Home to Oblivion, Roger Whittlesey

Kate’s Library

Title:  Home to Oblivion
Author:  Roger Whittlesey
Pages:  195
Genre:  YA
Source:  Kindle
Why I picked it up:  Roger is a personal friend, and I’ve been waiting for his book to come out for awhile!

Prescott Fielding is a 12-year-old boy from the 18th century.  He is working on a ship when he is thrown overboard, only to wash up on the shores on a volcanic island.  He meets Caleb Thompson, a 17-year-old marine who had been serving in Vietnam before waking up on the same island.  How is it that these two young men rom different time periods find themselves stranded together?  The mystery continues when they meet up with Woodgate; a British World War I code breaker.  These three unlikely companions journey further inland in an attempt to solve the puzzles of the island only to discover the truth is more dangerous than they first anticipated.

I absolutely loved this book!

The premise of the story is fascinating – three young men from three different time periods trying to figure out why they are together and how to get home.  Each character has a personality unique to their time period, a really interesting way to give the “flavor” of different times and places.

I know Roger is a teacher, and although I have not asked him personally, I have to think that his profession influenced the book.  It’s fun but it’s informative too.  I can envision a young person really liking a certain character and deciding to do a little research about that time period.  The teacher in me loved seeing lots of interesting language that may prompt a kid to look up and learn new words!  I really like that Roger wasn’t afraid to write a young adult novel that will make the kids think a little.  I teach music lessons to one of Roger’s former students – apparently he read this book to his fifth grade class a couple of years ago when it was still a work-in-progress.  When I told her it was being published she literally started jumping up and down!  The class loved it and she had big plans to tell all her friends so they could read it again.

I think this book will appeal to everyone, but I especially think this could be a work of fiction that boys can gravitate toward.  It seems like I always hear people talking about how girls read more than boys, especially fiction.  Keeping this in mind, I appreciate that there are kind, smart, and resourceful boys as main characters in this book.

I don’t typically read YA, but this is one I really enjoyed and highly recommend!  It has it all; a unique story, intelligence, humor, suspense, and enough of the fantastical to keep you on your toes!

Buy it!

Kate’s Library
www.kateslibrary.blogspot.com