Article first published as The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton — Book One: Crash-Landing in Ooleeoo by Angela Shelton on Blogcritics. It is published on this site today as part of the WOW! (Women on Writing) Blog Tour.
The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton – Book One: Crash-Landing in Ooleeoo is a poetic triumph by wordsmith Angela Shelton — a woman once terrified of dictionaries who now prefaces her book with a “dictionary of characters” ranging from A (Aaron Arachnophobia) to Z (Zalika Zizel Zaftig). (Yes, they’re real words.)
This is a delightful introduction to the adventures of Tilda Pinkerton; it has the wit of Dr. Seuss, the heart of Mary Poppins, with a magic and soul like nothing else. Shelton crafts a middle-grade fantasy sci-fi novel in lyrical prose that often rhymes.
She brilliantly maintains a complex dynamic of unusual words, unique characters, magic, science and exquisite twists on universal themes such as love, perception, truth, and identity. (Occasionally something went over my head but I enjoyed the story anyway.)
Following Tilda Pinkerton as she crash-lands on a planet built from the rubbish of many galaxies; as she tries to hide the deformity that separates her from everyone else (her Light Source); and as she inexplicably becomes part of the community that is her new home, I restored my childhood love for words. This is the kind of story that was my friend in my youth, the kind I’d read more than once over the years. (I couldn’t put it down. The riveting and emotional conclusion had me weeping.)
Both the ebook and paperback are thoughtfully assembled but I recommend the paperback: it’s so beautiful I couldn’t help but smile with that fierce childhood joy of having a book that was mine, and the paperback is more practical.
Note: I recommend skipping the preface “Characters and Places” and referring back to it as needed.
The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton restored my love for the worlds that live within words, and rejuvenated my appreciation of the magic that surrounds (and lives within) us all.
PS: Stay tuned for my interview with Tilda Pinkerton on December 21st.
Wow! What glowing and well-written praise. I’m a middle-aged man who chases kids off my lawn and yet you’ve made me want to read this young-readers novel. Nice going.
Thank you, Craig!
You’ll love it, Craig. That’s my vote. My father in law and my husband – both not so bias and hard critics loved it.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed Tilda – she was so fun to bring to life.