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Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony D. Grate
Sometimes our greatest moments of enlightenment come from our worst mistakes.
When life supplies eleven-year-old Tommy Grant with some unfavorable circumstances intruding on his otherwise tranquil life in rural 1980’s Ohio, he retreats into the spell-binding Order of Cosmic Champions. When he discovers that the largely successful animated program and toy line is holding a nationwide ”Create-A-Character” contest where applicants submit their action figure designs, Tommy knows he has to enter as surely as he knows his own name.
But when Tommy’s character design fails to win the contest, he finds his world crumbling from all sides. And there is only one way he knows to fix it.
What follows is a whirlwind coming-of-age adventure of righting wrongs, overcoming perilous obstacles, confronting our inner demons, and challenging the limits of reality. In this waxing nostalgic and imaginative fantasy, readers will discover what excitement lies waiting when you take risks and conquer your fears. Only one question remains: In the final hour when you heed the call, the courage to give your all, will you stand or fall?
Book review:
In Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony D. Grate, childhood is reawakened as are the perils of middle school from bullying to losing friends. Anthony’s characters, his writing, and the events bring the confusion of growing up to the forefront in this excellent book of mystical realism and coming-of-age adventure.
As eleven-year-old Tommy Grant experiences one fallout after another in his first year as a sixth grader, poor Tommy begins to cave into himself—both isolating himself physically and emotionally. His best friend has publicly humiliated him, his parents are constantly fighting, and Tommy’s been the brunt of several eighth-grade pranks. The rage inside Tommy is growing, and he turns more and more to his Order of Cosmic Champions (OoCC)—a toy-based game world that seems to be his only ally. When a contest to create the best new character for OoCC, Tommy pins all of his hopes and dreams on winning this contest—assuming that once he wins, everything in his world will be righted once again. Tommy is soon faced with a choice that will take readers on a wild ride; Tommy’s own mission challenges reality and everything he’s ever understood.
With his novel, Anthony D. Grate has created a wonderful, cheerful world that perfectly illustrates that transition between elementary and middle school. Tommy relies on the OoCC characters –first as he creates dramatic play scenes with them that mirror the cartoon reruns, and then as they start to play a more active role in his actual life, is touching. I became enthralled with Tommy’s struggle and rooted for him and his family until the very end. I loved the characters Anthony created and placed throughout the book to help give Tommy more of an intriguing backstory and much more depth.
As a middle grade teacher myself, I can’t wait to put this book in the hands of my middle schoolers. I know they’ll connect with Tommy’s struggles, and they’ll also be captivated by his story. This is such a well-written adventure, but I also loved the messages Anthony D. Grate wove throughout the story. For anyone looking for an action-packed, memorable and captivating middle grade story, this one’s for you! Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony D. Grate comes highly recommended by Artisan Book Reviews.
Buy Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony D. Grate
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions by Anthony D. Grate
Has Won First Place in the
ABR Book Excellence Award Contest
for best
Coming of Age, Fantasy, Adventure
Learn more about the author here at his entertaining, striking fabulous website
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