Monday Review by the Book Dragon: Newest installment in my favorite dinosaur dystopian series

 

The Book Dragon has finished Corinna Turner's latest installment in her unSPARKed! series, Wild Life, and gives it five enthusiastic claws!

My review: Even though I would prefer this story had been written as one long novel, the "serial" format reminds me of some of my favorite old TV shows in the 1960's (yes, I am that old), where each weekly episode ended on a cliffhanger, or at least with something unresolved so you'd anticipate the next installment (notably Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel). The unSPARKed! series is exactly that. It's difficult to wait for the next episode, but it is DEFINITELY worth the wait! This story has become one of my all-time favorites, with memorable characters I've come to care about very much, set in a future United States with dinosaurs, which I've loved since I was a young child. Unlike Jurassic Park, this story focuses more on the spiritual life and day-to-day survival of the human characters and hardly mentions the science involved in bringing dinosaur species back from extinction.

In this installment, which is #5, 16 yo Darryl and her brother Harry are settling in with their new employer Josh, who is a hunter living in the unSPARKed wilds where dinosaurs roam and life expectancy is short, even within a specially designed HabVi (a reinforced and modified RV that sounds like it's been crossed with a tank). Not only do the teens have much to learn from the experienced Josh (who is only 18 himself), they face danger from more than predatory dinosaurs.

I would have loved this series as a teen, and love it now even though I'm far past that age. I recommend it for anyone who likes adventure and survival stories with a clean and religious bent, especially readers who like dinosaurs. I would suggest you begin with #1 and read them in order, though there are other stories in this world which can be read out of order.

This novella and the rest of the volumes set in this world can be found at Catholic Teen Books. You don't want to miss this talented author's stories!