Lisa Star and the Solstice Academy [Kindle Edition]

R. Hunter Gough (Author)

Book Description

Mona Lisa Starkey had always been good at finding shortcuts. But when she accidentally walked from Albuquerque to New York City in an afternoon, she attracted the attention of the Solstice Academy, a special school for children who can do things they shouldn't be able to.

During her first year at the academy she finds adventure, friendship, romance, and betrayal, in the most unexpected of places.

Product Details

• File Size: 194 KB
• Print Length: 170 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004Q9TCO6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,527 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars super fun, light read March 30, 2011

By Jynna

Amazon Verified Purchase

I really loved this story! Not a terribly long read, about 2-3 hours, but I found myself very engaged for the entire story, definitely worth the .99 price.

There were a few overtones of Harry Potter i.e. magic school, live in dorms, a lot of references to 1st year, 2nd year etc, small village not to far away, however, have to live somewhere when you go away to school and the worlds were really nothing alike character wise.

I did figure out the "bad guy" fairly early on. There are some subtle themes of what constitutes a free society, prejudice that could lead to great discussions with your kids.

I would rate this for 10 and older based on a little bit of scarey (a vampire like creature), a little bit of violence (a fight scene and a death that is not described) and a little bit of k-i-s-s-i-n-g :)

I hope the author continues the story of Lisa Star, I really enjoyed visiting her world and the interesting characters that lived in it.

I did find a few spelling errors and the writing could have been a little tighter but over all great job on the editing

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth the price and the hour it takes to read March 29, 2011

By Sarah TX

Amazon Verified Purchase

We all have some ability that we feel sets us apart from our friends - we can find the shortest way through LA traffic, or locate lost items that our friends overlooked. Now imagine that for a select few, this was a sign of deeper magic - magic that is weak in our dimension but strong in others. And these few are gathered from all the dimensions to learn to harness their powers at a magical high school. This is the premise of the universe in Lisa Star and the Solstice Academy - a premise that is similar to many great works of fantasy and science fiction (Harry Potter being the the most famous and most recent).

It would be a stretch to call Lisa Star a great work of fiction - the prose is serviceable at best and often in need of pruning. But for the price it is a pleasurable trip to the sort of fantasy world that I would have loved as a young teenager. The relationships between the teenage protagonists are very believable, and the magical system is both innovative and interesting (and thankfully not overexplained). I found myself becoming very curious about the alternate universes revealed throughout the book, and pinging with recognition at the various fantasy novels either explicitly or implicitly referenced by the author.

In summary: It's not great art, but it's not too bad. There are no obvious spelling/grammar errors, which is more than I can say about some eBooks. If the author ever gets around to writing the further adventures of Lisa Star, I'd probably pick that one up too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it November 2, 2012

By Paige Seduction

I loved the characters and keep checking for a second book in the series. Great mix of adventure and romance. I was engaged the whole story and couldn't put it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Until the End August 22, 2012

By FoxGlove

*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Good:
Interesting premise, great description of magic/worlds/the Solstice Academy's society. Some innovative magic devices and ideas. I would definitely keep reading this series.
The Bad:
I wish the last quarter of the book had been different. Lisa's relationship with Wally took away from her friendship with him, which I wanted to see stay a friendship. The ending came out of left field, the hints given all near the end and the villain had a weakly explored reason. Why she didn't give her real name was never explained (also wouldn't they know that to begin with at the Academy?). Neither was why she hated her mother so much. Also Lisa's character isn't really developed as much as I would like to see.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great! July 30, 2012

By Rebecca L. King

Amazon Verified Purchase

Great story for a great price. It has good character development and plot. I hope a sequel is coming soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read. June 7, 2012

By Becca Riley

Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book very much. I'll buy all the rest of the books when they come out. I'd say that this book is good for children from about 9 years and older. Like most of the other reviewers I could see the similarities with the Harry Potter books, in that there's a teen with powers she doesn't understand, she gets an invite to go to a magical school to learn magic, and has adventures with her friends while she's there. However I feel that this book at least is quite a bit less dark, and Lisa doesn't have an arch enemy she will face every year. The characters are believable, they sound and act like young teens. The story is fun, with interesting bits about magic, philosophy, and the meaning of friendship.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a Pre-teen! December 26, 2011

By sandawana56

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a really imaginative story that is great for ages pre-teen and upwards. A little like Harry Potter in that students attend a school of magic and face danger but that is where the similarity ends. The story is about students with magical ability who come from both magic and non-magic worlds or fragments of worlds. The students are not all human. One of the most interesting aspects of the book was how different the worlds and fragments of worlds were and how differently time moves at the Solstice Academy versus time on the various worlds. The type of magic the children have is really interesting too. Some of the magic includes the ability to traverse large distances on a world or between worlds very quickly, the ability to conjure spells for later use, and the ability to pull anything they need or want out of thin air. The kids also face the typical romantic problems teens experience plus have to take a stand on social issues. Well worth a read if you enjoy fantasy. Looking forward to additional books in the series.