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4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Not Competitive Feb 06, 2009
By Reviewer Anonymous
"www.revieweranonymous.wordpress.com"
Lilyannie Minwood lives in the town of Yonder, which is split into two factions by the dark and dangerous Forest of Images. With the help of her mysterious magical gift -- about which she herself knows very little -- and her friend William, she must fight to save her world from a deadly feud, as well as a rapidly-spreading epidemic.
As I write this review, I am glaringly aware that this book was crafted by a seventh grader, and of the very real possibility that she may read this. I plan to take these facts into account with regard to what I say, but it is also true that this book is published (through Booksurge, a self-publishing aid) and on the market, and as such must be evaluated with respect to consumer expectations.
The truth is, this book is clearly the work of a child. The writing is impatient, typical of the author's age group, and lacking many aspects that flesh a book out and make it marketable. The narrative hops from point to point (characteristic again of young writers in a hurry to tell their tale), and is thus choppy and at times difficult to follow. We are never given physical descriptions of the characters, not so much as hair and eye colors (it is page 78 before we learn William's age, and page 118 before we learn Lily's). The dialogue, with the exception of a few decent passages, tends to be awkward and unclear, with very little emotional connection. Characters do not gesture or wear expressions as they speak, and other characters' reactions to the dialogue/action are minimal at best. The setting -- pertaining to time period, description, even whether the subjects are inside or outside -- is consistently undefined. The plot itself does not hold up under scrutiny, and is linear and wandering.
As a small aside, sexist stereotypes as well are present in Revenge, enforcing the ideas that girls don't play sports, need to be protected by boys, and should be married by the age of twenty. This disturbed me as a potential commentary on today's youth, and the possible regression their views are taking. In addition, there is a small section (page 65) involving a phoenix and a snake that inevitably recalls J.K. Rowling's Chamber of Secrets.
This review no doubt seems harsh -- in reality, Luxi Li does not lack writing ability, and she undeniably has an active and bountiful imagination to go along. Over time, her skills will develop. For now, she faces the same struggles all writers her age face -- learning to slow down, and get all of her ideas (descriptions in particular) from her head onto paper. I am certainly not one to say that young people are incapable of accomplishing great things -- but experience is against them, and it takes an incredible amount of grueling hard work to make a novel publishable, even for adults.
To conclude, while for a twelve-year-old this book is certainly an achievement to be celebrated, Revenge is simply not competitive with the wide market of books available.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Wow, didn't see that one coming! Jan 20, 2009
This book is amazing. First off, it was written by a TWELVE YEAR OLD. Some grown-ups can't even write as well as this young novelist can!
Here are a few reasons why this book was well-written and compelling:
1. Character development- the characters were very real, and they change.
2. Adventure- there is enough adventure in it to make you read it again and again! It was very suspenseful, too!
3. Depth- there is more than meets the eye. The idea of the book is very deep, if you look at it different ways.
4. A bit of everything- there are joys and sadness scattered throughout this book. There are some parts that can make you feel touched.
5. Humor- the friendship between the main characters is creative and shows us why they become friends. Can make you laugh.
This is only a few, but this book was wonderful. All kids from the age of 8 & up will enjoy this beautiful story about a young girl and a country, and how they are similar to us, and also different, too.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series. The author leaves us a lot of questions and mysteries, but there are more books to come!
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
An awesome book Feb 01, 2009
By Goose Boy
This is an awesome book. I can't write a book so I always admire these people who can write books, novels, even text books wondering why they have so many things to say. Now it is even amazing a 12 years old wrote this book. It looks like folks don't have to be a grown-up to be an author. Who said that? It was Oprah Winfrey. Now this young author and her book demonstrated again what Oprah said:
(1) The book is well-structured with a nice story development. Lily is the teen girl with a worry-free life until she was magically brought in a tunnel then meet this boy William who has mystery power. The boy and girl started to know each other, and together they fought the evil magician Lars, killed 13 headed snake, destory forest images, saved the hometown folks from the big fire. Then suddenly, Lily learned Lars was her uncle and William seemed to have a plan of using her to revenge for an ages-old family feud between her family and his family;
(2) The story has good enough suspense so readers would always want to know what would happen next;
(3) Reading the book is like watching a movie in the theater: chapters are like ACTs, and then within each ACT there are multiple scenes organized based on locations and/or time periods, etc.
Very good book and deserve fantasy lovers' attention.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A wonderful book Jan 28, 2009
By Harry 2nd
"Po"
Revenge by Luxi Li is like a realistic fairytale, and I found I am in love with this book. I have read the book three times already. I was totally captivated and unable to put it down. I enjoyed the story and was very impressed with the way fantasy mixed with character development and mystery. Comparing with other books, the story is beautiful, magical and well-written, and stand out from the moment I first read it.
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