Book reviews Part 5

The 5th book that I have finished reading is known as Colossus written by Lesley Howarth. It is not as gripping as the other books that I have read. But it is still exciting enough to keep you reading. The main character is Nathan.

It begins with a storyteller telling two children, Sam and Ali, about a lucky magical trinket which is a small Colossus. A boy called Nathan finds it. With it, Nathan can do things which he could not normally do. For example, he can speak without stuttering. He looses Colossus but, with the help of a boy called Stefan and some luck, he finds it. Nathan, with much encouragement from Stefan, jumps off a diving rock and swims across a bay. He drops Colossus along the way. He returns with his sister, Lennie, to snorkel and look for Colossus. They fail to find Colossus. Later, Nathan goes parascending (funded by Stefan), spots Colossus and retrieves it. After that, Nathan finds that he does not need Colossus any more and throws it back into the forest where he originally found it. Nathan discovers that Stefan is actually the ghost of the old king of the town, Kalamoulos. Kalamoulos fights with his brother, Aretes, for the throne and they decide to take three tests. During the second test, Aretes drowns while swimming across the bay. Stefan sees Nathan as an embodiment of Aretes and asks for forgiveness. Nathan forgives Stefan. Nathan later finds out that he had a twin brother that died upon birth. At the end, the storyteller reveals himself to be Nathan.

Nathan is a character that is caring but moody at times when he is stressed. At first, he lacks confidence but later learns to believe in himself. He does not like adventure to begin with, but in the end, he longs for it. He can also be a bit impulsive at times. Nathan has a great imagination and can recreate scenes in his mind clearly.

The character Lennie is also quite imaginative. She argues with her brother initially but at the end of the book, they patch up and grow closer. She can take care of herself quite well and is slightly a tomboy.