I have not read this book and will no longer do so as this no longer appeals to me.

Burb:
Frankie Russo doesn’t brood about the past or worry about the future. He lives in the present moment, frolicking in a world of make-believe that drives his high-achieving parents crazy. They have lofty ambitions for him, but Frankie has no interest. He prefers to flip helium burgers on Jupiter or rule a kingdom of mermen in the Caspian Sea, up inside his head, where all the fun is.

Frankie’s parents nag him endlessly, worried he’ll come to nothing. But all that changes when he disappears through a mysterious crack in his bedroom ceiling and finds himself on a distant, two-mooned planet called Urth.

Why was he drawn there? He doesn’t know, but as he embarks on a delightful, mind-blowing adventure, Frankie’s desperate parents think he’s been abducted, and an innocent man is arrested and charged with the crime!

On the surface, Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy is a lighthearted science-rich adventure story that takes its middle grade readers on an entertaining romp to the other side of the galaxy. But the undercurrent is one of discovery and redemption, where a ten-year-old boy, through an unexpected journey, finds a way to escape his parent’s stifling shadow and emerge into a future of his own choosing.

DNF. I couldn't get into it. It had a really slow start and I wasn't clicking with Frankie. I didn't have the patience to power through until the speculative elements made it (theoretically) more interesting.

this was a great young adult novel, I really enjoyed that the scifi elements worked and I enjoyed getting to know these characters.

I had to dnf this book at 28%. i really wanted to love this book based on the synopsis but i just found frankie to be really annoying and i didnt like the writing style. Will probably be enjoyed more by younger readers.

In Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy, we start with a boy - creative and introverted in nature - growing up in a family of very opposite personalities to himself. When Frankie is transported to a new world to learn how to use his "gift of fantasy" with the help of a special mentor and lots of new friends, he not only learns a new appreciation of his own way of thinking, but also how to better interact with others and how to be more responsible about when to use his creativity in the real world. I feel this would be a great book for the kids who don't always fit into classic molds, or anyone who would like to foster of love of creativity and writing their own stories. It also has a ton of great teaching moments about responsibilities, growing up, and how everyone's stories have an effect on each other!

This was a great story, I loved the creativity of the story but I didn't enjoyed it all the way through the start made me wanna just leave the book behind until i finally got it and I liked the rest

This was such a fun story! I loved how Frankie's imagination was portrayed as this gift and special talent and how he ventured into the fantastical world and everything that happened there!
This was so quick-paced and I think especially younger readers will feel very seen when they read about Frankie and the friends he makes.
The only caveat I have is that the breaking of the fourth wall and the recurring addressing of the reader took me out of the story quite a few times. I guess this was more so supposed to be like in A Series of Unfortunate Events but it felt more "boom, here I am" on the writer's part and I didn't mesh well with that.
Nevertheless, this was a charming and fast read that will give power back to those stuck with their head in the clouds and their hearts in a book!

Let's say, Frankie is a real daydreamer. His head is always somewhere else and he often forgets about the real world. Frankie forgets to do his homework, never seems to finish his chores, and so on. The only thing Frankie cares about is fantasy and creativity.
When Frankie disappears, the book gets a twist. Both the story of Frankie and one of his parents, are told. I loved the idea behind that, but it wasn't working for me. The book had a very late start which made it very boring for a long time. I don't think a child will continue this long, before actually being sucked into the story.

Frankie has the gift of fantasy and often gets in trouble for daydreaming his life away. He never does his chores, he barely remembers his homework, his parents are always on his case for everything because he loses himself all the time in his thoughts. It doesn't help that his brother is their perfect idea of a child who never has to be told anything twice. His parents end up doing everything for him from walking the dog when he said he would to doing his homework for him so he doesn't get behind in school. All of these things seem like good things but it just leaves Frankie even further behind in life.

One day he daydreams himself right out of his own life and into a fantasy world. Finally, he doesn't have to worry about his parents nagging him about chores and schoolwork! He's taken in by a character who acts as his guardian in this new fantasy world but she believes more in tough love than his parents do. He soon learns a lot of very important life lessons that he never was given the opportunity to learn because his parents did everything for him.

At the beginning I was upset because I hate when parents do everything for their kids because that's how we get annoying adults who can't do anything for themselves but the way these life lessons are handled for both Frankie and for his family was really well done.

It took a long time to really get going and I found myself starting this book over and over again until I forced myself to get to at least 25% which is where the story really begins to pick up and it isn't until the 75% mark where I really found myself in it completely.

There were some parts of the book that didn't seem to be geared towards middle grade readers like the rest of the book clearly is, and then the dialogue seemed far too young for middle grade. It just didn't seem to ever have the right tone or pacing. There were a lot of nitpicky kind of things that really fall into this too-young or too-old category, and then just a couple of things that just did not sit right with me.

The courtroom scenes are honestly just a mess, jumping from way too complicated concepts to just a poor representation of what a courtroom is really like. In general people do not know how courtrooms work and because of how they're depicted in media most people think they do. I feel if you're writing books for middle grade readers to make sure that they're accurate for real world situations.

This was such a cute and enterteining story, it gave me percy jackson vibes for a second, but Frankie is singular and he is also awesome.

Young readers should read this book and I will obvsly recommend it.

FRANKIE AND THE GIFT OF FANTASY is a middle grade fiction. I loved the style of narration,it is simple and lucid. I loved how the characters have been potrayed.Overall it was a good read for me and I enjoyed reading it!

I think this is one of those books that is going to stick with me for a very long time!

Where was this book when I was a kid? I enjoyed reading this story from every angle possible. It was witty and thought-provoking, it was wonderful all around. I will be buying this book in hardcover to read to my 9 year old, and to my future kids when they get here as well. I don't normally read Middle-grade books but I am SO glad that I read this one!

The way that everything fits together to teach Frankie and his family valuable life lessons, about accepting yourself for who you are, and accepting your family members for who they are, and learning to be you is just superbly put together. It teaches lessons to the characters but teaches valuable lessons to the reader as well, which I feel is important in the age range this is meant for, and even for the parents of those kids!

Such a fun read and such a unique voice that Ruthy Ballard has. I will definitely be looking out for whatever else this author puts out!

The book is about a young kid that gets sucked up in the crack of the wall to a planet called Urth and explores the surroundings and creatures living there, it also gives an insight how his parents are dealing with his loss. This book shows the importance of parents to the children. I felt like his adventure started only at the end of the book and I was really looking forward to some amazing story, but unfortunately I was left disappointed...

Slightly reminiscent of “A Wrinkle in Time,” both in writing style and the elements of science and space, comes this exciting fantasy tale about Frankie Russo and his journey to the planet Urth. Frankie is a daydreamer and often gets in trouble for it. Then one day he is sucked through a crack in his ceiling and ends up in another world. He feels oddly at home in this new place called Urth, even though his fingers have turned purple. As he’s wandering around, he meets Ideth, who becomes his caretaker while he is on Urth. Some crazy things happen to Frankie while he is on Urth, and he has to face some of his biggest fears. Frankie learns a lot about life and himself while he is away from home, and it will certainly affect his life once he returns.

Ballard created a wonderfully strange planet in Urth, and her descriptions make you feel like you're right there with Frankie and Ideth. I think this is a great fantasy that would appeal to both boys and girls and I definitely will add this title to my classroom library. I am excited to read the next books in the series!

I have always been captivated by the thought that there could be something beyond this world, yet connected by our very own.

'Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy' is set in the age range of being a children's book which is meant to help children think, evaluate and learn, not only about what is beyond our own world, but what happens on Earth today.

Frankie can be considered somewhat of a dreamer like any normal kid with some amount of creativity should be. The only problem is that when he needs to be practical according to his parents, his mind is instead, is up in the clouds. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, not when he is transported through a crack in the wall to a place called 'Urth'.

The writing can be seen as very colloquial, to the point that it feels as though not only are they omniscient of Frankie and the events that will take place, but it feels like they are reeling the events to only the reader. Almost like they are talking about the story in the same room as the reader, while having a tea and biscuit to share, but still asking for involvement in the conversation.

There are also moments where they encourage science and knowledge, by highlighting how some natural occurrences that may be happening in Urth can be put into practice when discussing how the Earth works. For instance, this could be from climate change to how an ocean tide would come in, dependent on the moon. These pieces of information can be seen as being very useful to the younger reader who may not have seen these terms before and would then allow to more questions as to why these things happen in our own world.

However, there were a few annoyances on my part. The returning phrases such as 'Yup Yup!' and 'Am I right, or am I right?' this vexed me so much and takes you away from the story a little bit. I also felt that it was a little hard to read at the beginning, but once the story gets going after it first sets itself up, I was completely fine. I also liked Frankie's relationship with some of the other characters such as Iktae and Ideth, even though at times I felt like he was a little bit of a spoilt brat trying to get his own way. These two characters seemed to ground him a little bit. I'm glad of the fate of one of the characters on Earth. His unfortunate demise really broke my heart and I was glad for him to make something of himself. This is a useful way of showing to the young reader that sometimes the justice system is wrong and we really need to wake up and see how we can change it for the better.

In the end, I have decided to give the book a three star.

Disclaimer: This is an ARC review courtesy of WhipSmart Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!


Author: Ruthy Ballard

Star Rating: 4

Genre: Middle Grade Whimsical Fantasy

Release Date: October 1st, 2020 (paperback- ebook can be found here for only $4.99!)


Frankie Russo isn't the son his parent's expected. He isn't like his brother, Alex. He isn't an all-star soccer player, rock climber, or academic. Frankie has trouble focusing on the future, and by far prefers to live in the present. In fact, his favorite part of the present is what he makes it. Frankie has the gift of fantasy, and with it he can go anywhere and do anything. His fantasies also take him on journeys through his mind until one day he explores a mysterious glowing crack in the ceiling that sends him spiraling to the planet of Urth in another galaxy. It's up to Frankie and his Uppy, Ideth, to find and complete the important mission that sent him there.


Meanwhile, at home, Frankie's parents are frantically searching for their missing son. They work with the police, psychics, and neighbors to find him. The longer Frankie is gone, the worse his fate seems to be. When tensions run high, all fingers point to an innocent man for a murder that didn't happen.


"Oh, it's quite mysterious"..."But I won't call it magic because the things we call magic often don't turn out to be magic, but simply things we don't understand yet. And when we understand them, we no longer call them magic."

I seldom pick up whimsical middle grades, but I almost always enjoy them when I do! This particular book felt like it was heavily inspired by A Wrinkle in Time, though Frankie and the Gift of Magic was more on the fantasy-side than the sci-fi.


In my opinion, it is extremely important for middle grades to respect and acknowledge a child's ability to learn and comprehend big topics. All too often in our current publishing climate do I find middle grades that are excessively "dumbed down" for its audience. Never underestimate a child's ability for context clues, logic, and critical thinking. I hate that I saw a review for this book that claimed it was "too mature" for its target audience. I couldn't disagree more. If a series like A Series of Unfortunate Events or Avatar: The Last Airbender can be understood so deeply by a young audience that it can define a generation of readers, then this light and fun book absolutely can too.


The issues this book covers are vast and often deep, which is why someone may think this book is too mature. I feel the book handles it very appropriately for the age group with a witty and conversational narration, and this book could be used to open doors for some very important and fruitful conversations for a child. This book tackles the uncomfortable truth of how weak someone in a 1st world country can be without their creature comforts. It expresses to a child what hunger and starvation really mean. It discusses how your unique "gifts" can be used poorly or for good. There is also a lot of commentary on body positivity and being comfortable with your own uniqueness. In some more deeper topics, there's discussion on preparedness, our responsibility to help others in need, traumatic childhoods not defining who you are, how quickly an assumption can hurt someone, your actions always have consequences, and that it's important to always pursue your best self. All of these important topics make this book worth reading at any age. This middle grade is very thought provoking and full of depth.


Although there is a strong presence of extremely positive and important conversations in this book, there is some content that could potentially be harmful. There is representation in here that may not have been handled very well. There is a community that could be a parallel representation of Island Natives that is skewed negatively by a character in the book. It is very stereotyped, and the community is viewed as immature and incapable of caring for themselves. I do not think the community was written this way out of malice, but as a way to demonstrate the emotional and mental growth of characters portrayed in the book. There is development as the story progresses, but this point of view does exist, and I think it's important for a young reader to be aware of why this could be hurtful.


It's important to note that this is the first book in a series, and it very much feels like one. Ballard keeps the chapters very short, sweet, and readable, but this book certainly suffers from what I call "first book syndrome" which occurs often in youth fantasy. A beautiful and vivid world is created within these pages. The author does an absolutely phenomenal job of introducing the reader to the world at a rate that keeps the story magical. It's very similar to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in that way. It's beautiful, but the story arc is sometimes flat. Instead of getting a roller coaster of story, we get an absolutely straight road with a small hill at the end. There are no minor plot lines along the way to the main climax. Most of the book is exposition in order to explore the world building. As dry and frustrating as that can become, I do understand that Ballard was intending to get the world building out of the way to open doors for the books to come. It's understandable, but it certainly does slow down the reading pace quite a bit.


On the same token, I can think of many places where Ballard has left loose ends for some potentially exciting sequels! I loved the world she created and am curious to see what she dreams up next. This is an author I will certainly be keeping my eyes on! I can see this series diving more into the world and characters brilliantly!

I really liked the concept of Frankie travelling to his own Fantasy land to complete a mission, but felt that something was lacking. It wasn't until around 75% of the book that Frankie (Soccer Fan) started his mission and it was all over in one chapter.
I think younger readers would definitely enjoy this and it's not too long to scare them away. However, I felt that the plot points were covered too quickly. The writing of dialogue didn't gel with me and although I enjoyed the chapters focused on Earth with Frankie's parents, they felt a little unnecessary.

Overall, I thought it was OK and can think of some children in my class (Year 4) who would like to read this, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

This book felt like it had a lot of potential, but I was left a little confused about the target age group for this book. In one sentence you have the main character thinking about revenge fantasies against his little brother and then later you have a police officer saying "DNA is helpful". The dialogue just felt a little stiff and more like what you would see in much younger children's books. The overall plot was fine and would be engaging for younger readers and this is a good introduction to sci-fi for MG readers as well, as the sci-fi elements are pretty minimal outside of taking place on a planet called Urth and having some aliens.