Customer Reviews

Karen Kimball & the Dream Weaver's Web

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Cynthia Sue Larson tells us that she wrote the kind of book that she always wanted to read growing up, but wasn't available. It combines the mystery of a Nancy Drew with the metaphysical daring-do of a Harry Potter book---all into one. And it succeeds. This book would make a good movie for kids of all ages.

Karen Kimball, "the odd girl" in a family of boys, has been living in the isolated world of what many of us would term the outsider or weird one in the family. They often don't realize the extent of their powers to transform their family unit into something more loving or sublime, and are often resented by the rest of the family. While the family unit is usually unconsciously aware of the different one's ability to shake up the status quo, there is enough awareness to understand that the strange one in the house is the one who is the catalyst.

Any yet, the "strange" Karen Kimball is beginning to be the norm in so many families as we shift our collective energies on the earth to a higher octave, or two! The abilities she effortlessly wields are skills all of us are capable of, were we to (1) keep an open, unlimited mindset, and (2) be in a state of unconditional love as much as possible.

Karen is the new earthly prototype--the merge of the spiritual human being. She combines spirit and matter, and she is the human of the future, capable of yielding spiritual power in an earthly lifetime, never losing a sense of her humanity. Yes, she has all the angst of the teenager in transition, trying to discover how she fits into this crazy world. She grows through her stretch into a new environment (the summer camp and surrounding areas), and uses her newly mastered abilities to solve a mystery. But it doesn't really matter how and where she does it---she will be put into situations wherein she can discover who she really is, as she begins to meet others such as herself.

As a reviewer of the book, I find Karen the most interesting character, other than her male rat named Gumdrop. I have a great love for pet rats; it is so great to see one portrayed positively in a story.

Recommended for "children" of all ages.

Karen Kimball & the Dream Weaver's Web is an amazing little book, a primer on spirit, magic, and human potential woven into a many-layered mystery story about a ten year old girl--the very age when so many women later in life remember that they gave up their life dreams. Astral travel, spirit friends and foes, indigenous knowledge, telepathic communication--most children hide and then, to their peril, forget such gifts and potentials and so distort their lives. Instead, this heroine not only discovers but develops these abilities and puts them to use to solve everyday problems and even save lives. The special insight the book brings is the naturalness and appropriateness of integrating these skill sets along with more generally recognized skills such as swimming, making friends, and resolving conflict. The description of the dream weaver's web alone is worth the price of the book! I wish I had read this book when I was ten years old, but I'm glad to have found it now. We are more than we know, and children deserve the validation of their lives and experiences that his book offers.

What a wonderful book! As far as I am concerned, there's nothing quite like a good story well told. In Karen Kimball & the Dream Weaver's Web, Cynthia Sue Larson has given us just that.

Karen Kimball is the protagonist in a story that explores the psychic and emotional tensions experienced by young people as they begin their transition from childhood to young adulthood. Larson's book opens with the less than joyful home life of Karen Kimball - a young girl surrounded by two self-absorbed brothers, a conflicted father and a mother trapped between all sides

This is a truly uplifting story that lends itself very well to the coming-of-age genre of young adult fiction. It is quite easy for the reader to envision our young protagonist moving through many, many other adventures in subsequent volumes of a Karen Kimball series. I can also easily envision a made-for-TV after school special that tells this excellent tale. Both of my daughters and I look forward anxiously to the next release!

--- Reviewed by
Timothy E. McMahon, M.S.
Executive Editor
Northeast Book Reviews
tim_mcmahon@northeastbookreviews.com

I am in awe of the magic in this book...in love with it, in fact. WOW...If you would like to feel what it is to consciously fly, to transport yourself around time and space without others knowing that you are then read this book. It will leave you with a taste of a magical wonder that you can carry with you whether you are 13 years old or 103. Karen Kimball is suppossed to be a fictional book, at least it is classified as such, BUT it is as real as you and I!!! Fly away in your dreams, and if you dare allow your soul to take you there today.

Let the magic of life trasport you beyond the everyday.

The story of Karen Kimball is wonderful to say the very least. What I really got pleasure from was the way the author described how a young girl attempts to fit into a world where she is not ever totally accepted. Her parents have their favorites in her brothers and she seems to be the odd child out. Still, instead of falling into a world of pity, she accepts what is given and looses herself in her solitude. This very atmosphere of seclusion in her own little world permits her to explore her distinctive psychic abilities as they constantly make themselves visible to her ever-wondering mind. With time, she learns to come to terms with them as she is confronted with a treacherous mystery in Lake Lovell while attending a swim camp that she really did not want to initially go to. Karen is never completely confident in what is occurring around her, yet she is not quite ready to ever back away from what confronts her.

The main story line is great and begs for more sequels about further adventures of Karen as we can play witness to her mastering her abilities through more escapades. However, what I enjoyed most was the very way that this book can teach young and old alike the lesson of how parents and their children seem to disconnect from each other without ever realizing it. It happens so often and, while not overly dramatic, Cynthia Larson covered this ground wonderfully. It will make children and parents want to reevaluate their own relationships with one another. I can only hope that she will be encouraged to write more adventures of this young lady for her readers.

This action filled and suspenseful novel tells of teenage Karen, who doesn't have it easy as the only girl among brothers.

Karen Kimball's course is never really smooth, and she lets us know what it's like to feel all that, and how she finds ways to cope with those feelings and diffuculties to some degree through the paranormal, and in other ways through her common sense, which develops as she grows.

Going to swim camp is a real challenge and an opportunity to Karen, who feels a bit awkward and shy among other people. The good thing is that she learns to cope and makes friends with a few kids, but then she walks headlong into some problems to work out with others. Karen gradually gains confidence and learns to search deep within herself for answers to her predicaments. These answers, like some of her experiences, are quite startling, and exciting.

Rather than using gimmics that are comfortably fanciful, as some authors do, Cynthia Larson uses actual folklore, and lucid dreaming, to bring us along through this tale to a surprising climax.

Some of the other characters introduced here will probably return in future episodes, because they are age old powerful representatives of good and evil, and they give strong examples of honesty, integrity, and love, which are good virtues for building character.

One unusual way this book stood out for me is the amount of palpable tension and suspense it generated due to the fact that these characters are very human, and may not do what many readers would instantly know to be logical or best at times. I kept on wondering when they would act on a situation, but the people in this book are true to their nature, and not hasty. That in itself keeps the tension mounting all the way through.

I found I had to finish it, then I wished it was longer.

I strongly reccomend this book for children of all ages.

Karen Kimball and the Dream Weaver's Web is a wonderful story and perfect as an "old Time Primer". Reading between the lines, children as well as adults can gain great insight into understanding and remembering our real human potential. So looking forward to the next book in what I hope is a long series!

I would recommend this book for those of you who would like your kids to realize much more is possible beyond the conservative world view. Do your kids have "psychic" experiences or questions about the metaphysical? Do they wonder if some things shrouded in fantasy or mythology could actually be real? Do they wonder what is real? This book is a great read for creative, imaginative kids to relate to. Where fantasy ends and possiblity begins is for you to decide. There is a lot of truth mixed in. It is an evocative book that might encourage children to share experiences with their parents. Make a bond - read it together.

Cynthia Sue Larson has created a preteen world filled with issues that every middle schooler can relate to: not-always-nice siblings, distracted parents, making good friends, feeling different (for very good reason!), learning new skills--some of them EXTRA-sensory-special, and trying to fit in.

Main character Karen Kimball deals with all of the above with fear, aplomb, strength, and ultimately, loving guardians along the way as she solves a lakeside mystery during her month long stay at swimming camp.

As an adult, I was caught up in this narrative; as a teacher, I believe that middle schoolers would also find it fascinating.

A great read with timeless, timely, uplifting values woven throughout the story.

Meet Karen Kimball and her sidekick Gumdrop. Karen is a 10-year-old girl whose summer is soon to be filled with much in the way of growth, both physically and spiritually and as awkward as it is for anyone to learn to ride a bike, so to is it in learning how to harness the mental powers that most people easily disregard.

Forced to finally learn how to swim, Karen is off to summer camp where her days are spent hanging out with friends and learning new things. If it weren't for the constant nagging of a supposed evil in the water, all would be well. But this doesn't stop Karen, and with the help and support of those around her, she comes face to face with her fears and ends up the hero for it, saving all at Lake Lovell from certain doom.

This book took me instantly back to the days of reading Carlos Castaneda and trying to understand what is out there in the universe and how best to try to connect with it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an initial introduction to some ideas surrounding spiritual capacity, or anyone just looking for a great middle grade adventure to read.