The Galian Spear by Safie Maken Finlay On July 24th Illy's family is splintering, and for a twelve year old girl this creates a traumatic day. No, it wasn't divorce or a death, but Illy's father losing his job forcing her parents to leave her and her two brothers, Tobias and Little B, at their grandmother Amelia's house while they look for a new place to live. They promise to only be away for two weeks, but when their ship disappears the children have to take matters into their own hands to get their parents back. They'll just need the right tools.
In a original and creative story Illy, Tobias, and Little B find themselves involved in an ancient feud. At the "Museum of Ancient and Unexplainable Artifacts" they meet Carodan Gill who introduces them to the mysterious history of the Galians, an ancient race, and the artifacts that belong to them.
Have you ever taken a look at Stonehenge, the pyramids or any other wonder of the world and asked yourself how it was possible that man made those wonders thousands of years ago? Take a moment to think about how humans could have built the pyramids without a crane, a stone cutter or even a calculator. I would think it would take some kind of powerful tool to make something that gigantic and complicated. And that's exactly what it was. It was the Galian tools we should credit with these super human accomplishments and it is a Galian Tool, the Spear of Time, that is Illy and Tobias' only hope for finding their parents and keeping Chaos at bay.
This book is fast paced and at times seems unbelievable, but a story like this one seems to be a suitable fit for children. Children's fantasy books are rooted in imagination and The Galian Spear rises to that challenge. The plot is well established and I enjoyed the originality of the story and the surprising twists that came with it, but I sometimes found myself wanting to shout "inconceivable!"
As a child I could find magic in everything. Gardens were places where fairies flittered from leaf to leaf in a game of hide and seek and thunderstorms were a heavenly drum set with crashing cymbals and rolling snares. Sadly, my imagination is not as good as it once was but, when reading a children's book, imagination is key. Children's books originality and creativity is essential in order to enjoy them to their full extent. As an adult it is imperative to suspend your beliefs, go back to the time in your life when anything was possible and leave your skepticism behind. If this is done, then the book will open into another world. And this world is definitely worth it.
