Annie Clark And The Pearls Of Wisdom [Paperback]

Laura C. Browne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2008

Thirteen-year-old Annie Clark spends the summer in a magical land after unexpectedly learning she has special powers. She rides flying horses at her aunt and uncle's ranch and attends school where she meets new friends including a rebellious tooth fairy who hates to touch teeth and a centaur with a broken leg. An oracle, called the Pearls of Wisdom, indicates she must help with a complex spell. She attends a Royal Ball where her magic dancing shoes run away with her. Annie must find out who is trying to kidnap her while she helps her new friends and learns the truth about her family. A Publishers Weekly reviewer said Annie Clark and the Pearls of Wisdom is "reminiscent of pop fantasies like Ella Enchanted and Harry Potter" and the author, "shows promise, thanks to cute ideas like a disappearing opaky (invisible pet), Non-Stop shoes, an oracle who communicates via the pearls of wisdom and some dangerous 'expectacles'."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Annie was just an ordinary 13 year old til her Grandma Rose showed up to tell her she was coming with her to spend the summer. Then, Grandma told them all she was a witch. This young adult opens with riding pegasi (neighflies) and offers a whole lot more adventures for Annie and the readers. -- Amazon Top Reviewer

This sweet but way too thin YA fantasy could've been titled "How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Fairy Land." Impressionable thirteen-year-old Annie Clark explores her magical heritage to discover whether she's truly an elf or a witch. Annie already knows she was adopted and that Lysandra,her mother is a witch and her dad is human. She hopes to learn more about her mysterious ancestry by finding her birth parents while visiting her Grandma Rose Carbuncle in the magical kingdom of Wistmera. Grandma Rose enrolls Annie in Mrs. White's School for Girls so she can learn more about magic (shades of Rowling's Hogwarts).She becomes friends with Morgan, a centaur; Phoebe, a tooth fairy and survives meeting the Ugly Twins, Natasha and Dorcas who delight in tormenting fellow classmates. A bit too reminiscent of pop fantasies like Ella Enchanted and Harry Potter, the author still shows promise, thanks to cute ideas like a disappearing opaky (invisible pet), Non-Stop shoes, an oracle who communicates via the pearls of wisdom and some dangerous "expectacles." -- manuscript review by Publishers Weekly, an independent organization

Wow, I have to admit that I actually got caught up in this body of text and was a little disappointed when it ended. The storytelling was very well done, although there appeared to be not much depth in a couple of sections. Being an animal lover I really enjoyed the part about working with the newborn "horse," it reminded me of my cat. I don't know if I would actually buy this book since I am generally not one to read books on magic and the like, although I do enjoy the Harry Potter movies. I think that anyone who enjoys these kinds of stories would find this one to be very worthwhile. -- Amazon Top Reviewer

About the Author

Laura Browne is the author of two non-fiction books, "Why Can't You Communicate Like Me? How Smart Women Get Results At Work" and "Raise Rules for Women: How To Make More Money At Work". For more information go to www.lauracbrowne.com. Annie Clark and The Pearls of Wisdom was chosen as a semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. The book is for girls 8 - 13 and their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Here's what one reader said: "When I first started reading the story, it was with the opinion that I was trying to see if it would make a good gift for pre-teen girl relatives. I was therefore, surprised to find myself quite caught up in it... Laura Browne throws in puns and play-on-words enough to give the older reader a chuckle, as well as weaving the story to interest her actual target audience." You can read first page of the book here: Chapter 1 - The Flying W Ranch Cousin Shelby quickly strapped the training saddle on her neighfly, Tornado, as he stamped his feet and tossed his mane impatiently. He had a white patch between his wild eyes and the rest of him was inky black. Some of the other neighflies in the hayviary looked much calmer, and I timidly mentioned that to Shelby. She brushed her short-cropped black hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand and said, "Do you want to ride or not?" "Sure, it's just that..." "Well, Tornado's my neighfly. Some of those others are so slow, you might as well walk." I silently thought that would be just fine with me, but I didn't say anything. Tornado's training saddle had two small seats. Shelby hopped onto the front seat in a quick fluid motion, slipping her feet neatly into the stirrups. "Let's go," she barked at me as I awkwardly tried to copy her movements and settle into the second seat. As I strapped myself in, Shelby nudged the neighfly with her heels, and he started to trot and unfurl his massive wings. My fingers clutched the saddle horn in front of me as though they were glued to it. My eyes were tightly shut and I wondered if riding Tornado was a good idea. I'd never ridden a neighfly before. I hadn't even believed in them until that morning. Go to www.lauracbrowne.com to get the first 4 chapters of Annie Clark and the Pearls of Wisdom sent to you.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (October 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434861031
• ISBN-13: 978-1434861030
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,463,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Magic, January 17, 2008

By 

Marjory Kaptanoglu - See all my reviews
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"Annie Clark and the Pearls of Wisdom" is a magical fantasy for children of all ages. The author gets us right into the story with great economy, gradually revealing Annie's back story as we move forward in action. We sympathize right away with Annie, who tries to cope with the shocking news that she is not at all who she thought she was. Browne does an excellent job conveying Annie's mixed feelings of curiosity, excitement and anxiety over the new magical world that flamboyant Grandma Rose pulls her into. The promise of a centaur ballet and hints that Annie has not been told all there is to know about her own history keep us hooked to the story. I hope I get a chance to read the rest.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Daughter and I Loved It !, January 31, 2008

By 

Dominic P. Veltri (NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Last night, my wife and almost 12 year old daughter read this together - here is their review...Neither one of us are huge fans of fantasy but we have to tell you, we were loving this story. We both found the cast of characters very easy to get to know and very entertaining. We also had several good chuckles which balanced the seriousness of the ill animal plot. When we were nearing the end and read aloud the last word, we so wanted more. Today my daughter is brining the story to school so all her friends can read it. We sure hope to get more of Annie Clark - this is a winner for all....please don't keep us waiting too long !!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More, please!, January 30, 2008

By 

L. Gilligan (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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I am a big fan of fantasy and fairy tales and this book hooked me with the first few lines. Not only is it an enjoyable read, but the excerpt also does a great job of laying the groundwork for a fun story that engagingly deals with issues often faced by young girls. The author's fluid style and imaginative descriptions make it easy to picture this new world, and I am looking forward to the promised adventures yet to come. I can't wait to read the rest of it!
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It's now a day later and I just had to come back and say that I can't stop thinking about the book. That's when I know a book is good!