2 out of 4 stars
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Sometimes a big move to a new place can be fun. There are so many new things; a new school, new friends… and new enemies who are possessed by demons and out to destroy everything you ever cared about. This situation is a reality for the Asquinn twins in Grace Brooks’ The Asquinn Twins Come to Forest Lake. When their father, a minister, decides that God’s purpose for him is to move to a small community and preach, he packs his wife and four children with him. Martha and Martin Asquinn must learn to adjust to new situations, stand up against demons and keep their faith and love in God.
I was attracted to the book because of the endearing image of the smiling twins on the cover. I felt that the book would have an entertaining plot. It did not meet my expectations. The plot was rushed and it left many unanswered questions. There were also quite a few grammatical errors. I was convinced that I had the author’s rough draft. When I saw an insertion in the middle of the story asking for a correction to be made, I was even more convinced.
The plot was poorly done and I had a hard time staying interested in the story. There were chapters that ended abruptly and chapters that didn’t end when they should have. Also, there weren’t any proper transitions between the scenes. Every scene in the novel lacked substance because it barely served any point to the story. Sure… the scenes moved the story forward, but there was no character development and the conflict of the story was dull. Even though a demon possessed fourteen-year-old was the antagonist of the story, he was barely in the story. When he was present, he failed to do anything noteworthy that would capture a reader’s attention.
The characters were all one dimensional and flat. The author failed to provide any kind of information about the characters that would’ve given readers a sense of their personalities or traits. Also, there were parts in the story that bothered me. The story goes through multiple time skips and there is a moment where Martha and a friend are ten years old and in love with fourteen-year-old boys. Martha’s friend states, “I tingle all over when he’s anywhere near me. He is so good looking and commanding.” What ten-year-old speaks this way? In the book, there was a scene with children asking for each other’s hand in marriage and parents seriously agreeing to it. These children weren’t even fifteen yet.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It receives two stars because the author has a lot of content from the Bible in the story. Even though the basic plot and development of the story was lacking, she provided lessons on trusting and believing in God. The plot is uninteresting. The characters are flat. There were many grammatical errors and the book has some controversial moments. This book is listed as YA but I beg to differ. It most certainly isn’t for children because of some of the scenes. This book should be labeled, “Other Fiction.” I would recommend this story to Christians who might want a devotional in a book form. Besides that, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else.
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The Asquinn Twins Come To FOREST lAKE
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