Book Reviews and More: A Right Rex Rodeo - Corinna Turner

Monday 16 May 2022

A Right Rex Rodeo - Corinna Turner - unSPARKed Book 6

A Right Rex Rodeo

unSPARKed Book 6

Corinna Turner
Unseen Books

ISBN 9781910806883

eISBN 9781910806890

ASIN B09XKK4WYL

This series keeps getting better and better. I first read a story by Turner in 2017, and read the first in this series in 2015. Since then I have read book by her a total of 52 times, and unSPARKed stories 25 of them. My son who is a reluctant reader has read most of the stories in this series more than once. The day this one released I picked up the eBook for myself and a physical copy for my son. The day it arrived he wanted to ditch the book he was on and start this right away. These are excellent stories for teens, young adults and adults. And the series keeps getting better and better!

This is another amazing story in a FANtastic series. The series currently is comprised of 6 main novels and a seventh announced. Three prequel stories, 1 yet to be published, A Mom With Blue Feathers, and a story set 59 years before the main series. Recently the original story, Drive!, and one of the prequel stories A Dino Whisperer at the Zoo, was rewritten into Please Don't Feed the Dinosaurs. Doing so Turner has merged the two main story arc’s right from the beginning. When recommending the series I often describe it as a mashup of Mad Max, Lost World, and Jurassic Park.

unSPARKed is a series set in a not-too-distant future. Dinosaurs once again roam the earth. Just because a scientist could do something, did not mean they should have done it. Most people live SPARKed, in cities with walls and electrified fences. There are two groups of people who live unSPARKed, farmers who have electric fences around their farms and live in community with their close neighbours. And Hunters who live most of the time out on the road or off road in HabVI’s Habitat Vehicles.

The description of this volume is:

“THERE AIN’T NO RODEO LIKE HUNTER RODEO!

Desperate for some clue about their father’s fate, Darryl and Harry risk attending the Midwinter Hunter Fair with Josh. But after the rodeo, bonfires, and storytelling are over, a dangerous expedition in search of answers may be their only hope. Even though it means venturing into enemy territory—alone.

Should they risk all on one last attempt—or admit defeat and flee?”

The story is told in a series of first person narrative chapters. And there is a wide range in chapter length. The breakdown is

Darryl 12

Harry 12

Joshua 7

Our main characters are:

Darryl: 16 and a half years old. Raised on a farm. Does not enjoy the city. And Harry’s big sister. Devote Catholic. Deep faith. A brave strong young woman.

Harry: Darryl’s younger brother. Eager to learn. A farm boy at heart. A youngster of faith, and strong work eithic.

Joshua: He was raised unSPARKed, lived his whole life from the day he was born in a Habitat Vehicle. He was raised by his father and uncle. Both deceased. Can’t stand being in city.

Missing from this story, other than a few mentions was Father Ben: Father Benedict was once a city priest, but trained to be a rural priest.

City folks are still hunting for the trio. At has been almost a year since they went into hiding. To try and find out what really happened to Darryl and Harry’s dad. And if possible ransom or rescue him. They decide to take a risk and attend the ‘Midwinter’ that takes place across Saint Desmond’s Day. The risks of them getting caught or worse has grown the long they have been on the run. At the Fair there is fun, games, family, friends, and a lot of surprises. Even things the farm kids thought were just rumours proved far truer than they ever expected. They also have a run in with an old enemy of Joshua’s dad’s and uncle. And that encounter sets them on a new path, which is their biggest risk yet.

In this instalment in the story focuses around what the trio’s next steps should be. They have not been able to find out anything about their dad. And the risk’s keep growing. Should they give up and head out of state? But at the Fair they get an idea, and it leads them in a completely different direction.

This is an excellent instalment in an amazing series. But you be warned you will be desperate for the next volume Fear, which is announced. This one ends on a terrible cliff hanger. These are my son’s favourite fiction books. He loves them tremendously. We have read all the previous ones at least twice together. And he gave a full set to his school library. This is another great read. I highly recommend this series, and to be honest any of the books written by Turner!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!