Rieden Reece and the Broken Moon

this was a great start to the Rieden Reece series, it did what I was hoping a good opening chapter would do. It was a great concept and did everything it needed to. The plot worked great and I was invested in what was going on from the start. I enjoyed getting to know the characrers and what their story was. It left me wanting more and looking forward to the next book.

"Ri gritted his teeth. “Moving on. Let’s take inventory. We’ve lost everything we need to find memories, clues, your sister’s whereabouts, or the evil one who took her. We’re short on intel. This moon shard gives us an advantage. Let’s cut a hole into the other universe and see what we can find."

A compelling middle grade story full of adventure , will look forward to the next installment of Ri's adventures.

Rieden Reece is hiding something. After all, everybody has secrets and all kids keep secrets from their parents. This is no ordinary secret. Rieden Reece’s secret is big, it’s terrible, and so impossible that no one would believe him anyway?

To the outside observer, Ri may seems a fairly average kid. He’s a bit troubled due to dealing with a broken home and coping with his own personal pile of problems. Ri is confident and snarky but this is a lot for a thirteen-year-old to handle.

Well, the night the moon cracks his life changes forever.

When the moon breaks, it starts a chain of events leading him on the greatest adventure of his life. Accompanying him is the shadowy figure from another universe whom Ri calls the Shadow Man. Together they fight the evil powers beyond Ri’s understanding. Does Ri have the strength, bravery, and stamina to carry on? Ri is tasked with the impossible and yes the imperative job to stitch the moon back together before the universe completely unravels?

And alongside this endeavor, he tries to figure out how to reverse what is happening to his helpless mom.

“We’ve got a planet to save, a sister to find and librarians to kill!”
What you incredulously inquire? Read, read read…

Matt Guzman has created the first in the Rieden Reece series. This is a sci fi fantasy read that fans of Riorden will devour

Writing:
The writing is quite easy to understand and not really complex, since this is for younger readers.

Pace:
This didn't feel rushed, you figure out what is going on alongside them. Since this is a series I feel like the conclusion was well done.

Characters:
Rieden
He is a 13 year old boy who is trying to fix the moon and bring everything back to normal. Though at times he can be irritating, too cocky and makes dumb decisions out of anger, it is quite a well representation of how 13 year olds can be and me being an older reader makes me want to sit him down and have a talk with him hahaha. He does have a softer spot to him hidden in there especially when it comes to his mother and Rozul. He is also a major banter talker but honestly it makes for interesting reactions and at times gets him in trouble but again he is a 13 year old boy and I truly believe he is a much more interesting (and realistic) character compared to a goody two shoes boy.

Rozul
He is an alien that is basically the side kick of Ri. He can be quite clueless at times but also very smart. I do love how his way of talking changes, sometimes he is using slang like Ri does and sometimes he talks like an adult, honestly I like to believe he has learned that slang and "relaxed" way of talking from hanging around Ri all the time. He can act like a child and an adult, which is honestly very interesting and odd but I love it.

Liked:
I absolutely love Rozul, he can be quite childish or like an older brother to Ri, who can be rude and have his emotions get the best of him, and I absolutely love that because they are such a good duo. I love how interesting and engaging this book is.

Disliked:
There wasn't anything that I greatly disliked, except Rieden's attitude but that seems like a typical 13 year old hahaha

Favorite Quotes:
"Ah. Yes. The memories."
"It doesn't hurt?"
"Well some do. Such are the nature of memories."

"Do what you do best: use your number one superpower. Engage her in pointless banter."

'...No matter how much they fought, his mom meant everything to him. He couldn't imagine a world without her in it.'

'Now he craved sleep, and the sheep disobeyed. And his mind replayed his argument with his mom. A skipping record. Same argument, same reaction, on repeat.'

Overall Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book because it was an easy read and such a fun book. Typically I am not big into sci-fi books but this one was really great, this is a great starting point to get younger readers into sci-fi. This was engaging and interesting, at times it made me laugh. At the end it was confusing but it was confusing in a interesting way and to be honest I did like that confusing cliffhanger because I am definitely looking forward to the future books in the series.

Recommendation:
This is a must for teachers to add to their classrooms for middle schoolers and elementary students (and parents who want to gift their children books). Even though I am not in that demographic, I still enjoyed it greatly because it was still engaging and such a fun read for me, so I can only imagine that this will be great for younger readers.

Rieden Reese, a 13-year-old genius, wakes up one night in a broken universe: a strange-looking shadow man called Rozul shatters the moon; his mom, and every other adult, have black orbs instead of heads. And he is being chased by multiple un-earthy creatures that remind me of monsters from Percy Jackson or the Terminator. He learns that the mysterious shadow man is there to help him restore his universe. And to do that, they have to retrieve their lost memories. They set out on a fast-paced adventure with many obstacles, and time is ticking.

I was so confused throughout most of this book. Was this all real or just in Rieden's imagination? Did (almost) every chapter have to end with: "Run for your life!"? I didn't know if I enjoyed this book or if it was too much. But then I neared the end, and everything fell into place. Suddenly, everything made sense, and I had to pause and contemplate my emotions around everything.

And that made me think of something Rozul had said: "Observing commonplace things from an unfamiliar perspective can jar belief systems. If you spend your whole life attached to one way of seeing, life is dull and boring. You only experience existence through your perspective. The perspective you choose, can flavour your views, and enhance your hues."

So I excepted that this adventure, seen from different perspectives, delivered a whole plate of flavoured views and enhanced hues. I can't wait to taste the next chapter in this multi-verse.

“We’ve got a planet to save, a sister to find, and librarians to kill!” It’s all in a day’s work in this delightful sci fi/fantasy read.

Thirteen year-old Rieden “Ri” has a gift. He can predict the future. But when a giant hand suddenly emerges from a crack in the moon, that ability is put to the test in this fast-moving, mind-bending romp into a weird world of dastardly villains, dashing heroes, and other discoveries.

After a harrowing trip to the library, Ri discovers that the crack in the world is spreading fast. Ri and his “side kick,” a shadow man named Rozul, soon discover that their adventure has become far more dangerous than expected. Questions also begin to pile up. Among them: Did Rozul really break Ri’s universe “in ways that defied logic”? How do you search for lost memories? Where do you start? How about library books that spin and shuffle with words that are “sparkle and vibrate”? Why are “fake” humans hiding secrets? How can the moon be fixed? Has Ri “sleep-slipped” into an alternate reality? Can he eat his memories before they’re gone forever ? Or is something else going on?

The taut plot traces a rising line of tension and intrigue as we follow Ri and Rozul in and out of one hair-raising adventure after another. There’s looking for something. Something that was lost. Something that requires friendship and love to recover. Can they find the "something" before it's too late?

This is a finely craftly, highly readable action and adventure story with a generous dose of sci fi. You never know what will happen next - except it will be unexpected. And probably make you jump. And wonder why Ri’s entire neighborhood has suddenly gone silent. Or why the heads of his adult neighbors and his mom have suddenly turned into “a black ball universe instead of a human head.”

Told in the third person, the narration is dynamic, with each chapter flowing smoothly into the next in a cascading waterfall of pooled drama and excitement.

An agile and active plot includes a hefty dose of sass and spunk along with a bit of levity. (“She’s dead. She’s gone. She’s ancient history channel.”) Ditto clever word play. The alliterative chapter headings are a hoot. Also featured are deliciously maleficent villains, both human and not-so-human. (Warning: You may never look at a librarian, a straw hat, or chocolate quite the same after reading this book!)

This book will keep readers guessing and turning pages all the way to the end. And talk about a surprise ending. I did not see that one coming!

“Broken moons. Lost memories. Muddled powers. …Whatcha gonna do?” If you enjoy Chris van Allsburg, Rod Serling, Lewis Carroll, J.D. Salinger, the movie Arrival, or all of the above, you’ll enjoy Rieden Reece and the Broken Moon. It’s a luminous read and a feast for the imagination! Recommended for Young Adult readers and up.