Carole's Wednesday Review: The Ugly teapot - Fred Holmes

Author:  Fred Holmes

Title: The Ugly Teapot (Book One - Hannah)

Genre: YA, Children's book, and Fantasy

Pages: ebook

Expected publication: March 2016

Where I Got It: My Shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Fourteen-year-old Hannah Bradbury loved her father so much that she worried about him constantly. After all, he was a photographer who traveled to the most dangerous places in the world. 

To allay her fears, each time he came home he brought her silly gifts, each one with supposed magical powers: the Seal of Solomon, the Ring of Gyges, even Aladdin’s Lamp. It was that lamp Hannah found the most unbelievable, for it looked like an ugly teapot. Nevertheless, her father assured her it was real, and made her promise to save her three wishes for something very special. 

Then . . . six months later . . . the unthinkable happened. Her father was killed while on assignment to Baghdad. And so on the day of his funeral Hannah did something she never thought she would ever do. 

She took out that teapot and gave it a rub . . .

I was immediately drawn to this book because it is unique. It is different and I needed to read to see what would happen to Hannah and her wishes.

Now, Hannah is a young girl who's father died. Through the convincing of her dog, Griff, (yes they can speak with each other telepathically - which is so cool) she decides to give the teapot/lamp a rub with a single wish in mind...to bring her Father back. Well...things happen and not how Hannah wanted them to. 

This story really does have some good moral lessons mixed in. I liked it, especially since this is intended for a younger audience. It's a good ready even for adults. It is simple and quick to read, but it was good. 

It was a little dark in some places, but not too dark where it would scare kids. It felt like those old school stories my parents would tell me when I was younger. Good stories were not everything is rainbows and kittens, because it is a story to teach you something. I think the best lesson that everyone needs to learn at a young age is that life is not fair and bad things happen. It is all about coping and moving forward.

Hannah was an interesting character. I wanted to learn more about her and her dog. They have some weird ability to communicate telepathically. It was really kinda cool and interesting. I also wanted to learn more about her dad. I did want to kick the mom. How blind can one person be? I get she is mourning her dead husband, but everything could've been avoided if she had been even remotely paying attention. 

The best part of this book was the ending. It was mind-blowing. I did NOT expect it at all. It made me a little sad especially one aspect. WHY!? So sad! 

In the end, this was good. It is a good story for adults and for young adults (I would say between 12+ personally). There are some dark parts, ridiculous parts, funny parts, and heart-felt, but it all complimented each other well and created a good story that teaches some lessons. The ending was insane and sad, but overall well done. I shall stamp this with 4 stars.