Title: Wanted: Hero Prelude to a Hero
Series: Chronicles of a Hero
Author: Jaime Buckley
Genre: Sci-fi Fantasy
Category: Teen/Young Adult
Publisher: Self
BLURB (taken from Goodreads)
Wendell is a young man who learns what his potential is while on a strange, enchanted world with a funny old wizard and ugly troll to mentor and guide him. Prelude to a Hero, the debut book about how Wendell came to be the one expected to save an entire world. . . by accident.
MY THOUGHTS
Wanted: Hero isn’t the type of book I usually read. When it
comes to intergalactic sci-fi stories, I tend to be very picky. And what really
intrigued me about Hero is the fact that it is the full novel of its comic
version and Jaime Buckley had written the book (comic/novel) with a sole
purpose of reaching out to kids nowadays, to inspire them to reach their full
potential and fulfill their dreams. How awesome is that?
There were a few things about this book that really
impressed me. Jaime Buckley’s narration style was one of them. It was very
different and full of wicked humors that had me laughing and smiling
occasionally. He made Wendell, the MC, seemed truly relatable. Wendell’s struggle
with his confidence was realistic and genuine. Every kid, boys and girls, faces
the same issue as Wendell’s every day and being an unlikely hero, Wendell
chooses not to walk away from challenges but instead faces them like a real,
well…‘hero’.
I was deeply inspired by some thoughts Jaime Buckley put in
some of his narration. One of my favorites is as below (found on Chapter 8):
There comes a moment
in every life when the Universe presents you with an opportunity to rise to
your potential.
An open door that only
requires the heart to walk through, seize it and hang on.
The choice is never
simple. It’s never easy. It’s not
supposed to be.
But those who travel
this path have always looked back and realized that the test was always about
the heart.
…The rest is just
practice.
I could only say it was well said and very thought-provoking
indeed. How can anyone not be inspired by those words? It was such a clever
effort of incorporating words of wisdom in this book without sounding too
preachy or unoriginal.
Another element of this book that I loved was its rich
setting. The author had done a great job of building the world of Elama,
providing vivid details of how the planet look like, the sanctuary, the food
and as well as its inhabitants. At first, I had to admit that I struggled to
connect with Wendell, trying to understand all the crazy things that happened
to him as well as the story itself. I even wondered whether I will like the
book or not. But toward the end, I seemed to enjoy the adventure and the plot
was okay for me but I’m going to have to do some rereads. As for the side
characters, I was super excited when Wendell is introduced to a girl, Kyliene.
But my excitement was short-lived but hopefully Wendell will find some romance
again in the next book. And also some trusted companions his age other than
Dax.
Overall, Wanted: Hero is a delightful book, packed with wild
imaginations and inspirations. It’s a rarity that a YA book contains the
combination of those three things but Wanted: Hero has them. Seriously, you don’t
want to miss reading this book in your lifetime.
Rating: 4 stars of 5!
*Disclosure: This review was written upon the author's request. That said, I wasn't compensated whatsoever for writing this review and receiving a review copy directly from the author certainly did not reflect the way I rated or review the book.
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