Published: Oct. 17, 2011
Words: 42,066 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781465740533

Short description

If you owned a pen that wrote the future, would you use it? What if the consequences spread like ripples in a pond? What if they raged out of control? What if the pen demanded tribute...in blood? (Watch the trailer.)

Extended description

If you owned a pen that wrote the future, would you use it? What if the consequences spread like ripples in a pond? What if they raged out of control? What if the pen demanded tribute...in blood?

Thirteen-year-old Micah has found such a pen. One that’s ensnared him in a curse dating back to the Golden Age of Sail. One that has devastated two families and now threatens his whole town. But how can Micah destroy the pen when it offers him the future he dreams of?

(Watch the trailer.)

Tags

fantasy, childrens fiction, middle grade fiction

Available ebook reading formats

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Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Videos

The Quill Pen
Trailer for The Quill Pen.

Reviews

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Review by: Lois D. Brown on Jan. 21, 2012 :
Set in a quaint port town, The Quill Pen by Michelle Isenhoff describes a time when life seemed slower, more simple. But was it really?

Hardly.

Thirteen-year-old Micah is an adventurer at heart. He longs for the freedom of the open air and sky found in the uncharted Western states. Micah’s father, however, is a born business man interested in one thing: making money. The two get along with each other as well as . . . well, as well as peanut butter and mayonnaise go together. Which, as most middle grade kids would agree, is NOT very good at all.
Add to the mix a batch of quirky neighbors, a pen that writes in blood, and a mysterious curse, and you’ve got the makings for a sandwich full of unique flavor and spice.

When Micah finds a quill pen that can be used to write the future, he is tempted to use it to stop his father from sending him away to attend a boy’s boarding school. However, each time he employs the pen, even for the simplest tasks like taking inventory of his father’s store, bad things happen. Regardless the consequences, the lure of the pen is too much for Micah. Near the end of the book, when he learns burning the quill would undo a curse placed decades earlier on his best friend’s father, Micah still can’t force himself to destroy the power the pen holds—that is until his arch enemy steals it from him.

This story is written with enough action to easily satisfy the demands of its intended audience: 8-12 boys and girls, as well as hold the attention of most adults. It contains wonderful imagery, similes, and metaphors. Granted, some of these will be lost on the book’s younger audience, but for those adults who pick it up it will be a treat.

Be forewarned, this is not a “reluctant reader” middle grade book. It is similar in theme and style to one of my favorite books, Tuck Everlasting. The Quill Pen expands on some of life’s universal themes: courage to face one’s fears, the destructiveness of unbridled power, and the joy of growing old with those you love. Treatment of these topics is scattered from cover to cover in a subtle way—for the most part. My one complaint (and I only have one) is that when Micah’s best friend, Gabby, talks about these themes, her character seems overly mature. To me, she didn’t come off sounding “kid enough.” Maybe I’m jaded, but it was hard for me to imagine a teenage girl being that wise and to imagine a teenage boy being nice enough to listen to her.

However, that was only one weakness in an overall amazing display of characterization that made the book come alive, such as the old widow, Mrs. Parsons, whose past holds a tragic secret: and Sanjay Ramesh, a retired sailor whom the town shuns because of the color of his skin.

I appreciated the author using language appropriate for the book’s middle grade audience. There is no swearing or inappropriate jargon. And while there is violence (gun shots and fist fights), it is nothing gory or offensive. As for intrigue and suspense? There is plenty of both which is why I highly recommend this book to those in the market for a well-written middle grade fantasy.

Conclusion: The pacing, writing, characterization, and editing found in The Quill Pen, an indie-published e-book by Michelle Isenhoff, are extremely well done. The book would certainly hold its own against current middle grade books being released by the big six traditional publishers.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Suzy Turner on Dec. 19, 2011 :
My goodness, Michelle Isenhoff is clearly SO VERY TALENTED. She sets the scene so incredibly perfectly that I felt like I was right there with the characters amid all the action.
This is such a fantastic read. After I'd read it, I said to my husband that I could imagine this book being studied by children at school... it's that amazing!
This has got to be one of the VERY BEST books I've had the pleasure of reading this year... actually, make that EVER. Simply superb!
(reviewed long after purchase)

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