Zarox

A must read! Zarox is an exciting, fast-moving, and well-written book. The author is adept at describing and developing characters, scenes, and the atmosphere of magic. The reader is drawn right into Zaron. Though it’s technically a YA book, I loved it (43) as did my middle schooler. 6 stars out of 5 😊

This is a nice reading. I love how the characters are with each other, I like their crystal magic, the diversity of creatures, and their adventures. This is a good book of friendship and magic.

If you're searching for an unexpected plot twist(s) 'Louis Smith's ' Zarox definitely delivers! Follow Parker, Callum, Lucy, and Riley on an adventure to find out what secrets lie within their school's ball court, The Churn Zone. They travel to a mysterious land filled with mythical creatures and take on dangerous quests to protect their world. It's exciting and captivating, you won't be able to put the book down!- I truly enjoyed reading this book. I can't wait to read the sequel!

4.5 out of 5 stars. Zarox, by Louis Smith, is a middle grade fantasy/adventure story reminiscent of Narnia and A Wrinkle in Time. When Parker and his friends go on a night-time excursion to their school, the last thing they expect is to find themselves being dragged off to another world. Quickly discovered by some of the local creatures, the kids learn that they’re in the world of Zarox, a world full of magic and darkness. Being swept up in the plight of this world the kids decide to help in any way they can…and find that they may in fact be the only ones able to stop this darkness from spreading. Every once in a while I find myself picking up a middle grade book to read, often they’re fun and light and I like to scope out books that would be fun to read to my kids when they’re a little older…Zarox is going to be one of those books. Zarox is one of those stories that envelopes you in its magic from the first page, stunning you with lovely detail and its charming child-like wonder. Everything is set up wonderfully to prepare you to enter into a world full of magic, mystery and cleverness. The kids in this book are obviously the main characters, rarely are there any adult appearances, and the best things about them is that they actually seem like real kids. Their personalities match their age group, with the exception of Parker being a little more mature, although not too mature, and they truly embody that middle school age persona. The kids are adventurous, have vivid imaginations, and while they bicker and get competitive, they also always come together to work as a team. They’re open-minded and overcome their fears, which leads them to have unwavering faith in their abilities, allowing them to accomplish the task they have been selected for. The way the kids handle themselves lead me to believe they would be great role models for any young readers, great inspirations to show that they can do anything they put their minds to. The world Louis has created is extremely magical and completely different from any other. Filled with dreamlike places and creatures, Zarox is one of those locations you just wish you could hop right into via the page. The different creatures alone (with a few exceptions) make you envious of this place. In fact, my favorite character is actually one of the creatures from Zarox, a wise and feisty little Trallop named Rotlier Rum (he had me laughing more often than not). The creatures, the places and even some of the language is all new and original, and it completely makes the story. There are also some little puzzles that can be worked out in some of the language if you really pay attention. How fun is that?! Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t give this a full five stars. The reasons are thus: 1. There were moments while reading that I felt the pace was a little off. Some scenes that should have been short were long and some that were long, I felt, should have been short. That being said, I’m not sure that this would really matter much to a young reader. As an adult I’m more likely to pick up on these sorts of things, but I can basically guarantee that I wouldn’t have cared as a kid. 2. I felt like it ended rather abruptly. Things were moving along and all of a sudden “the end”, BUT I did find out that this is going to be a series so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. Either way, I still loved this book! As you can see, overall I really enjoyed this book. I found Zarox to be charming, magical and fun. It gave me quite a few laughs and is definitely the kind of book I can see reading to my kids when they’re old enough. * A copy of this book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the author for giving me a chance to read review his book. Zarox is a fast paced middle grade story about a group of children, who suddenly find themselves in a magical world called Zarox. The children soon find out that Zarox is threatened by a rising evil, so they take on a quest to save this new world and its inhabitants. While exploring Zarox the children face challenges that require them to work together and to develop their newly found powers. I would say Zarox is a fast and entertaining read for young readers. It was maybe a little bit too straightforward for my taste and I found myself hoping that the characters would have a bit more depth to them, but that does not mean that middle grade readers will not enjoy the story. Zarox sends an important message about the power of love and friendship to young and old readers alike and I would recommend it to anyone who likes magic and X-Men type of super powers. Overall, Zarox is an entertaining adventure story with an interesting selection of magical creatures and an array of tasks and problems for the main characters to test their skills on. The main characters all have their own strengths and weaknesses, so the young readers should all be able to find a favorite to relate to and root for. This book is well worth a try for every middle grade adventure fan.

This book, Zarox, was sent to me by the author to read and give an honest, unpaid review of it. I’m so thankful for the opportunity that I had to read this book! I tend to stick with reading only YA books, but Zarox is a middle grade book and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!Zarox is a fantasy book filled with adventure and friendship. Parker, Callum, Riley, and Lucy are the best of friends and practically inseparable. They love hanging out and exploring new things. The Churn Zone, the ball court of their school, is notorious for giving students an eerie feeling. Parker and his brother Callum taunt each other to visit the Churn Zone just to scare each other. At school, all four friends decide to go on a little adventure and visit the Churn Zone at night. When they get there, it’s even creepier than they could have imagined. There are glowing balls, and they can hear voices chanting some sort of incantation. Before they know it, they get sucked into a world they never knew existed with Rotlier, their newfound friend as their guide. Zarox is foreign to them and on the brink of destruction, yet Parker, Callum, Riley, and Lucy are tasked with saving it. The pacing of the book moves the plot along well, and keeps things interesting. The writing is very descriptive and creates great imagery. The diction that is used aids in the understanding and description of the world, the youths' physical and character traits, as well as events. You really come to know and like the characters. Parker, Callum, Riley, and Lucy compliment each other nicely. They understand each other and utilize each person’s strengths to compensate for another’s weaknesses. And let me just say, Parker’s strength of fearlessness is amazing. I wish I were more like him in that aspect. I can make myself scared just walking up the stairs from my basement by thinking of all of these crazy and made up situations. It’s ridiculous, I know. I did however, have a couple concerns while reading. I was hesitant about the training of Parker and his friends. It at first seemed to me that they didn’t have enough skill to try to save Zarox because their training period was so short. But my doubts were put at ease when I saw how innovative Parker and his friends were when it became necessary to use their limited training. I also wondered about the families of the youth while they were in Zarox. But I am hopeful this last question will be answered in a future book. The world in Zarox was original and the way the characters handled the problems that they were faced with was both creative and resourceful. It is perfect for its target audience, but I also had a fun time reading this book and look forward to finding out what happens next!

WOW you guys...just WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really, truly want a sequel! It's action packed, well written, and Smith has a way of being descriptive but in a concise manner. There is one particular scene involving the fate dice in which I was blown away not only by the sheer creativity of the author, but how he was able to deliver perfect descriptions of the dice faces in a few paragraphs rather than pages upon pages. There are emotional moments, hilarious moments, fight scenes, magic scenes, and a DRAGON! There's a dragon guys!! Who doesn't love a dragon??!!! And...Tangerine Twine...read the book and you'll understand! It's SO GOOD! Zarox is marketed as a middle grade book but honestly, you should probably also read it if you're an adult. Zarox is a great read for a large age span of people because it has some amazing themes throughout. A few of these themes are the value of family, the value of friendship, teamwork, leadership, healthy competition, not putting up with bullying, and accepting people who are different from you...YES....ALL OF THAT IN ONE BOOK! And that's not even all of them. It also has several instances that I thought would be excellent vocabulary word moments for kids...and probably some adults. So yes...I think this book could be great for middle schoolers and also probably teach them some valuable lessons along the way. For Zarox to have been written by a relatively unknown author, the grammar was great and honestly this book proved to be much more than I expected. I never really know what I might be walking into but I was SO pleasantly surprised with this book! It immediately did not go the direction I thought it would so snaps for not being predictable! I also immediately liked the characters. I'm fairly certain brave Parker will be in my thoughts for days and I love that rather than being tired of his little brother Callum, they have a strong bond and go on this adventure together. I love how Riley gets his time to shine because I think he deserves it. And Lucy...the only girl...such a strong and brave girl. Smith absolutely captures the thoughts and feelings of a girl...that need to prove yourself, that you're just as good as the boys are...but you also get the peek behind the curtain to her self doubt. She's a real character and if you're a girl you can't help but relate to her on some level and I find it fascinating that Smith was able to portray her perfectly. It only took me roughly two days to read this book and that's not because it's short...it's because it's GOOD. It's really good. I really think Louis has a talent to go further and I'll definitely keep my eyes open for anything else that comes from him. He writes about diverse characters dealing with issues and working together to help others out...and he does it wrapped up in an epic adventure. He also leaves off each chapter in such a way that you just have to keep turning the page to see what happens. It's legitimately a thrill/joy ride through this adventure and I look forward to what comes next! 5 STARS, TWO THUMBS UP, and please don't wait 3 years to put out a sequel! I look forward to more of your work, Louis Smith!

Parker Reid and his group of friends are your typical group of brains, bronze and beauty. With the stakes high for a spine-chilling adventure, who knows what could happen. Parker, Riley, Callum and Lucy all bound together to head to one of their towns more frightening places, Churn Zone. When a school teacher, Mr.Hobbs is involved within their mystery by surprise, nobody knows what to make of their survival or their sanity. After awakening in a new yet unfamiliar world, the group bonds together to find a way back home. Thrown into a different world of human-eating creatures and nothing they’ve ever seen before, the world of Zarox. When magically crystals have been chosen, who knows what powers and adventures the group will tackle. Read Zarox by Louis Smith to find out! “The crystals you see before you contain powers of unimaginable proportions. I want the four of you to obtain their powers and defend Zarox from the evils within.” Zarox reminds me of an adventure movie and in some parts, one that’s unheard of. I found the creatures to be very cute and add a unique twist to the stories plot. I thought the book would be entirely different when I first started it but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. I loved Lucy’s character, she is independent and being the only girl in a group of boys never made her underestimate her powers. I also loved Rotlier’s character, he reminded me of Dobby from Harry Potter as he tries to take care of the group of warriors and acts as their guardian. I loved the plot twists and watching the characters develop not only as a group but also finding who they are throughout the story. I also fell in love with the quest the characters were set on. It took very unique turns and I loved how genuine and honourable the characters became as the story progressed. The book definitely left on a cliffhanger but I look forward to reading the next installment of Zarox. I would recommend this book to those who love adventures, sci-fi and a great character developement. Thank you to Louis Smith for sending me a copy for an honest review!