Daniel is just an ordinary boy with a very ordinary life, but one night, after another move to another new town, he wakes up in the fantastic land of Everworld - a beautiful place with talking Thunder Rats, invisible dragons, floating castles, and upside down mountains, where the only limit on the fun a kid can have is their own imagination!
When Daniel meets Mia the Mean, he discovers Everworld isn't just a dream. It's real, and it's in danger of being destroyed, forever altering life in two worlds. Now Daniel has to decide if he is willing, or even able, to help save it.
But Daniel and Mia aren't even sure what theyâre fighting against or how they could possibly save Everworld. Guided by an ancient prophecy, itâs a race against the clock as the unlikely pair must uncover the enemy threatening Everworld! Along the way, they experience the magic of dreams, the power of imagination, and find out just how fun it can be to save the world!
Daniel is just an ordinary boy with a very ordinary life, but one night, after another move to another new town, he wakes up in the fantastic land of Everworld - a beautiful place with talking Thunder Rats, invisible dragons, floating castles, and upside down mountains, where the only limit on the fun a kid can have is their own imagination!
When Daniel meets Mia the Mean, he discovers Everworld isn't just a dream. It's real, and it's in danger of being destroyed, forever altering life in two worlds. Now Daniel has to decide if he is willing, or even able, to help save it.
But Daniel and Mia aren't even sure what theyâre fighting against or how they could possibly save Everworld. Guided by an ancient prophecy, itâs a race against the clock as the unlikely pair must uncover the enemy threatening Everworld! Along the way, they experience the magic of dreams, the power of imagination, and find out just how fun it can be to save the world!
I wonder how many Daniels will be in my class this time? When I was in kindergarten, there were just two of us. Then again, my kindergarten class was very small - twelve kids in total. There were ten girls, me, and Daniel K. It wasnât so bad. I was never the kind of boy who thought girls were gross or had cooties or anything like that, but it was nice to have Daniel K. around to play with. Even if we did have the same first name.
When we moved the first time, it was to a much bigger town. I went to one of three elementary schools. Mine had two classes of second graders, each with two Daniels. So now there was Daniel A., Daniel M., Daniel N., and me, Daniel R. - four Daniels. I was getting used to it, but wondering which Daniel my friends and teachers were talking to got pretty old. One day, at the very beginning of fifth grade, a girl I kind of liked left a note for âDanielâ in my locker. Or well, it was near my locker, on the ground actually, but surely it was meant for me. I didnât really even know what it meant to âlikeâ a girl, but she was my friend and I thought she was good at basketball, so when I saw
the note in her looping, perfect cursive, I felt my heart race a little and got a little warm on my cheeks. I picked it up and read it. She wrote that her mom was taking her and some friends to watch a movie at the theater and play some of the arcade games after, and she wondered if Iâd like to go? Would I?! I definitely would. I walked over to her after school while she was waiting on her mom to pick her up, and said I would love to go and thanks for asking; but of course Iâd have to ask my mom first. She got a confused look on her face, so I sheepishly pulled the note from my back pocket and showed it to her. She cringed a bit and said that note was actually for Daniel A. and not for me. It mustâve fallen out of her backpack near my locker. The laughter of her friends would definitely make their appearance in my nightmares.
Thankfully, the mixups werenât usually this mortifying. My mom had just pulled up so I ran to her car as fast as possible, hopped in, and slowly felt the embarrassment start to drain away. My mom asked how my day was, and I said it was fine. Which it really was, I suppose. Embarrassing mistakes are just part of life when youâre one of four Daniels.
I wasnât terribly surprised that the note wasnât for me. Daniel A. was pretty cool. I canât imagine anyone ever describing me as âcoolâ. He was so fast; everyone always picked him first for whatever sport we were playing. Plus his hair was never out of place. It would be way more surprising if the note was for me, honestly. I wasnât very athletic. I certainly wasnât the smartest kid in class. My hair often was out of place. I was just, well, pretty normal. Possibly below normal. It was out of character for me to assume a girl wanted to invite me to hang out after school with her and her friends. It felt nice, though, for a moment.
That night, my mom told me that we were moving again. Every time weâve had to move, itâs been for my dadâs job. Heâs a project manager, or thatâs what it says on his business card anyway. Iâm not really sure what that means, but I do know it means that when a project ends, often we move. He never really talked about his work too much at home. He said it wasnât that exciting, and I believed him. Today, though, I was kind of okay with the idea of moving, so I was glad he didâŚwhatever it was he did. A mortifying situation will help ease the sting of leaving a school.
So, two weeks later, we packed up and moved again, and I started the last half of fifth grade in my new school, Jenise Jeffrey Middle School.
Iâd be lying if I said I wasnât hoping that for once Iâd be the only Daniel. Itâs not just the confusion in the classroom and on the playground, but sometimes I felt like there was nothing special about me at all. Maybe if I was the only Daniel, Iâd start to really find out who I was made to be.
âSeven?!â I exclaimed loudly enough that my voice cracked a bit. âThere are six other Daniels plus me in fifth grade?â Well, I guess a lot of perfectly average people survive just fine in the world. My shoulders slumped a little as I shuffled down the hallway.
âThatâs right. We have a big class, but even so that is a lot of Daniels,â observed Mrs. Miller, the schoolâs Dean of Students. Sheâd greeted me at the door and was walking me to my homeroom class. âIâm sure theyâll figure out how to keep you all sorted properly,â she chuckled.
Mrs. Miller stopped in front of room 308. Around the door were various watercolor paintings of faces I didnât recognize. Beneath the faces were names: Beth, Simon, Grace, and they went on. I decided this must have been an art project where the fifth grade students painted self- portraits. Some were pretty terrible, but I was glad I missed that unit. Mine would have been atrocious. Before Mrs. Miller opened the door, I quickly glanced at the names and sure enough, there they were. Daniel S., Daniel J., Daniel O., Daniel R., Daniel Ro., and Daniel Ra. This was going to be interesting.
âHello Mrs. Goodman,â called Mrs. Miller. âI have a new student for you today. He just moved to town this week. This is Daniel Roman.â At the sound of my first name the entire class let out a sound that was half grunts of frustration and half laughter.
âThank you Mrs. Miller. Daniel, weâve been expecting you, and please excuse the classâs reaction. You see, this is quite the class of Daniels - we have 6, well now 7. So, Iâm sure they were just surprised to hear weâve grown by one Daniel. Right class,â Mrs. Goodman asked, giving a stern look around the room.
âYes, Mrs. Goodman,â the class said, mostly in unison.
âYou may take a seat next to Olivia, Daniel,â Mrs.
Goodman said as she motioned towards an empty chair.
The class was arranged into groups of five students at tables, facing in towards each other. There were six groups of tables, but only four of them were completely full with five kids. I completed the fifth such group. Twenty- nine kids. Seven Daniels. Unbelievable.
âWhat will we call this Daniel, miss?â asked one boy in the back of the classroom. He was wearing a black shirt with a red Batman logo on it and raised his hand as he was asking the question. He had a genuine smile as he finished speaking, knowing heâd likely thrown off whatever instruction was supposed to happen this morning. I liked him immediately.
âThatâs a great question, Mason,â replied Mrs.
Goodman. âWhatâs your last name again, Daniel?â âRoman,â I slumped in my chair as my eyes begged for the attention to be taken off of me.
âHmmâŚwe already have a Daniel R. and a Daniel Ro. This is tricky. We need to find something different about you.â
It was then that Olivia leaned back in her chair and slowly scanned me up and down. Then she started speaking very deliberately, âWell, heâs taller than all of the other Daniels it seems. Skinnier, too. Plus, he has a smaller nose than any of the other Daniels.â I felt my face getting warm as she spoke, and self-consciously touched my nose. âDaniel S. has blond hair and Daniel O. and Daniel Ra. both have black hair. Daniel J. has red hair. Both Daniel Ro and this Daniel have brown hair but this Daniel has blue eyes.â I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with how thorough she was studying me. âHeâs just completely different. I think we should call him âDaniel the Differentâ.â
The class broke out in laughter at this suggestion and Mrs. Goodman clapped her hands to get them to settle down while my whole body turned warm and my face blazed red as I slid down in my seat.
âI donât think thatâs very nice Olivia,â Mrs. Goodman chastised. âPlease apologize.â
âItâs okay,â I stammered. âI donât think she meant to be mean.â I wasnât just saying that either. It was hard to be sure, but something about the way Olivia spoke grabbed me. She was so sure of herself and of her analysis of me. It was magnetic and just a little terrifying. No one ever thought of me as different. I have always been very much the same. The same name as half the class; the same B minus on the spelling test as half the class (or worse); picked somewhere towards the end for any sport; and hardly noticed by anyone but a friend or two as I moved about the school day. To walk into this classroom and then have someone like Olivia pick my unique qualities out, well, that was definitely different. Though the name she tried to give me could definitely be considered rude.
âOkay, well, weâll call you Daniel Rom. for now,â instructed Mrs. Goodman, shaking me from my thoughts. But they didnât. Not one classmate ever called me Daniel Rom. When you get a nickname like Daniel the Different, it doesnât go away so easily. I really didnât think there was anything special about me, but maybe Olivia saw something that I couldnât. Or maybe she was just being funny. Soon though, everything was going to change, and I would begin to realize just how different I really was.
This is truly one of the best middle-grade fantasy novels since Percy Jackson. The setting: immersive. The characters: believable and relatable. The plot: enchanting and enthralling. The world building: easy to understand and captivating. Absolutely every facet of this story molds together so cohesively that everything flows and keeps the reader entertained and intrigued through it all.
Daniel is used to being one of many, as his name happens to be more common than most. When he moves into a new town, adjusting is forced upon him in more than one fashion. From learning how to function as one of the many Daniel's already in his class, trying to make new friends, and exploring an all new environment, Daniel finds himself in a story of a life-time. Ironically, one that is in a completely different world.
The more he learns, the more questions he has, but along the way he makes unlikely friendships and his imagination is able to grow and run wild. The land of Everworld takes him on an adventure that he never thought he'd be chosen to embark on, but it is safe to say that Daniel takes it in stride and rises to the occasion.
In this clever and creative fantasy, children will be exposed to many healthy and wholesome themes. From being responsible for your belongings, maintaining open communication between parents, being genuine and kind as well as maintaining a child-like spirit when it comes to day dreams, there is much to behold in this book.
Vaughn Thompson has exceptional prose and story telling and never once does the reader lose interest. At every page there is a key takeaway and plot points that keep the story moving forward at the perfect pace. Among the witty and sometimes sarcastic inner dialogues of the main character and the descriptive language making every detail come to life, the reader becomes easily attached to each character as well as the overall conflict threatening Everworld. The reader grows to love and enjoy taking these sleep-filled escapades in this new and never before seen world as they root Daniel and Mia on in their quest.
A truly phenomenal read that will have you on the edge of your seat, feeling compassion as well as anticipation for how it will all end up. Absolutely excellent!