Land of Nubbins: The Goober Crystal {book review}

It seems like everyone is talking about graduation these days. High School and college graduations are around the corner, and Addison's girls chorus is already practicing the special Senior song for their upcoming concert. It's fun to see so many people achieving their dreams.

Yesterday, I saw a Facebook picture of a special friend here in Tucson achieving one of her life long dreams. My friend, Djuana Berlin, recently published her first book.

Land of Nubbins: The Goober Crystal is a 160 page book intended for children (but enjoyable for adults as well). 

"Adventure is the ticket when 11-year-old Billy had a run-in with his Dad's latest and craziest invention in their basement, and ends up in a strange and wondrous land -- the Land of Nubbins! With his new Nubbin friends Hazel and Filbert, Billy must face extraordinary creatures and overcome dangerous enemies as they search for a way to get him back home!" (Author's summary)

I enjoyed reading Land of Nubbins: The Goober Crystal, and I look forward to sharing it with Lauren soon. My initial readability tests showed that it's at a 3rd or 4th grade reading level, but I'm not sure if she'd prefer to read it herself or listen to it as a read-aloud. Maybe I'll just wait for the author to record it for Audible -- what a fun treat that will be!

As I read through the book, I couldn't help but think that it reminded me of the Wizard of Oz. The main character, Billy, falls into his father's latest invention and ends up in the Land of Nubbins. He then encounters various creatures and interesting lands as he makes his journey home. Later, I read Djuana's Smashwords interview where she called the Land of Nubbins "a modern day Wizard of Oz story."

Djuana Berlin's debut novel in her Land of Nubbins series is a true hit! I can't wait to see what sort of adventures Billy and his nutty friends find in her next book.

Land of Nubbins: The Goober Crystal is already available in Kindle format ($3.99) and will soon be available in more formats, including paperback, iBooks, Nook and Audible.

You can find more information about Land of Nubbins: The Goober Crystal on Facebook, Smashwords, Amazon, or the Land of Nubbins website. You can even download the first chapter for free!

Disclaimer: I received a free pdf copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, now was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

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