Lion: The Five Ancestors Out of the Ashes, Book 2
Exciting saga of magic, martial arts, bike racing continues.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Lion is the second book of popular author Jeff Stone's series that brings his 17th century Five Ancestors characters and conflicts into today's world. It offers a tasty mix of bike racing, ancient Chinese mythology, kung fu, and teen life that will prove irresistible even to reluctant readers. Picking up where the first volume, Phoenix, left off, it's told from the point of view of Ryan Vanderhausen, who's dealing with the aftermath of his evil uncle's efforts in Book 1 to drug him into athletic perfection with a mysterious ancient substance called dragon bone. With the aid of Phoenix's grandfather, one of the centuries-old Five Ancestors, Ryan's trying to eliminate the substance from his system. The suspenseful page-turner has many positive messages about friendship, loyalty, creative thinking, doing the right thing, and the unexpected importance of everyone's talents. Violence, while mostly cartoonish, is often vivid: The kids witness or experience some violence and hear about lots more, including murders by substance-induced heart attacks, hand-to-hand combat, and gunfire; plus kidnappings, blackmail, and a few bicycle crashes.
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What's the Story?
In the wake of the events in Phoenix, teen bike racing ace Ryan Vanderhausen's recovering from his evil uncle's doping efforts but struggling to rid his system of the magical dragon's bone. His fellow bikers Phoenix, Jake, and (visiting from China) Hú Dié, are helping with moral support and lots of riding. His mom decides to help the effort along by sending all four of them to train with her brother, a famous coach who was a noted racer himself till he lost the use of his legs in an accident. But while the kids are improving their form and stamina on the hills of Carmel, bad guys are bent on securing dragon bone for themselves, and won't hesitate to kill to get it. A few bad guys from Book 1 are still in the picture, some new and scary ones are getting into the act. As the action-packed tale continues, the teens witness murders and abductions, are kidnapped themselves, and have adventures in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Is It Any Good?
Author Jeff Stone has achieved much success with his exciting, page-turning epics that draw even reluctant readers into the adventure, and LION follows in that tradition. The characters are appealing, with distinct personalities that get a good chance to develop further in this installment -- as does the creative mix of martial arts, mythology, and bicycle racing.
Parents might want to check whether the book's plentiful, mostly cartoonish violence is too much for their particular kid, but in general, Lion's a well-crafted, compelling tale with many positive lessons about friendship, teamwork, perseverance, and trying to do the right thing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the issue of doping in sports, whether by steroids or dragon bone. Does Lion give you any insight into athletes' struggles with this issue?
Life changes for the teens when a blogger posts a photo of them online. Has this happened to you? How do you deal with the balancing act between passing along cool stuff and respecting people's privacy?
Does the exciting action in Northern California, particularly San Francisco, make you think you might like to visit those places?
Book Details
- Author: Jeff Stone
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Sports and Martial Arts, Adventures, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Random House
- Publication date: September 24, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 240
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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For kids who love magic and martial arts
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