Review: The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Wizards

The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Wizards by Steve LeBel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was not afraid to tackle hard subjects (being abandoned by father, young love, killing when not needed, etc.) but did it in such a way that was not preachy. I do not know if the author is a man of faith, but what he shared shows we have much the same beliefs.

Basic story. Bernie is a god on a planet of gods. Not all gods can create worlds, but all can own them. 'The Company' makes worlds for the buyer on demand. The buyer has the people of the world he owns grow crops that he collects and then sells in the world of the gods.

One planet is not producing like it should. Bernie is hired to troubleshoot the problem since he has just won a prestigious award which, was last won, years ago by his now absent father. Bernie is now a celebrity that he did not want to be. Dad returns, people swarm Bernie and he has to focus on fixing a world. Meanwhile falling for a girl and being clueless to love.

How he goes about it is the big part of the story. Bernie's boss wants Bernie to blink the planet's population out of existence, but Bernie feels that each person there is important. Bernie wants to take time to fix it, but there is a mean person stopping the growing going on and the owner is losing money.

So how will it end. You will have to get the book, but in the end, it is a satisfying result.

This is one of the first young adult book that I have picked up that felt more like what I thought a YA book should be. The writing is fairly clear and there is no sexual innuendo much less sex in it (although there is a kiss or two). In other words, it is safe for all age groups to read.

I recommend it for any people who like the category it falls in. What category you ask? Good question, it has a little time travel, a little fantasy, a little coming of age, and I am sure some other areas as well. You might just like it.

I own a copy of this book that the author gave out as part of a promotion.


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