{Review} What If? by Jeffrey M. Daniels

ISBN #: 978-1609104993

Page Count: 256

Copyright: October 20, 2010

Publisher: Booklocker.com

Book Summary:

(As provided by the author)

Jeremy Shuttle is a reasonably normal boy of twelve. Sure he talks to ants, but so far they haven't kept up their end of the conversation. He lives with his Mom, having never met his Dad. His Mom has promised him the whole story for his 13th birthday. Jeremy is especially talented at two things, drawing and asking weird "What if?" questions. He amazes his Mom and his best friend, Natalie, with the first and annoys his classmates with the second, including his "arch-enemy," Eddie Vane.

Heading home from school, Jeremy noticed a strange art store manned by an even stranger shopkeeper. The man questions Jeremy about something called the "collective unconscious," asks him for a sketch and gives Jeremy a lovely new sketchbook. The next day, Eddie picks on Natalie in class and Jeremy rises to her defense, embarrassing Eddie and earning himself a beating in the locker room. Drawing away his frustration, Jeremy and Natalie find that his drawing has become real ... and more kids than Eddie are hurt.

Give the power to make anything you draw become real into the hands of an imaginative 12-year old boy and fantastic adventures are bound to happen. But Natalie notices a sinister pattern; every time Jeremy uses the book he gets into greater danger. She tries to get him to stop and, predictably, he ignores her. Jeremy hits on the idea to use the sketchbook to bring back his missing Dad. This final time, his Mom and Natalie are drawn into the peril and it will take the three of them, with help from a surprising source, to escape the danger.

Mandy's Review:

Despite the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" we do just that. Admit it. When we walk into a section of books (whether it be the library, grocery store, or bookstore) we are automatically drawn to the covers we like and are willing to read what they're about. The covers that don't entice us, we quickly glance over and decide it's not worth the time to read the summary on the back. I say this because when I first saw the cover art for this book, I mistakenly thought it was written for a younger audience. And, in a way, it is. However, the "what if?" questions are sometimes more than a younger audience could comprehend.

The imagination that went into writing this book is excellent. A younger audience would certainly be drawn to that aspect of this book. It's also intriguing and interesting enough to hold the attention of an older audience (me, for example).

I actually fell in love with this book. Jeremy was very relatable and endearing. His smart mouth is his weakness as it often gets him into more trouble than he needs. I am eager to see what happens in the second book of this series. If you're looking for a book that will stretch your imagination and let you lose yourself for a little while then you should read the Jeremy Shuttle series (well ... at least the first book).


*A paperback was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.