My review is based on reading part one of the series. This covers the boat caught in the storm, the three teenagers being thrown into the sea, sucked into a whirlpool and landing on the island.The plot was fun enough. The description of the storm was pretty good and it wasn't difficult to imagine the panic of finding your parents gone and being unable to save the boat taking on water. The visual descriptions of the island and its strange sights was pretty good, making it obvious to us, if not all of the kids, that they are not in their own world anymore. The twin suns and glowing sand were a bit of a giveaway but Jack is too stubborn to believe that. I enjoyed the attack of the big spiders because I am totally arachnophobic and thinking about them gave me the horrors!Now the plot holes. We must stay on the beach because that is where rescue will come from. So seconds later they all decide to wander off into the jungle. This is where they find the spiders. Now we need to run away and get back to the beach to make a big help sign. OK don't you think a sign on the beach should have been done BEFORE you wander into the jungle? That way if rescue were to come, they will then know roughly where you are? Bit of an oversight from Jack who seems to have all the answers to every possible problem, which was a bit too convenient for me. But it was the characters who really did my head in. Casey was the bimbo from hell. She doesn't know if her beloved parents are dead or alive, she's stuck in another world but huge bloody spiders chasing her and all she cares about is her appearance and whether Mike fancies her. Oh please! If I were in that situation, I'd be scared witless and not really caring about romance!!! Mike was a total asshat whose reckless antics were putting them all in danger. He was arrogant, vain and just had to be the centre of attention at all times and I just couldn't stand his antics. Jack was the sensible one but his ability to know the answer to everything just got on my nerves.I was in two minds whether to continue with the series so I checked out other Goodreads reviews and I'm glad that I did. When I read that Casey and Mike have a big romance despite danger from velociraptors and T Rex etc I decided that I would give the rest of it a miss. Teenage hormones flying when there are bloody dinosaurs trying to eat you would just bug the hell out of me.Trying to rate this book was hard. I'd give it three for imagination and description, two for the plot holes and dreadful characters. 2.5 would probably be the fairest result but I'm rounding it down to two because of its faults. Tries a bit too hard, but still entertaining, June 3, 2012 Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Agartha's Castaway - First book in the Trapped In The Hollow Earth Saga (Kindle Edition) I downloaded this back in December and must've gotten an older version. My biggest complaints include the overabundance of pop culture references, the overindulgence of teen hormones and the overabundance of asides. Apparently, the file has been updated with some of this removed/fixed. Oh well.Having said that, I though the story was very entertaining. I'm usually a stickler for plot and storylines that follow some meaningful path, so when I find a book that tends to meander, like this one does, but still keep me entertained, that counts for something. The action and twists kept me reading. The snarkiness and sassiness were refreshing, for the most part (there were some cloying moments). And the story itself was sufficiently compelling, if somewhat inconsistent. Not to demean young adults (I've met some with much more discerning tastes than mine), but I think they'll get more out of this book than I did, if only because the associations are more timely and personal than for someone who hasn't his teen years since Halley's comet last passed. Or maybe the time before that.Peebles does a decent job. If she tightens up her work, I can see her rising above the midlisters in YA.
What do You think about Agartha's Castaway (2000)?
I thought it was good. Can't wait to start the next one!
—Shelbe
