Book Review
Title: A Fool’s Journey
Author: Mark Pannebecker
Genre: YA/Action
Rating: ****
Review: What I can gather from the synopsis is that this novel is about Benjamin Porter is a fifteen-year-old living on a cul-de-sac in a quiet suburban neighbourhood who is intrigued by the pageantry of a motorcycle gang known as The Company and his dissent into a life of crime, colour me intrigued, I love gang-based novels. We meet Benjamin at only 14 and he is completely obsessed with the biker gang, and he almost by accident becomes friends with Craig whose father and brother are both members of the gang, and he appears to be trying to find a way in and his fighting might just be the key.
It is clear to see from the way Ben almost clings to Craig even doing drugs and drinking to pacify him that he is very eager to get in with the Company although Craig keeps him at arm’s length almost like he is assessing the boys’ eagerness and worth. Eventually Ben meets Craig’s father who helped found the Company and is getting drawn deeper and deeper into a life he doesn’t really belong it and it is easy to see that as he constantly gets into fights and ignores the advice and training Craig tries to give him.
As we cross into the second half of the story, Ben is torn despite how much he wants to be a part of the Company there are certain aspects of the lifestyle like dugs and fighting until you serious injury your opponent that Ben doesn’t like and even gets picked on because of it but he doesn’t lose his determination to become part of the group. In the end we do see Ben distancing himself from Craig when he realises he doesn’t fit into their world, but I have a really in the following 20 instalments that he is going to get drawn back into the world he used to love and tried to leave behind.

To really understand this book, I recommend reading up on specific Tarot card meanings, specifically The Fool and The Magician. This book uses the meanings of the cards as a way to tell the story of the characters. The first book, The Magician, is a novella, with other stories about Ben’s life to follow. However, the characters themselves do not make a lot of sense.
Ben is The Fool and Craig is The Magician. I do not really see Craig as any kind of “trickster.”. He’s just a kid who hangs around a bad crowd and does drugs. Ben is definitely The Fool by changing with who he is with, but his character seemingly comes from a good family who cares about him. But the family never really interjects during Ben’s drunken and drug-addled escapades. I get that kids will do things behind their parents’ backs, but this seems as if the parents are not even in the picture until they are needed for some kind of plot movement. This first novella, while following an interesting concept, has too many plot holes to make it a story that one can get immersed in.

Not a bad read. A little on the shorter side since it is a novella. Will look into reading future installments.

I've developed a liking for continuing stories delivered in short bursts. They're perfect for a quick read at lunch or bedtime, especially when they grab a reader's interest quickly. The Magician is a great example of that. Not knowing a lot about the tarot, I wasn't sure how well I'd like this one, but that wasn't a problem. I was quickly caught up in Ben's story as enters the coming of age journey. I think we've all been in a place in our lives where we felt the need to fit in and the urge to give in to peer pressure. Pannebecker has a writing style that is quite compelling as he sets the stage for Ben's life lessons as he travels the road into early adulthood. I was surprised at how taken I was with what started as a teenager's fascination with a motorcycle gang and the path that our character is led down because of that fascination. Of course, like any good serial should do, this one left me intrigued and wanting more of this intense and promising story.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RO1SDEWZP0Q98/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8