Book Review: Scrap by Emory Sharplin

Title: Scrap
Author: Emory Sharplin
Pages: 350
Publisher: Green Leaf Book Group
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, adventure, action
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: 5/17/2013
Rating: 3.5/5

In this new magical book, Emory Sharplin writes a story of a young girl who finds the truth of her past, and what is to be of her future.

Tucker Scrap never thought she was anything but an orphan breaking the laws of the evil king. But when a mysterious girl comes to take Tucker away, things are far from ordinary. This young heroine must quickly put together the pieces of her unknown past if she has any hope of claiming her birthright and defeating the king.

The ruler of the kingdom – King Ibis - has been terrorizing his people for centuries with his magical powers. Hunting for one girl who can make or break his world, the king stops at no costs to find this special, unknown girl. Tucker is now realizing the key role she plays in the fate of the kingdom. Only she can decide what will be the fate of her beloved kingdom. But will she make the right choice?

My favorite character in this book is Tucker Scrap. Being pushed into a completely different scene is hard, but this character takes it in stride, neatly accepting the new life that is hers. Tucker slowly realizes that her past was not what it seemed, and that it was a key part of a long chain of events. Along with her new friends, Tucker must fight for what she believes is right to save friends, family and herself.

When I first looked at the plot summary of “Scrap” my hopes weren’t very high. But, it was after I was completely immersed in Tucker’s world did I realize that this book is one that teenagers of all ages will love to read. When realizing that Tucker was quite young - 13 years of age - I immediately felt that she was too much of a child to be dealing with all of this action, romance and adventure. But as the story progressed, I realized that it only made this book more unique. Having a young girl’s input was refreshing after reading countless novels in which all of the main characters are boys or girls in their late teens.

While this was a good book, I felt that at times the story went too fast. In some parts, there wasn’t enough time to digest what was happening before the story continued. This was truly a hindrance, making me have to go back and read over the text to interpret it more carefully to get all of the details. Another big flaw this book had was its ending. It was one nobody could have ever seen coming, but it was too abrupt; a real cliffhanger. While I hopefully have a sequel to look forward to, I can’t help but regret that there wasn’t a bigger explanation before the book ended.

In the end, Sharplin has written a book that readers will thoroughly enjoy. Read “Scrap” and join Tucker and her friends on an adventure to find the truth of the past. I recommend this book to pre-teens and teenagers. Other books like this is the Hex Hall Series by Rachel Hawkins and The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima.