Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Lizard People by Charlie Price

Ben thought his junior year of high school couldn’t get any worse. After his mother suffered another mental breakdown, he was scared of the road ahead, even though she was locked up in an institution for three days. Her mental health had declined ever since Ben’s dad had abandoned them. In the waiting room of the hospital, Ben met an older boy named Marco whose mom was also in the institution. Ben is intrigued by Marco because he tells incredible stories about time travel. Ben sets out to discover where Marco’s been, and where the rest of Marco’s family is. Ben thought he had a normal life for a boy with a mentally ill mother, but then he realized the total opposite was true.

The book, Lizard People, was fantastically written and was definitely a page turner. It was realistic, but there were unexpected events readers would not expect. From the descriptions of Marco’s stories, to the breakdowns of Ben’s mom, Charlie Price added every necessary detail to each chapter. I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories dealing with time travel, or prefers books about people with mental illness. My favorite character in the book was Z, Ben’s best friend’s sister, because she was highly intelligent and witty in every way, plus she was sweet and innocent. I loved the specific personalities that each character owned, and the way Charlie Price described them.

Content: It has some frightening situations. Some alchohol and street drugs.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Osseo, Wisconsin United States