Storms and Scarabsby H. R. HobbsPublished by H. R. Hobbs BooksReview by Toby A. Welch $15.00 ISBN 9780995344860 My first question when coming across Storms and Scarabs was: what the heck is a scarab? For those like me who were clueless, a scarab is an ancient Egyptian gem, one that was typically in the shape of a scarab beetle. As foreshadowed by the word in the title, scarabs play a vital role in this interesting fiction read. Storms and Scarabs revolves around sixth-grade best friends, Mitch and Brock, who are thrown back in time thousands of years. They arrive in ancient Egypt via a portal to the past. Luckily they come across a man who has encountered people like them before, people who’ve “visited from the Great Beyond.” What comes next is a gripping journey involving an embalming shop, an amulet, a sarcophagus (a big stone container that holds a coffin), a Pharaoh and his family, and numerous other historical aspects. A spyglass plays a key role, almost becoming a character itself. The boys struggle to get back to modern times but I won’t ruin the ending by telling you if they make it or not – you’re welcome! I would wager that this book is…
“Hear Me” (Breaking the Rules Series)by H.R. HobbsPublished by H.R. HobbsReview by Shelley A. LeedahlISBN 9-780995-344815 $15.00 In Hear Me, Assiniboia, SK teacher-turned-writer H.R. Hobbs’ follow-up to her middle years’ novel See Me, Grade Eight protagonist Hannah evolves from a reclusive and bullied girl who tries to remain invisible into an assertive gal who leads the charge for justice when friends are victimized. Through realistic scenes that move between home and school settings in fictional “Acadia,” Hobbs’ readers witness the ins and outs of Hannah’s troubled adolescent life, and learn how speaking up against bullying makes a tremendous difference, even if the-powers-that-be aren’t eager to hear the message. Readers of the first in this series of novels know that journal-writing Hannah’s set strict “rules” for herself: “1. Don’t make anyone mad. 2. If I’m invisible, no one can hurt me. 3. Keep my problems to myself. 4. No one sees my writing!” In the past, Hannah’s angered her father and been hurt by classmates. Unlike her easy-going – but also bullied – friend, Chip, Hannah’s very sensitive to these attacks, and she’s determined to do something about them. In this new novel she acquires a few more friends, and, as…
See Me (Breaking the Rules Series) by H.R. Hobbs Published by H.R. Hobbs Review by Shelley A. Leedahl ISBN 9-780995-344808 $10.00 Retired teacher Heather Hobbs has turned her lifelong passion for books into a new profession. In 2015 she picked up the pen and started writing realistic, contemporary page-turners for middle years’ students, and rather than wait years for a publisher to consider, potentially accept her manuscript, and release her books, Assiniboia-based Hobbs took matters into her own hands and published her own work under the pen name H.R. Hobbs. With almost thirty years of classroom experience to her credit, the teacher-turned writer’s depiction of middle grades’ school culture results in an interesting and credible story. See Me, the first in her Breaking the Rules Series, looks just like a trade published book. The cover features a close-up of an eye, and the interior type is easy to read. The story’s narrator is 13-year-old Hannah, an only child who was traumatized on her very first day of kindergarten after a classmate, Brady, noticed the “ugly” burn scars on her legs and called her “Scar-legs”. The ostracizing and bullying that began that day has followed her all the way into Grade…