June 2010

Author/s: Tim Bowler
Publisher: Oxford University Press UK
Reviewed by: : Esta Burger Age: 15
ISBN 13: 9780192727169

FIRST PART: MIDGET

Midget is about three foot tall, unable to communicate without difficulty and epileptic seizures. No doctor can find a cure for him or understand why he gets the fits, but Midget does. However, no-one will ever know, because Midget can’t tell them...

But everybody knows about Midget’s dream. The only thing he lives for, that makes him calm and peaceful, is his boat. First he runs away to look at the sailing boat, abandoned and unfinished, and then he starts drawing pictures about it. Suddenly everything changes when he meets the Miracle Man. He astounds this doctor with his ability to easily change the light to go brighter. But what does this discovery do to Midget? And where does this leave his hatred for his older brother, Seb? Midget doesn’t know what’s happening to him, but things become real when he forms a picture in his mind about it. Is this turning him into a life-threatening person of power? And how on earth would the little Midget fight it?

SECOND PART: DRAGON’S ROCK

Benjamin has done something terribly wrong and now it’s haunting him in his dreams. But as he sets foot on his cousin’s farm, the dream seems to become real. He feels it inside of him and he knows he has to stop it; to reverse the bad he has done to the land. His cousin, Toby, hates him for being so mysterious and weird. He tries to scare Benjamin with tales of the Wild Woman and how she’s a witch. But the only person Benjamin meets is a beautiful and frightened woman called Ione.

Toby takes the most important thing from Benjamin and destroys the plan. Soon everything is worsening. The land is acting strange, mist is enveloping everybody and Benjamin keeps running off to Dragon’s Rock.
Demons are trying to kill Toby and his older brother, Gordon, is part of a fatal accident. Toby’s parents get tied up by the strange woman. Toby has developed a dangerous hatred towards the Wild Woman, but Benjamin only sees the sad woman on the edge of death. Who’s right and who’s wrong? And why is Toby seeing this that Benjamin doesn’t? Why does Benjamin feel hot all the time, like a dragon is breathing in his face?

I loved the book a lot. Midget was fascinating and dramatic, but a little predictable towards the end. However, I would’ve never guessed the ending of either of the books! Tim Bowler just has a way of always shocking you. I liked Midget because it’s about a theory many scientists have proven: mental power. It was also filled with horror of what would happen next. However, I liked Dragon’s Rock more. It was like watching a horror film. It was filled with suspense! It was really scary at some parts! The story starts so normal and suddenly everything just gets weird. But the best part is the explanation of everything in the end; you wouldn’t have expected that much of a horror. I think the ending made the story, both in Dragon’s Rock and Midget. However, Dragon’s Rock keeps you more tied to the plot, instead of wanting to skip to the ending.

I have to mention though, the summary on the back cover of the book didn’t make me interested at all. I thought the cover was beautiful and fitted with the theme of the stories.

I would recommend it to any teenager who likes an enjoyable and fascinating read.

Link to online catalogue
Midget and Dragon’s Rock