The Wizenard Series: Training Camp
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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 The Wizenard Series: Training Camp is the first volume of a fantasy series created by Kobe Bryant and written by Wesley King. It presents two weeks of supernatural basketball training camp, with the same scenes viewed from five different points of view. Lessons about courage, compassion, and empathy are delivered through action scenes, proverbs, and conversation. The only violence is some minor on-court pushing. There's no swearing, sex, or substance use.
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What's the Story?
At the start of THE WIZENARD SERIES: TRAINING CAMP, the West Bottom Badgers -- the worst team in the inner-city league -- gather to meet their new coach, Rolabi Wizenard, a mysterious figure who somehow mixes basketball with magic. The boys must complete a series of physical, psychological, and emotional challenges, including facing off against a tiger, playing with one hand seemingly chopped off, and defending a medieval castle. As they complete these supernatural puzzles, the boys improve as a team and learn that playing the game is more than just winning or losing. As camp comes to an end, they will have to depend on each other and their newly discovered talents to prosper in the regular season.
Is It Any Good?
This awkward combination of sports action and supernatural shenanigans doesn't really reward readers who stick it out for 600 pages. Author Wesley King knows how to construct a suspenseful scene, but when each scene is repeated another four times from different perspectives, some readers might justifiably lose patience. The platitudinous dialogue, the lack of a compelling villain, and the absence of any major female characters don't help, either.
Although the advice dispensed by the mysterious Rolabi makes some worthwhile points, the stilted conversations between the coach and the kids grow tedious. The Wizenard Series: Training Camp ends with no sense of resolution or even expectation. But surely another book is on the way.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Wizenard Series: Training Camp tells the same story from five different perspectives. How can five people witness the same event and have conflicting interpretations of it?
Why do athletes need to conquer their fears? How do they learn to face up to the things that fill them with anxiety?
Why is teamwork important? How can you develop friendships with kids who come from different backgrounds?
Book Details
- Authors: Kobe Bryant, Wesley King
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Sports and Martial Arts, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Granity
- Publication date: March 19, 2019
- Number of pages: 608
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: March 29, 2019
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