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 Neale
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, website editor and a qualified counsellor with experience of working with both children and adults.She is a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapists, with her own private practise. She also freelances with her local Mind organisation.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, use those grey cells at the same time, and supplement her counselling income.KiddyCharts has reach of over 680k across socials and the site. The site works with big family brands to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. She is a specialist counsellor for neurodivergent individuals and brings this expertise to her resources and the site. She is also an ADHDer herself.KiddyCharts gives 51%+ profits to charities, focused on supporting mental health and a community in TanzaniaHelen has also 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!