Thursday 26 December 2019

Bad Order Book Review

Can a sister and her younger brother save the world from an interdimensional catastrophe?

bad-order-bb-ullman

I'm a lover of all genres of books and it seems that my eldest daughter has certainly got my taste in books because she also likes to broaden her horizons and try many types of stories. So it came as no surprise to me that when I asked her if she'd be interested in reading a book which featured aliens (so more sci-fi based) she replied with a completely certain yes.

Mary Day's life has always been different because her little brother, Albie, is different. He doesn't speak, but he can communicate with Mary via mental telepathy, sending her - and her alone - "memos."

Then one snowy day on holiday break, Albie transmits an alarming two-word message: bad order. Mary and her best friend, Brit, track the creepy vibe to a spot in the woods where a mysterious red mist seems to draw them in and turn their thoughts negative. When three extraterrestrials hilariously trying to pass as human reveal a disastrous leak in a dimensional universe, it turns out that the only person capable of repairing it is Albie.

Can he repair it before bad thoughts overtake the entire population?

Can Mary and Brit, Brit's brother Lars and Albie save the world?

And will Mary finally realize that she - like Albie - has something special inside herself?

Bad Order is the latest novel from B. B. Ullman, writer of storiesThe Fairies of Nutfolk Wood and Whistle Bright Magic.

I was immediately drawn in by the front cover. A dark, gloomy forest, which has a what seems to be a brightly burning fire in the centre of it. Four children looking set to investigate. And then there's the blurb. My initial feelings were that I wanted to know just why Albie was mute, was it selective, genetic? Just how much detail was going to be shared in this story?

Well I didn't get any time to find out the answers to my questions because my daughter kindly took the book off of my hands. 

Here are her thoughts:

Bad Order is a beautiful and interesting book with lovely characters and a cleverly written story.

I love the message it puts out and it is generally just a fun and suspenseful sci-fi book that I will definitely be reading again.

Starting off, my favourite thing about this book by far is the relationship between Mary and her brother Albie. While you can tell that they are very close because of the 'memos' and how Mary understands them; you can also see how much Mary truly cares for her sibling and wants to make sure that he is always safe.

This just adds a nice touch to the story.

Annother thing I enjoyed about the book is how the alien characters are written.

The Commodore, Citizen Lady and Med Tech Tek are all very original and don't fall head first into a common trope for out of this world characters. This I found refreshing. And as well as that, these characters become very lovable the more that you get to know them.

Finally, I was really touched by the message that Bad Order put out nearer the end of the book. I perceived it that we should be more positive and not to let bad things cloud our judgements. Positivity is spread to the world in this tale with very few words, this is a rather thoughtful way to complete a mission.

Over all science fiction fans should make the time to read this but honestly I think anyone looking for a little bit of adventure will love this book.

Bad Order is a wonderful story that I couldn't get out of my head and I highly recommend others read it too.

I highly agree with what my daughter has to say about this book.

There is a real emotional current that runs throughout the pages and I too adored the relationship between Mary and Albie.

And if you're wondering if I got the answers to my questions, well you'll just have to read Bad Order to find out for yourself!

1 comment:

  1. I love that description...emotional current.
    Thank you, Mum and daughter!
    Barb Ullman, author

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from my readers so please feel free to leave comment.