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Flowerantha
Thirteen-year-old Mash is growing weary of life in the tree house. He dreams of someday getting out of Flowerantha, much to the dismay of his best friend, a mermaid. When two girls from another land stumble into his, Mash sees his chance.
But the monsternites, Tyrannosaurus Rexes with wings, may find the girls first. Their grudge against the other land spans a decade, and they are not willing to let it go yet.
Mash must work together with a young army recruit, who dislikes Mash even before they meet, to return the girls to their land. If they fail, the girls may be trapped forever. And so would he.
But the monsternites, Tyrannosaurus Rexes with wings, may find the girls first. Their grudge against the other land spans a decade, and they are not willing to let it go yet.
Mash must work together with a young army recruit, who dislikes Mash even before they meet, to return the girls to their land. If they fail, the girls may be trapped forever. And so would he.
143 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2015
187 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 11, 2017
~A ebook was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review~
3.75/5 Stars
For me personally, I think this is definitely closer to the 3.5 star rating (which would still mean I enjoyed it). So why did I round it up? This is a middle grade novel. There’s nothing wrong with that! I’ve read middle grade novels in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them. But I think this one is probably best suited for the younger side of that spectrum.
Flowerantha is about a boy named Mash who lives in a world that bears the same name as the title. This world has T-rexes with feathers and wings, flowers that warn the inhabitants of things to come, mermaids, and a variety of new, interesting creatures. Mash desperately wants to go to the Ama Ranth (A.K.A. Earth) but travel to the world is a mystery; only one person has ever come and gone. One day two girls from Earth arrive and he embarks on a quest to return them home.
Characters
The names of some of the characters felt a little immature and annoyed me at first. Mash, King Mermano, Queen Mermaida? After a while I could overlook the names but they definitely put me off at first.
These characters are around twelve years old, and maybe that’s why I didn’t really connect with them. But there were also times I thought they seemed older than they were. My brother is right around their age and he definitely wouldn’t have been like these characters. Especially Bushraal. He’s a kick-butt warrior (in training) who could probably kick quite a few of the male leads in YA to the curb. If he had been older (even fifteen!) I think I’d have liked him more. I feel like Nautica had a lot of potential and I think she could be a really interesting character to read about. Heck, I’d read a book from her POV. But I don’t think she was in this enough. Maybe she didn’t need to be, but I really did like her.
The romance in this book, although very brief and non-pivotal, felt unnecessary. Like I said, it’s not an important (if at all important) part of this book but it was there at times. For twelve year olds there shouldn’t be mind-blowing chemistry, I get it. But what romance there was had no pretensebut maybe that’s how it is when you’re twelve.
A Whole New World
However put off by the names of the people I was, I loved the creatures and words Castro made up! The creatures were so fun to read about (I mean, T-rexes with wings? Yes, please) and I loved that there was a glossary to help you follow along with the terms. Even better, the terms were explained in the book. Too often a book with a glossary neglects to explain the terms or things it describes, but this did a lovely job! Some of the words were super fun and it was amusing to see words we use in a different context in this new world (like “cerulean” for “hi”). Besides the creatures, the fashions and dwellings of this world were so innocent and sweet to read about.
Plot
Flowerantha is a very quick read! It’s entertaining and I never was bored by it. I must say that the ending felt rather anticlimactic, though. Once more, it’s middle grade so some life-changing, deadliest war kind of ordeal wouldn’t have fit in. I think that with a few changes though it could easily have been YA and that battle scene would have been EPIC. (T-rex vs kick-butt teenager? Heck yeah.) I do feel like this was almost too short though. It wasn’t rushed but I guess I wanted more of this world.
Overall
Overall I really enjoyed this! It was a fun, light-hearted read. I don’t think there were any deep messages or characters that will always stick with me, but it was still fun. I would definitely recommend this to people closer to the characters’ ages as I think that’s the audience that would enjoy it most.
Review was also posted on my blog here.
3.75/5 Stars
For me personally, I think this is definitely closer to the 3.5 star rating (which would still mean I enjoyed it). So why did I round it up? This is a middle grade novel. There’s nothing wrong with that! I’ve read middle grade novels in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them. But I think this one is probably best suited for the younger side of that spectrum.
Flowerantha is about a boy named Mash who lives in a world that bears the same name as the title. This world has T-rexes with feathers and wings, flowers that warn the inhabitants of things to come, mermaids, and a variety of new, interesting creatures. Mash desperately wants to go to the Ama Ranth (A.K.A. Earth) but travel to the world is a mystery; only one person has ever come and gone. One day two girls from Earth arrive and he embarks on a quest to return them home.
Characters
The names of some of the characters felt a little immature and annoyed me at first. Mash, King Mermano, Queen Mermaida? After a while I could overlook the names but they definitely put me off at first.
These characters are around twelve years old, and maybe that’s why I didn’t really connect with them. But there were also times I thought they seemed older than they were. My brother is right around their age and he definitely wouldn’t have been like these characters. Especially Bushraal. He’s a kick-butt warrior (in training) who could probably kick quite a few of the male leads in YA to the curb. If he had been older (even fifteen!) I think I’d have liked him more. I feel like Nautica had a lot of potential and I think she could be a really interesting character to read about. Heck, I’d read a book from her POV. But I don’t think she was in this enough. Maybe she didn’t need to be, but I really did like her.
The romance in this book, although very brief and non-pivotal, felt unnecessary. Like I said, it’s not an important (if at all important) part of this book but it was there at times. For twelve year olds there shouldn’t be mind-blowing chemistry, I get it. But what romance there was had no pretense
A Whole New World
However put off by the names of the people I was, I loved the creatures and words Castro made up! The creatures were so fun to read about (I mean, T-rexes with wings? Yes, please) and I loved that there was a glossary to help you follow along with the terms. Even better, the terms were explained in the book. Too often a book with a glossary neglects to explain the terms or things it describes, but this did a lovely job! Some of the words were super fun and it was amusing to see words we use in a different context in this new world (like “cerulean” for “hi”). Besides the creatures, the fashions and dwellings of this world were so innocent and sweet to read about.
Plot
Flowerantha is a very quick read! It’s entertaining and I never was bored by it. I must say that the ending felt rather anticlimactic, though. Once more, it’s middle grade so some life-changing, deadliest war kind of ordeal wouldn’t have fit in. I think that with a few changes though it could easily have been YA and that battle scene would have been EPIC. (T-rex vs kick-butt teenager? Heck yeah.) I do feel like this was almost too short though. It wasn’t rushed but I guess I wanted more of this world.
Overall
Overall I really enjoyed this! It was a fun, light-hearted read. I don’t think there were any deep messages or characters that will always stick with me, but it was still fun. I would definitely recommend this to people closer to the characters’ ages as I think that’s the audience that would enjoy it most.
Review was also posted on my blog here.
June 23, 2018
Flowerantha is a fascinating journey into another world. I really enjoyed the characters, particularly Mash. The setting was believable and beautiful. Bek Castro’s description of the landscape made me feel like I was there.
While reading I never forgot that these were children. Meaning that the author didn’t make them miniature adults (Yeah!) They were unsure, learned as they went and made some mistakes. I think any child (and adult) could identify with that. Despite their young ages they were committed to helping their new friends find their way home, and didn’t deviate from that goal, even when they didn’t know what to do.
While a fun adventure, the underlining message of the story (to me anyway) was best summed up by the author’s own works “I like protecting people and I like training people....If I have to fight sometimes to protect the freedom of my family and friends, I will do it willingly.” Mash, Bushraal, Beverly and May Lyn fought to protect their each other and taught each other new skills which helped them in their journey. Their friendship served to push each one forward and was a comfort when they were discouraged or injured. While they were able to find or wish for the tools they needed as they went, It was really their friendship and working together that got them home in the end. I think that is a good lesson for readers of all ages and it was a good reminder for me.
While reading I never forgot that these were children. Meaning that the author didn’t make them miniature adults (Yeah!) They were unsure, learned as they went and made some mistakes. I think any child (and adult) could identify with that. Despite their young ages they were committed to helping their new friends find their way home, and didn’t deviate from that goal, even when they didn’t know what to do.
While a fun adventure, the underlining message of the story (to me anyway) was best summed up by the author’s own works “I like protecting people and I like training people....If I have to fight sometimes to protect the freedom of my family and friends, I will do it willingly.” Mash, Bushraal, Beverly and May Lyn fought to protect their each other and taught each other new skills which helped them in their journey. Their friendship served to push each one forward and was a comfort when they were discouraged or injured. While they were able to find or wish for the tools they needed as they went, It was really their friendship and working together that got them home in the end. I think that is a good lesson for readers of all ages and it was a good reminder for me.
September 29, 2018
With just a few words Bek Castro captures you with the disappearance of two little girls. Mash a young boy who lives in a pouch hanging from a tree and whose best friend is a mermaid sets off to rescue the girls. Along the way each page discribes the magical world of Flowereaha.
August 15, 2015
*A free copy of the e-book was given to me by the author on the condition that I write an honest review.*
This book was a lot of fun! Exploring this new world and language was entertaining. It only took me half a page to be drawn into the story.
My criticisms would be:
The wording was awkward at times and halted the flow of the story.
Every once in a while the description of a scene would be jumpy. It was a quick read (appreciated for this age group) but a few areas could have been fleshed out better.
I have a hard time ignoring the genders and behaviors of the characters. This story fell hard on gender norms. I would have loved a female to be more prominent and less secondary (especially during the battles). Plot relied a bit much on brute strength instead of intellect or logic. Also didn't see the rationale for most of the crushes in the plot. Felt that if a male character met a female (and vice versa) it was an automatic development.
There didn't seem to be a overarching lesson or moral to the story.
This book was a lot of fun! Exploring this new world and language was entertaining. It only took me half a page to be drawn into the story.
My criticisms would be:
The wording was awkward at times and halted the flow of the story.
Every once in a while the description of a scene would be jumpy. It was a quick read (appreciated for this age group) but a few areas could have been fleshed out better.
I have a hard time ignoring the genders and behaviors of the characters. This story fell hard on gender norms. I would have loved a female to be more prominent and less secondary (especially during the battles). Plot relied a bit much on brute strength instead of intellect or logic. Also didn't see the rationale for most of the crushes in the plot. Felt that if a male character met a female (and vice versa) it was an automatic development.
There didn't seem to be a overarching lesson or moral to the story.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews