Customer Reviews

Tina Talinka's Travels, Vol. 1

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tina Talinka's Travels is truly a wonderful book. It is a fascinating story about a pre-teen, Tina. Tina's adventure begins when she sees an artifact in the water, and "Handy", her "helper" helps her to reach it. The artifact has magical powers, and that's where Tina starts to learn about her task -- to save people, while trying not to get herself or her best friend Dennis killed either. From the moment I started reading it, I knew it was going to be good, and couldn't put the book down. Before I knew it, I was done with the book and now I can't wait for his second one to come out. It has a good sense of humor about it, but also gives several real life facts about history. The story is very fast-moving, and has some real adventures and takes you to many wonderful places around the world. Mike Moulton really has the ability to make books realistic but fun, and makes you feel like you are actually witnessing what's happening in the book!

If you liked Harry Potter's magic, you will love Tina Talinka's adventures! I highly recommend this book to kids 10-20 years of age or to anyone ready for a high flying adventure (my parents loved it, too!).

I have a voracious appetite for all things fantasy, and recently I was introduced to Tina Tralinka's Travels by Michael Moulton. The book is an historical fantsy set in Europe and follows the adventures of a young teenage female with an ability to time-travel. The book was well-written with an interesting sense of humor that is well-suited to a pre-teen/teenage audience (and to me as well). The setting for the stories include places of historical interest and significance. However, to me, the best aspect of these stories is that they are written from the perspective of a female heroine. Michael Moulton is able to realistically capture the thoughts and emotions of an adolescent girl without being superficial or condescending. I heartily recommend this book

The Travels of Tina Talinka was a highly enjoyable read. The story of teenage Tina and her trusty sidekick Dennis is a fast-paced mystery-adventure that effortlessly incorporates history, magic and mysticism. Moulton has crafted a terrific novel that mixes the best elements of Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Nancy Drew with an interesting story, engrossing characters and an offbeat sense of humor. Furthermore, Tina Talinka is a wonderful heroine that is both intelligent and savvy while maintaining a sensitivity towards others that makes her a realistic character that is easy to identify with. Ultimately, it is this vulnerability that compels the reader to surrender willingly and whole-heartedly to her story. I strongly recommend this book to all that enjoy a good page-turner, because this one delivers. I eagerly await the next installment of this series.

TINA TALINKA AND THE KNIGHTS OF SACRIFICE

Tina Talinka lives in Florida, NMK (north of the Magic Kingdom), with her archaeologist mom. Tina and her friend, Dennis, like to wander through old riverbeds after it rains, just to see what kind of cool treasures the water can stir up (arrowheads, sharks teeth, etc.). Which is exactly what they are doing when Tina feels the invisible hand for the first time. It pulls her into an especially deep pool, and guides her to a strange object. Tina and Dennis are pretty sure this might be something much bigger than an arrowhead, so they take the object to Tina's mom.

It turns out that they've found a scepter, with engravings in Italian!

Tina's mom can't figure out exactly what it says, so she contacts a friend in Florence. Before anyone has time to think, Tina, Dennis, and Tina's mom are off to Italy!

Florence is a place where modern life and ancient architecture make it seem like the past and the present seem to overlap. Unless you're Tina and Dennis. Then past and present literally fall together. When Tina keeps a strange looking boy, who no one else seems to notice, from being run over by a cart, she sets in motion an almost unbelievable turn of events. Events that will affect the past as well as the present. Tina knows that nothing will ever be the same, but as long as her invisible hand friend is there to guide them everything should be fine, right?

In addition to a fantastic adventure, this is a reading tour through Florence (past and present), and a lesson in Italian art. Tina is a strong female character who struggles to make sense of the places she finds herself, and the effects she can have on the world and history. Her mom is great as an unsuspecting pawn of sorts. All in all this is a really fun story with many, many layers. And it made me really want to go to Italy.



TINA TALINKA AND THE ECHO OF ALLOHOM

Tina is back, but this time she and her mom are living in England, thanks to a fellowship from the London Museum of Archeology. Wasting time before her math help session, Tina wanders around the school library and encounters her invisible friend. When the words in the book she's reading start rearranging themselves into cryptic messages, a book that mysteriously fell off of the shelf, Tina knows something is about to happen.

After an eventful few moments on a train platform, Tina gets home to find out that she'll be making a surprise trip to France! An archaeological dig there has uncovered something that is incredibly similar to the scepter Tina found previously. They want Tina's mom to look at it, and Tina, along with surprise visitor Dennis, will be going along. Tina has a feeling that these aren't all just amazing coincidences. There must be more going on here than meets the eye.

Once they get to the dig site it's obvious that Tina was right. Once again the past and present start to fold together. This time, though, they aren't the only ones who seem to be jumping around in time. Tina would feel much better if her invisible friend would come back. Where did he go? And why is the man who tried to get rid of them last time helping them now?

Tina's adventures get more complicated in this story, and the writing just gets better. Tina is much more engrossing and Dennis is a greater participant. History lessons, logic problems, and more time travel abound. The more Tina learns about herself and her abilities, the stronger both become. It's a good thing to be a part of. This series grows on me more and more as I read each story. I really hope that Mr. Moulton keeps us connected with Tina and Dennis.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

The author is a friend of mine, so I didn't want to just heap praise on him because of that. I read the book and really liked it, but I also bought a couple of copies of the book and gave it to some experts in the field of fiction for young adults. Here are their comments.

"So, the book was very good. I liked all of the pictures in it, because they gave you a good idea of where the book was taking place. Out of both the books, I liked the first one more, because it was very exciting. I also liked how the people that Tina meets in the book come back at all different times. The other book was also good, because I talked about all of these different places, so you could learn about certain buildings, and other places. You really have to take your time when reading this book to comprehend all of the information. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, and family. -Angie (age 12)."

"I thought the book was definitely a page turner. It made you wonder what was going to happen next. It was also very descriptive about the setting of the book. I also thought that Tina was like an average girl except for the fact that she goes on amazing adventures. I enjoyed the book very much. I think it's very realistic. - Chelsey (Age 13)."

Moulton's novel was a great read that was super interesting! The stories of Tina and her adventures took the reader to some very exciting places that Moulton articulately described, providing the reader with great pictures and additional historical descriptions. The mystical theme offers a story that captures and retains the reader's attention throughout the entire novel. Not only is it a young adult novel, but it is suitable for all ages and anyone ready for a thought provoking plot that also establishes entertainment. Can't wait for the next one to come out! For anyone that appreciated Harry Potter or enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia, this is a must read and should be at the top of your to do list.