Please Return to the Lands of Luxury


Children - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
194 Pages
Reviewed on 03/26/2023
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

Please Return to the Lands of Luxury by Jon Tilton is the first book in this exciting new series. Jane enjoys her life - though she hasn’t known anything else - on a unique island filled with the garbage others have thrown away. She considers the island her home and spends her days with her friends Timothy and Rodney. Details of her early life are hazy, but she clings to the memories she does have. Everything she knows is uprooted after she finds a doll. Jane doesn’t believe the toy had been simply discarded like everything else on the island. It even has a tag with a name on it. Timothy and Rodney don’t take her concerns seriously, although she comes up with a plan to return the doll to its rightful owner. But the journey won’t be an easy one as she’ll have to sneak past the metal men preventing anyone from leaving the island. Then all she has to do is navigate the Lands of Luxury and return the doll.

The setting is an important feature in the story with two specific locations - the island of trash and the Lands of Luxury. These two places are important to Jane’s journey which takes her from the confinement of the island to the wonders of luxury. She’s lived her whole life on this island where things are discarded and forgotten. It is the only refuge she and her friends know but it’s also keeping them confined through robots that guard the docks. Her journey takes her to the Lands of Luxury which are filled with wonder and opportunity, including TV, cartoons, fresh food (like strawberries), spices, and a washing machine. Seeing these items through Jane’s eyes makes you think about how we take what we have in our daily lives for granted.

Jane is a headstrong character led by her heart and her determination to prove herself right even when her friends disagree. The writing has an innocence to it that perfectly captures the charm of this world and refers to Jane’s memories of her father as a half-remembered dream. Jon Tilton imparts an emotional core to the characters. Jane’s fear of losing her memories of her parents is relatable and threaded throughout the story with the fuzzy memories of her father and the lovely ones of her mother becoming more important as her journey develops. Please Return to the Lands of Luxury takes three children on a journey filled with wonder, adventure, and discovery as they learn about the value of the home.