book

This is a good story for kids and adults alike. The story is fun to read and moves quickly. I like the short chapters especially for kids