Penny Preston and the Raven's Talisman
Misaligned, Book I
By: Armen Pogharian
Narrated by: Michelle Babb
Release date: 04-21-21
Publisher: CamCat Publishing, LLC
Genre: Fantasy, Teen and YA
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.
Publisher's Summary
When shadow-monsters attack in the cafeteria, eighth grader Penny Preston panics, starts a food fight, and unknowingly creates a trans-dimensional rift. Summoned to the counselor’s office, she expects suspension, but instead discovers that she is misaligned and exists in more than three dimensions. Unless she immediately begins training to learn to handle her powerful abilities, she risks losing her sanity.
She agrees to secretly train with her counselor and his friend Master Poe, an exile from the seventh dimension trapped in a raven’s body, to keep her hometown, Piper Falls, safe from higher-dimensional beings seeking to gain god-like powers in our dimension.
Together with Simon, her telepathic multidimensional cat, Penny struggles to save her relationship with her best friend, protect her universe, and uncover her connection to Arthurian myth.
©2020 Armen Pogharian (P)2021 CamCat Publishing.
Review:
Penny is an eighth grader who suddenly discovers that she has paranormal skills. Inadvertently she creates chaos and a trans-dimensional rift during lunch and expects to receive school discipline. Instead, science teacher, Mr. Myrdin with his companion raven, Master Poe, informs her that she is a ‘misaligned’ girl with the ability to move in different dimensions. Myrdin explains that there is someone threatening to bring evil power into the community and Penny needs to train to fight the magical enemy.
Penny gets additional support from her best friend, Duncan, and her new guardian, Simon. Simon is a telepathic, multidimensional cat who continually proclaims himself to be “Kite Seith”. A magical amulet is provided to Duncan which allows him to see some of what Penny is dealing with. And now they all share the adventure and danger from strange creatures seeping into the earthly dimension!
This story is easy listening fun. There is action, science and magic interwoven with Arthurian lore, Hobbit references and scenes that brought Harry Potter to mind. There are the stirrings of a different relationship for Penny and Duncan which is awkward and sweet. I would share this with my middle grade grandchildren and might continue the series adventures myself.
Audio Notes: Michelle Babb does a good job with the narration. Although Babb provides clear and distinct voices, I thought the narration was more reading than dramatic presentation. I enjoyed the emotional input and I am glad I was able to listen to the audio version.
Source: 4/22/2021 Narrator Audible Code. This qualifies for 2021Audiobook and 2021Review goals.
