- Title:
- Two Moons: Memories from a World with One
- Author:
- RE Johnston
- Release:
- July 19, 2018
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Daniel Jones
- Series
- Echoes of Past Lives Book 1
The content of this book is all over the place. Amazon says the age rating is “12 – 18 years” or grades 7 – 9, about 12 – 14 if memory serves correctly. At times, it feels as if it’s intended for a slightly older audience, around the age of 15, and other times, it feels as if it’s written for 9 – 11-year-olds.
After listening for a while and checking the timer, I seen that I was 2 hours in; about 1/3 of the way through. The book was putting me to sleep. Not because of the intended age of the readers, I quite enjoy the concept of people being reincarnated on an Earth-like planet. Nothing ever happens. They’re just standing there and talking, though it’s rarely ever anything of note.
With lines like “Jay doesn’t have a girlfriend, but if he did, it would be her.” and the constant chatter about videogames, explosives, etc. The main characters are all boys and the girls are just desired girlfriends or moody, it’s clear this novel is intended for young boys. But the exact age range as I said before, is all over the place.
Early on, the characters learn that despite our perceived differences, we’re all just people. That government and religious institutions are easily corrupted and cannot be trusted. I have no objection here, other than to say that the author goes too softly on them because of the intended age range. But I bring this up because of the lack of subtlety or nuance. The book just bangs you over the head with the message instead of letting the readers learn that on their own.
My very first impression of the narrator was how amateur he sounded. When I heard his reading of the title, followed by the intro, I burst out laughing. His tone will randomly change every other word, up and down. Other times he’ll pause for half a second between words, which makes his reading sound stilted. His character voices are just awful and inconsistent.
I think it’s an interesting concept that falls flat. The writing is all over the place, as is the audio narration. Maybe a younger audience would be more forgiving; however, I’ve read enough stories that are either for a younger audience or kid-friendly that do a better job. Even if I was a kid in this age range, I’d feel as if I was being talked down to.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.