Giveaway Closed: Review and Giveaway: The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul

First off I need to thank and appologize to Ashley at Random House for allowing me to participate in this blog tour, even though I'm a few days late with my post :-(



Summary:
Donita K. Paul’s 250,000-plus-selling DragonKeeper Chronicles series has attracted a wide spectrum of dedicated fans–and they’re sure to fall in love with the new characters and adventures in her latest superbly-crafted novel for all ages. It’s a mind-boggling fantasy that inhabits the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, but in a different country and an earlier time, where the people know little of Wulder and nothing of Paladin.

In The Vanishing Sculptor, readers will meet Tipper, a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions–including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon–and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of knowing and serving God.

My Review:
Hmmm... what to say about this one. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it. It lied somewhere in the hazy middle. First off I'm not a huge fan of mystical books, but that's not really what I didn't like about it. It seemed to take forever for me to read it. I started it on a Friday and didn't finish it till the next Thursday, and for a 400 page YA book, that was just too long.

The story deals with quite a few things, but one of the main ideas is that of faith. The idea of Wulder and what he is capable of weaves itself throughout the entire story.

There were definitely some good things about this book. The author was very creative. I liked the character of Beccaroon very much. There were quite a few times when I laughed at his remarks. The banter between the wizard and the librarian was also fairly entertaining. The descriptions were quite well written and I could see the places that were being described as well as a good image of the characters. I actually saw Drew Barrymore as Tipper (don't know why, I don't normally associate book characters with real people). Donita Paul seems to have a great imagination and is able to portray her images quite well. I also really liked the glossary in the back. I referred to it quite often throughout the story and it did help me keep track of who was who and what part they played in the overall story.

While I did like some of the characters I didn't really connect with any of them. Tipper seemed to jump between being very level-headed and quite flighty. The rest of the characters seemed to be very eccentric and hard for me to relate to.

I guess my biggest problem would be that this was a slow read, but like I said I'm not really into this genre. Maybe for someone that likes this kind of story it would be a more enjoyable and quicker read.

For more information or to purchase The Vanishing Sculptor please visit Random House's website.

Now for the giveaway!

I have one copy to giveaway! The giveaway will end at 11:59pm on Wednesday July 8th 2009.

I will pick the winner via a random drawing. To enter please leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win).

Earn extra entries:
Follow my blog (let me know in your comment that you are following, or if you are already a follower mention that also)
Post a link to this blog on your blog (leave me the link in the comment)
Tweet about this giveaway (you can leave me your Twitter ID in your comment or send me a DM to Jennmarie68 on Twitter)

Please only US entrants, as I am mailing this one myself.

Also just a note: I am a smoker and I have pets so if you have allergies you may not want to enter. This giveaway isn't for the copy I read, so the book has never even been opened but smoke and animal hair have a way of getting into everything! I don't want to cause anyone to get sick!

Good Luck!