The Pandora Device

Camp Hawthorne Volume 1

Children - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
200 Pages
Reviewed on 01/29/2017
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Author Biography

Joyce McPherson holds an MFA in creative writing for children, and over the last twenty years has written a successful series of biographies for young people and has created abridged Shakespeare plays for children's theatre. "The Pandora Device" is the first book in her new Camp Hawthorne series.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

The Pandora Device: Camp Hawthorne, Book One is a children’s science fiction story by Joyce McPherson. Sixth grader Stella Harski, who lives with her grandmother, gets the opportunity to go to Camp Hawthorne, the same camp her parents attended. She hopes to find information about them while there, but receives an anonymous note telling her not to do so. Camp Hawthorne accepts kids who are gifted with telepathy and other superpowers, but Stella doesn’t know if she has powers. When mysterious things occur and a historic site is vandalized, Stella and her camp-mates realize someone is searching for a specific item. Stella tries to heed the warnings of an old woman, but finds herself becoming more immersed in a mystery that merges the past and future together.

Joyce McPherson’s novel, The Pandora Device, is a fascinating story for children as well as adults. It is the first in the Camp Hawthorne series and is an engaging science fiction and adventure book. The plot is very interesting and educational because the author based it on famous authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Henry Longfellow and Louisa May Alcott. She included verses from a couple of their books that are now on my reading list. I think the story is original and like the mind reading skills, visions and other skills the young campers possess. There is strong character development, good dialogue and continuous adventure. The Camp Hawthorne series has caught my attention and I’m sure readers will also like these lovely books from Joyce McPherson.