Omzak Space Cat Warrior Book Review
We received a book to review a few weeks ago: Omzak the Space Cat Warrior by Jaylen Grace. It’s out on October 25th, 2012.
I have to admit I giggled a little at the title of the book; but that’s probably because I am a wee bit childish…
So what’s the story?
Omzak is, erm, a space cat warrior…odd that give the title of the book.
He got into trouble on his planet, Catopia, and was banished by the king to Planet Earth. His ruler was hopeful that having to hang out with the rather less sophisticated earth cats would teach him humility. He befriends a little girl called Jodie, and becomes embroiled in solving a mystery as the earth cats start to disappear.
What did the kids think?
I am afraid that neither of my children liked this book enough for me to be allowed to keep on reading it to them. Sadly, we had to ditch it.
However, I don’t think that this is necessarily because it’s poorly written. It’s just not their thing, and they were a bit too young for it. As Chatterbox said:
“There aren’t enough pictures for me, mummy”
And that pretty much sums it up. Their attention just wasn’t kept long enough by the prose, as it’s that wee bit too complicated for them. I believe it’s better suited to 8 – 12 year olds. My son is 5 and my daughter is 7; enough said.
What did mummy think?
The story is a trifle bizarre.
But perhaps that’s my lack of imagination. I prefer magic, witches and sorcery; so maybe I need to expand my mind.
I suspect that older boys who like playing with light sabres and watching Star Wars might like the story. However, the idea of a Space Cat Warrior just didn’t capture my imagination, or my kids. There are some good lessons within the book, if you manage to get far enough into it to learn them. For example, Omzak learns about friendship, forgiveness and pride during the course of the book. And the little girl, Jodie, is able to heal a family feud as well.
So mummy wasn’t convinced either. But then I am not an eight year old boy ;-)
Overall Rating 6/10
This book was written well, but idea for the story just didn’t work for me. And that’s a personal thing. Because of this, the characters didn’t come to life sufficiently for me to be able to really “get into it.” If there are any more books in the series, I wouldn’t feel the need to find out what happened.
Have you read this book or others by the author? What did you think?
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!