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An award-winning newspaper columnist and freelance writer, M.L. Flurry has never crossed paths with a kangaroo but hopes to one day.
Countless school children have giggled their way through school presentations by the author and Edward Jamieson Goodday, the adventurous kangaroo character from Never Talk to Ravens.
The book emerged from a story Flurry developed to share with a child she was mentoring.
Fun fact: The author's youngest nephew once helped himself fall asleep by counting kangaroos.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Never Talk to Ravens: An Xavion and Jamieson Time-Out Adventure is an adventure fantasy for children and preteens written by M.L. Flurry. Xavion really hated getting into trouble at school, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. Austin and Chris went to great heights to tease Xavion about his feet. You see, over the last summer, Xavion’s feet had ballooned to twice their normal size. Those ungainly and oversized appendages meant he was the butt of schoolyard jokes. He was called Flapjack, Bigfoot, and Chris even asked him if he had a zip code for his feet. The recess-time heckling reached a crescendo one day when Xavion found himself surrounded by jeering classmates led on by Chris and Austin. Xavion called Austin “four eyes” in a loud voice and, of course, Mrs. Barnes, his teacher, heard him. Xavion soon discovered that his outburst had earned five time-outs. For the next five recesses, he would be stuck sitting under the time-out tree instead of playing basketball, running, or doing any of the fun activities that recess meant. It was boring sitting under that tree. Then, just as he was beginning to nap, a kangaroo tugged on his sleeve. Whoa! A kangaroo? What was more, the kangaroo, who actually had bigger feet than Xavion, had a big problem, and he needed Xavion’s help to solve it. Suddenly time-out was a lot different.
Anyone who has the opportunity to read M.L. Flurry’s Never Talk to Ravens will know for certain why it’s never a good idea to talk to ravens, and an even worse idea to enter into an agreement with them. I loved seeing how Xavion’s dreary time-outs become something he looks forward to as Jamieson the Kangaroo shares the story of how he ended up so far from home, and the two new friends try to figure out how to get him back home. I found myself just as anxious for time-outs as Xavion was so I could also find out what the ravens did and how Jamieson ended up in that schoolyard. Flurry’s characters are authentic and believable, and the plot is fantastic and entertaining. The story is well-written and properly geared toward its young audience. Never Talk to Ravens: An Xavion and Jamieson Time-Out Adventure is most highly recommended.
