Tuesday's -Late- Novel Spotlight (3) - Leonor's Edition

Hey Everyone, my name is Leonor and you are all probably wondering why am I doing the Tuesday Novel Spotlight and more importantly why I'm doing it on a Wednesday, well it's actually Thursday for me because I'm in Portugal, time differences...sheesh. Well long-story-short...I bail Michael out sometimes! Today I shall be talking about a book (that although I consider an easy read) has been a favorite of mine for a few years now.

Ladies and Gents, I present to you "Welcome to the ARK" by Stephanie S. Tolan. *Hears Applause in the Background*

I probably read "Welcome to Ark" back when I was in the 7th grade and I remember instantly falling in love. I think one of the great things I loved about this book, and believe me I was bit cautious at first because I wasn't sure if I'd like this, was the author's ability to switch from first person to third. Now this might seem weird, confusing and out of place but Tolan really manages to nail it. She gets her story across clearly switching easily and fluently between the story she's telling, the emails sent, the reports written and the diaries of the characters involved.

"When you disappeared from the lodge I thought you'd gone home.
No such luck. Did you miss me?
It's lonely at midnight in the nuthouse, remember?
I remember.
So tell me what this group home is all about.
I don't know much yet, except that we are supposed to be a family.
Anyway, it's better here than at the lodge.
I still have my ankle bracelet.
It's still a nuthouse.
(Excerpt taken from Cover)

"In a world of terrorist attacks, random bombings and multiplying militias..."
Welcome to the ark revolves around four misfit youngsters, Taryn is a poetry prodigy labeled schizophrenic and is a healer who is able to communicate with other life forms. Elijah an "autistic" child hears the growl of violence when it happens around him. Miranda, is a world-known baby genius known mostly from her mother's best-selling book "Phenom in the Family", and finally Doug a math whiz that turns the violence he sees in his family against himself.

The four are sent to a Private mental hospital labeled "the Lodge" and are then picked by two of the psychologists there, Noah and Abigail. Together they are thrown into a house they dub "the Ark" and learn about themselves, the link between their minds and their supposed "powers". Together they learn to communicate with other 'misfit children' around the world. As they begin to learn the real power of their connection they realize that there is great hope for the world and danger.

Not only must these four learn if they are strong enough to stop the violence that is engulfing the world they must also fight against forces inside their own sanctuary (the lodge/ark) that are threatening to break their connection.

"Doug understood the world, all right. It was a place where guns won out over knives and knives over tire irons and tire irons over fists and fists over minds. You could accept that and find a place there, or you could let it roll over you, take you out. Noah had asked him what he'd been feeling the night he'd done it. He'd had the right answer, but it wasn't pain. Rage."
(Excerpt taken from book)

I absolutely loved this book, I think the author works the story so well that she keeps you gripped to the end. It's a small book, won't take more than a few days to read it. I read it in a day...a very long boring summer day. -___-

Still I think the book really gets you thinking, about issues going on in the world and what the power of our minds can do (whether realistically or in this fictional connection shown in the book).

Now what really got to me was that after I read this book I went to search for more things on the author and I found this excerpt, I have it written down on a paper inside my book, because I thought it was amazing!

"Welcome to the Ark is a work of fiction and Miranda, Doug, Elijah, and Taryn are invented characters. However, they are based on real people. In working with a group of extremely bright children, I was able to observe the sort of "thinking together" that the children of the Ark begin to do. I know someone who is able to "read" a book merely by holding it in her hands. I can't explain these abilities, but like Noah and Abigail, I know because of my own experience that they exist." Copyright 1997 by Stephanie S. Tolan

So my question is, have any of you read this book or any other book my Stephanie Tolan? What do you think about the power of our mind and if you think we can use it to rid world of violence and create a better living.

Till next time Kiddos!
xoxo
Lee