Review: Phoenix by Jeff Stone

Phoenix by Jeff Stone. The Five Ancestors Out of the Ashes Book 1.

Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 2012
List Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 9780375870187

Review: Have you ever wanted to read a book with excitement, action, and suspense? Then Phoenix is just the book for you. The book I did my review on is Phoenix by Jeff Stone. The main character is a boy named Phoenix. The book is book one in part two of the Five Ancestors series. The second part is called The Five Ancestors: Out of the Ashes.

This story takes place in modern times both in China and in the U.S. It starts with Phoenix and his ÒgrandfatherÓ (who was really another of his ancestors, born in 1638) living in Indianapolis. Grandfather got robbed of his supply of dragon bone, a mysterious substance that helps both physical performance and the ability to live longer. Since grandfather had none left and was more than 370 years old, he would die within a month. Phoenix had to go to China to get more of the necessary dragon bone. Phoenix encounters many exciting events along the way like meeting a girl named Hu Die, and an encounter with the temple leader, Grandmaster Long, and even a battle scene with flash grenades and motorcycles! What was most exciting was a shocking truth revealed at the end, but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is.

I like this book for several reasons. The plot is really suspenseful at times like when Phoenix was fighting another bike racer and suddenly, the other racer lashes out and knocks Phoenix out with his leg. The characters are believable in the story based on what they do. Their actions are something we would do in real life. I think the theme is, Òcheating never gets you anywhereÓ. The robbers tried to cheat by taking the dragon bone for themselves, but they failed. The theme is an important message because in real life, people often cheat to get what they want. Learning the negatives of cheating is a powerful lesson. The author's writing style is extremely descriptive and you can picture the whole book because every scene is filled with imagery. This novel contains a lot of fast paced action; with exciting events like when Phoenix encounters Grandmaster Long, and there is a huge ÒfightÓ (Phoenix is proving himself worthy for Grandmaster Long). The setting is pretty realistic because the story is set in modern times. Another thing I like about this book I can connect a substance like dragon bone to steroids because they both boost people's physical performance. There's nothing I don't like about this book because it was so good. I think this book would be good for kids 10-12 to read.

Review written by Nathan (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Phoenix for this review.

Have you read Phoenix? How would you rate it?