Book Review – Journey to the Hopewell Star by Hannah D. State

Series: 

Book: 1

Review by d c mallory

So just to set the record straight, I typically do not read YA books. It’s not that I feel that I am too good to read them, or that I feel that a YA book is less than any other type of work. My reasoning is that as I grow older – and I am growing older by the day – I am looking for books that scream at me from my darker side. It’s not a cop-out, it’s just the way I am.

What allowed this book to sneak past my dark-side shields? The answer is two-fold. One, as I’ve said in other reviews, I’m a cover man. I fly through lists of books and I base my decision to buy a book to read based on a cover – yes, it doesn’t speak highly of my thought process, but it is what it is. Second, I know the author – Hannah D. State – took some writing classes from Cary Caffrey; I don’t know either Hannah or Cary personally, but I loved the “Girls of Alcyone” series written by Cary Caffrey so I thought what the hey.

The cover of Journey to the Hopewell Star depicts a young girl holding what could be the earth in her hands. Shortly after starting the book, we find out that this item is really a Klug, but without any background on the story or the plot, one can imagine that the girl is destined to control the fate of the earth. That’s really not too far from the truth.

Our heroine, Samantha Sanderson, is a twelve-year-old girl who is living with her Grandfather. Her parents, who are both notable in the field of Science, have been away on a special mission for the country, and are not to be expected for some time. The house where Sam – short for Samantha – and her Grandfather is living is part of a small farm, where Sam is homeschooled. Because of this Sam has not had a lot of experience dealing with others, whether her own age or not.

On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Sam has run out to the barn looking for her small dog. What she finds in the barn is a boy who seems to be around her age and is bringing a trunk filled with gifts to Sam from her parents; they were not able to attend her birthday in person but did not want Sam to think they had forgotten about her. In the trunks, among many different items the parents had put in the trunk, were two items that were destined to change her life forever.

One of the items was a book from her father, “The Mind Traveler’s Teachings.” The other item was a small device which Boj – the boy bringing the gifts to Sam – referred to as a Klug. It turns out that the Klug features Wormhole technology which would allow Sam to travel to distant planets.

By utilizing the Klug, Sam can return Boj to his own planet and then find out about an old prophecy that has dire meanings where Sam is concerned. The prophecy states that she is the one person who can save not only the planet of Kryg but also save the earth before either one is destroyed by the pollution that is rapidly turning both planets foul.

When Sam returns to Earth to work out how to save the planets by finding the Hopewell Star, she feels unbelievable pressure from this huge task. How is one small girl going to be able to save not only the Earth but Kryg as well, from the plight that is threatening both planets?

Fortunately for Sam, her grandfather feels she needs to be around other children her own age, so the farm is sold and a house is bought in a small subdivision. It is while living here that Sam finds friends who are smart enough and loyal to her and who work with Sam to help her through her task. Throw in a nasty villain and some other Klug travelers into the mix, and you have all the elements needed to come up with a fantastic tale of people working together towards a common goal.

So to wrap things up, you have an old man reading a Young Adult book about a Special Pre-teen who has an impossible mission dumped on her, a group of loyal friends to help her along, and a cast of villains who would not hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. In addition, Sam suffers from a lack of knowledge on how she can find this Hopewell Star, and how to defeat a villain who is both cold and nasty enough to do whatever he must to get the Hopewell Star for himself all the while not caring if he dooms both planets to death.

I gave this book four out of five stars. It is written well, has enough action and plot twists mixed in with the main storyline to keep the reader interested in what is going on, and even though it is a Young Adult book, it has a lot to offer to readers of all ages. I would not be surprised if Hannah does not follow this on with other books set in the same world.