“Jonathan Friesen has created an entertaining story
with memorable, quirky characters.“
–Crosswalk.com on “The Last Martin”
“Spellbinding reading for preteen kids.“
–ParentLife Magazine on “The Last Martin”
Scarface. That’s what the mean kids at school call Chloe, a fourteen-year-old girl whose face is permanently scarred due to an accident that happened several years ago involving one of her dad’s inventions.
Her peers at school are merciless, so Chloe prefers spending much of her time alone, ideally in the darkness of the projection booth of her mom’s inherited movie theater in Jonathan Friesen’s ALDO’S FANTASTICAL MOVIE PALACE (Zonderkidz; $15.99; August 2012).
While there, Chloe and her new friend, Nick, who’s blind, bond over a movie script they write together about a marvelous imaginary world. But when they began crafting their film, they had little idea that their creation would come to life.
During the screening of a new movie at the Palace, Chloe and Nick are transported through the screen to a place they never imagined. They enter a world filled with dragons, elves, magical pools, and sinister beings. The pair is also met with questions they must confront about their lives back home.
Both Nick and Chloe have things they’d like to forget, and a mysterious pool gives them the chance to erase those painful memories forever. But will losing them mean losing a part of themselves as well? Friesen’s funny and poignant novel teaches readers that most good things come with a price, and that courage happens once you step out of the shadows.
Watch the captivating video trailer for ALDO’S FANTASTICAL MOVIE PALACE: