Another Review of Book #1 from a Rainard Student

I am conducting a trial of the final manuscript for book #1, "The Saeshell Book of Time: Part 1: The Death of Innocents" at The Rainard School for Gifted Students in Houston, Texas. A second 13 year old girl has finished reading book #1 and wrote the following review of the book:

One of the many points/rules of writing is to keep your reader intrigued, always asking questions, for if there is no mystery, than why go any further into the book. Of course you do not want to completely disorientate your reader, for they will become discouraged. The perfect balance is often hard to find, but the mistake I most often find is I find myself bored with the questions, or repulsed by the lack of intrigue. This book does not contain that mistake.

I can say I was never bored, discouraged, or found myself wishing there was more mystery involved. All the information given was interesting and meaningful, and I always wanted more. The book is mostly filled with narratives of different characters lives. The beauty of this design is it seemingly gives you so much information, but you never feel fully satisfied. It makes you stay up late, yawning sleepily, thinking to yourself just one more chapter. I find myself comparing the questions I ask in the story to a Hydra from Greek mythology; you knock off one head, two more pop up. 

I also admire how much of the book is written in present tense. I find it strange how often I open up a book to find it is written in past tense. It seems to me, that present tense should make more sense, unless there is a specific reason for the past tense usage.

I love the science fiction aspect that is so advanced it seems like magic. It gives the science fiction parts a lighter feel. The combination of drama and humor is balanced perfectly. Too much drama is too heavy. The humor is important to lighten the load. The characters are amiable, intriguing, and humorous at times. Though the book is mostly focused on the characters histories, there are enough characters that you always have at least two people you want to know more about.

This book is written well, it is smart, and it keeps you interested. I plan to dive into and devour any more books Rusty Biesele is willing to write. 

Book #1 Table of Contents

Here is the table of contents for Book#1: "The Saeshell Book of Time: Part 1: The Death of Innocents". I decided to go ahead and post it because those people who are early readers might need something to help them remember things once they turn back in their copy (if they are in a school).

Table of Contents
 1: The Book Speaks
 2: The First Gifted Fairy
 3: Destiny
 4: The Sophistans
 5: Survival
 6: Little Stefan Knows
 7: Mornings Can Be Rough
 8: A Moment in Time
 9: Elof’s Sad Life
10: Elof’s Life Changes
11: Tova
12: Tova’s Painful Trial
13: Stefan
14: Stefan Meets Professor Kettil
15: The Touch of War
16: Preparing to Save Stefan
17: Transitions
18: Fate
19: Train from Oblivion
20: Demolecularization, 
..  Planned and  Secret
21: Preparations for Life
22: Tova’s Reintegration 

Review of Final Version of Book #1

I am conducting a trial of the final manuscript for book #1, "The Saeshell Book of Time: Part 1: The Death of Innocents" at The Rainard School for Gifted Students in Houston, Texas.  This part one of a four part serial novel specifically targeted toward gifted middle school students. The novel is a blend of contemporary fantasy, science fiction horror, and political thriller. One of the students has allowed me to post their review. She a gifted girl, 13 years old.

I really enjoyed the book, it was very entertaining and unlike anything I've ever read before. The fact that most of the story was focused on the character's backstories was probably my favorite part of the book. Most of the time, books with multiple characters do not give you enough information on the characters and I personally find that irritating; I like being able to understand what motivates the characters and what makes them tick. The book told me everything I needed to know in order to understand the story (and the characters) without having ruining the book. It was well written and nothing about it was too unclear. The innocence of Paul25 was one of the highlights of the story. Having him think he is a fairy, and then having him think that he had caused Stefan's father to starve to death. He added a humorous touch in an otherwise serious story. Another one of the best parts of the story was how you had added in Tova2's and Stefan's romance without having it as the main plot or distract from the point of the story. It was just a tiny segment of the story, there was nothing about it that made me want to vomit, and it was one of the first romances in a book that did not have one of the two act like they're the other's slave for life. 

Overall, the book was amazing. I found a few typos and one or two things that confused me, but other than what I have here, there was really nothing else wrong with it.

 (I left the list of typos out of the article. However, I'm definitely going to fix them!).