Joanna Vaught's Reviews > Summerland

name a writing gimmick that is used in fantasy, particularly young adult fantasy, and i'm sure it was employed here. an alternate reality that is tied to our reality that explains all the mythological and fantastical characters in our collective mythos? yes. time works differently in this world, so you can be there and be gone for a lifetime or only a few minutes or SHOCK even go back in time? yes. a powerful nemesis who is actually the embodiment of every known evil since the beginning of time, including satan? yes. kids who suspect that they are special and then they turn out to be not only special but extremely important in the saving OF THE WORLD? yes. kids who are bullied in school and turn out to be the biggest heroes of them all? YES. i spent the whole book thinking: "oh i see what you're doing here, michael," and i would have forgiven it if he'd done any of it particularly well, but he didn't. i didn't care about any of the characters, and the bits i did like a lot (they existed!) were so overshadowed by the bits i hated that it all evened out to mediocrity.