Elemental by Antony John Review

"A lost colony is reborn in this heart-pounding fantasy adventure set in the near future . . .

Sixteen-year-old Thomas has always been an outsider. The first child born without the power of an Element—earth, water, wind or fire—he has little to offer his tiny, remote Outer Banks colony. Or so the Guardians would have him believe.

In the wake of an unforeseen storm, desperate pirates kidnap the Guardians, intent on claiming the island as their own. Caught between the plague-ridden mainland and the advancing pirates, Thomas and his friends fight for survival in the battered remains of a mysterious abandoned settlement. But the secrets they unearth will turn Thomas’ world upside-down, and bring to light not only a treacherous past but also a future more dangerous than he can possibly imagine."

Elemental is exactly what it sounds like. The lost colony of the broken island comes again. In the originally lost colony, it's 1585. (Yes, I'm giving you all a free history lecture. [I lecture classes sometimes.] If you're a pretty lazy student, you can chew gum in 'class' and sleep till you pass this paragraph.) The lost Roanoke Colony is an attempt by our every so redhead queen, the infamous and scandalous Elizabeth the First, to create a British settlement/colony that will earn cold hard pounds for the England. Now, years went by and all is horrible with every year that comes by. Eventually, one fateful boat arrive in Roanoke Island to find all of its inhabitants gone. And missing. The only clue they left behind is in the bark of a tree. On it is the word "Croatoan." (Now I won't go any farther because you'll be so bored that you will fall asleep after a few more paragraphs.)

Elemental is a fast paced book, with understandable descriptions and events. The conflict is mostly people (in this case, the children) versus big, scary pirates, who will certainly kill people at any chance possible if 1) they are expendable and/or 2) they are alive. But either way, pirates kill anyone that's alive unless there's a Captain in command. The writing is so-so, regular (with a spanish accent).

The beginning is awesome. I love how the authors use the opportunity to show how ridiculous and stupid Thomas looks to other people. Thomas is one of the most defiant and challenging characters. Not exactly defiant, but in more of a challenging authority way. But when a Guardian tells Thomas to, whether with his body language or words, shut up, he doesn't. Instead he continue to poking his question until the Guardian gets upset. Then it just goes too far.

The ending isn't very 'awesome'. What that supposed to be a cliffhanger? Well, that ending is horrible. Spoiler: The evil villain is a relative. Ooo! Yeah, that's not very exciting. That's not very cliffy. My archenemy is a distant relative, so what? (like cousins; pretty distant) What do I care?

Am I supposed to be excited by this book? Yes, but the only time I'm actually excited is when Thomas uses his existent power. The other times, I simply nod along as if listening to a child in Kindergarten chatting about his/her oh so wonderful day.  

Rating: Two Point Five out of Five. (I'll round to three.)