Finders Keepers by Emily Rodda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted something fun to read. As I enjoy books for younger readers, I thought I’d give this two-book series a go – the second book is entitled “The Timekeeper” is reviewed in this same post below. Besides, as I write for this age group, it’s a great way to do research too.

Anyway, Finders Keepers is about a boy who agrees to enter a TV show competition. The thing is the people running the show live on the other side of the barrier and Patrick has to go through to that world in order to play.

The story is for eight to twelve year olds. It’s quick and easy to read. The story itself is fun and gets the imagination working. I believe these are the correct ingredients for the age group targeted. Story development was gradual and not too complex, but I didn’t feel it spoke down to the intended audience either.

The Timekeeper by Emily Rodda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is book 2 in the two-book series.

We return to Patrick a few days after the events in the first book and things seem to be worse than ever. The barrier between the two worlds is going berserk and if something isn’t done about it soon, then it can only lead to disaster. Of course, it’s left to Patrick to deal with.

The first couple of chapters were a bit slower than I expected. I believe the story got bogged down with backstory, which is a shame. The author included a “report” (written from the point of view of the TV show producer) as a prologue, which explained what happened in book 1, which was fine. If she had left it at that, the pace would have been much faster, earlier in the book. However, she then went and included the same backstory in the first few chapters and that slowed the story down a lot. But once that was over with, the pace picked up and the plot was suspenseful.

Apart from that, the book was interesting and well written. The two books would intrigue any young reader.

Both books, as a set, are recommended.

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