BOOK
TOUR SPOTLIGHT
The Ifs
by J.
D. Pooker
The Ifs by J. D. Pooker is a middle grade fantasy. It is currently on tour with Bewitching Book Tours.
The tour starts here today with a spotlight on the book. Please be sure to
visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Landon and Broden
are brothers. Some days they DO NOT get
along very well. They spend most of their time fighting, arguing and plotting
ways to get revenge on each other.
Then, strange things
start happening…
Noises in their room
that are not the cat.
Homework is
mysteriously finished.
A broken shoelace
repairs all by itself.
Clothes are put in
the hamper on their own.
The brothers want to
share their weird experiences, but they don’t know if they can trust each
other. But when they find out who’s behind all the strange things around the
house, they are called to battle.
Battle? Whoa! Right
there in the forest by their house! A battle with the most unusual creatures
and wildest of beasts. And when the battle turns more dangerous than they
imagined, Landon and Broden must face their fears, put their grudges aside and
learn how to work together.
Excerpt
CHAPTER
1
“Good night, boys. I
love you.” Mom smiled slightly as she
blew each of the boys a kiss.
“Love you, too, Mom,” the brothers said in unison.
She clicked out the light and closed the door.
Landon settled into bed and closed his eyes.
He dreamt that he ran through the forest. His breath came in pants, his legs were heavy
and hard to move. Something stomped
behind him, breathing on his neck. When
he glanced over his shoulder, there was nothing but trees. He turned back just in time to see a branch
in front of his face. He ducked just
before hitting it, but the movement shifted his weight and threw him off
balance. He fell forward, rolling
through dirt and leaves. As soon as he
stopped, he held his breath and listened.
The footsteps still sounded behind him.
He tried to push himself up, but he couldn’t move. A puddle of mud surrounded him, and he sank
into it. He grabbed at the tree roots in
an attempt to save himself. Suddenly,
the footsteps stopped. Landon quit
struggling and glanced around. The
forest grew darker, and someone laughed—a low, menacing laugh, like a villain
in cartoons. The renewed desire to pull
himself out overwhelmed him, but his movements caused him to sink faster. When the mud was about to cover his face, he
jerked awake.
His foot connected with something on his bed, and it thumped
onto the floor before scurrying across the room. Landon wiped the sweat from his forehead and
rubbed his eyes. Cautiously, he glanced
over the edge.
“Tiki?” he whispered.
“Tiki is that you?”
He
waited for the meow, but it never came.
He shrugged and hopped off the bed, walking to the bathroom to get a
drink of water. As he came back to his
room, something clinked. What was
that? He squinted in the darkness,
hoping the gesture would allow him to see what made that sound.
“Tiki?”
He walked to his bookshelves. He was
sure the sound came from that area. “You
know you’re not supposed to be up there.”
He
stood in front of the shelves, patting each shelf with his hand, looking for
the cat. A meow sounded behind him. Tiki stood in the doorway. Something thumped in the closet to his
right. His heart began to beat rapidly,
and he jumped back into bed, throwing the covers over his head. It was a zombie, he knew it. Mom and Dad told him they didn’t exist, but
he was sure they did. What else would
have made that sound? It was going to
come out of the closest, its eyes glowing red and teeth dripping with spit, and
eat him. The only protection he had was
the force field created by his blankets.
Hopefully, they kept him safe.
Landon
listened intently, waiting for another sound to permeate the darkness, but
nothing sounded. He relaxed. The zombie must have moved on. It knew it couldn’t get through his shields. His heart rate slowed; he took a deep
breath. Eventually, he fell back asleep.
His
alarm woke him the next morning. He poked
his head out of the covers and glanced at the clock. 7:00.
He folded the covers to his waist and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t feel very rested. In fact, he was incredibly tired. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and
go back to sleep. Landon finished
rubbing his eyes and glanced down. Tiki
lay at the end of his bed, staring at him and blinking slowly. Landon huffed. Dumb cat caused a lot of issues during the
night, and she looked at him like she was innocent and did nothing wrong. It was her fault he was so tired. But what could he do? He had to go to school, and Mom would be mad
if he hurt the cat. The only thing he
had to look forward to was that it was Friday.
He jumped onto the floor and turned to Broden.
“Hey.”
He shook Broden’s shoulder. “It’s time
to get up. We have to get ready for
school.”
Broden
rolled over and swatted at his brother but missed. Landon backed out of the way.
“I’m
up, I’m up,” he said.
Landon
felt ornery and punched him in the arm before running down the hall. Broden yelled at him from the bedroom. It wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but Broden
needed some motivation to get up. As he
turned to go downstairs, he heard Broden right behind him. Landon glanced over his shoulder,
smiling. He took the stairs two at a
time and went into the kitchen. Mom sat
at the table, checking her email and eating a bowl of cereal. Phew!
Landon was safe.
“Good
morning,” she said between bites.
Landon
was about to answer when Broden burst into the room. He tried to smack Landon on the head, but
Landon blocked it, and the two started a slap fight. Broden must not have noticed Mom at the
table, or maybe he didn’t care. With her
there, Broden could get into a lot of trouble for starting a fight. After all, Mom didn’t see Landon hit Broden
in the bedroom, so she couldn’t punish him for that.
“Boys,”
Mom called over the melee. “It’s too
early for that. Knock it off.”
“He
hit me,” Broden whined.
“No
I didn’t,” Landon protested.
“I
don’t care who did what. Knock it off
before I hit you both.”
The
two settled down and grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal out of the
cupboard. As they sat at the table, they
kicked at each other. Landon tried to
whack his brother good, but he missed and hit the table leg. He jammed his toe and yelped in pain. Broden laughed. Mom just stared at him, her lips pursed.
“I
hope that teaches you a lesson,” she said and stood, taking her bowl to the
sink. She walked out of the room without
saying another word.
Landon
put his foot on the chair and examined his toe.
It was red and throbbing, but there was no blood, so he would be
fine. Still, it upset him that Mom
didn’t get Broden in trouble. She was
there, she saw him start the
fight. Landon didn’t know why he wanted
Broden to get in trouble. He was tired
and grumpy, so it sounded like a good idea.
Maybe he wanted Broden to feel as bad as he did. Either way, it didn’t work out, and that made
him angry. He wouldn’t have hurt his toe
if it weren’t for Broden. That made him
even madder.
“See,
that’s what happens when you mess with me.” Broden smiled.
Landon
flipped milk at him. There was no other
way to retaliate. Plus, he knew it would
upset Broden. He’d be sticky and dirty
for school.
“Mom! Landon’s throwing food!”
“No
I’m not!”
“Boys,”
Mom called from downstairs, “you don’t have time for this. Did everyone finish their homework?”
Landon’s
eyes grew wide. “Oh, yeah. My math.”
He scarfed down the rest of his cereal and ran upstairs.
The
night before, he’d been having a hard time solving a math problem. He agonized over it and tried several way to
find the answer, but he never did. The
paper was stained gray from him erasing his work so many times. He was determined to finish it, but he never
got the chance. It was bedtime. His only hope was that when he went upstairs,
a new idea would come to him and he would be able to solve it.
Once
in his room, he pulled on his clothes, ran into the bathroom to brush his
teeth, then sat at his desk. The anger
and frustration from the morning faded away, replaced with determination to
finish his assignment. He opened his
math book and pulled out the paper. He
grabbed his pencil and scanned down the paper, stopping on the problem he had
been working on before bed.
Determination was replaced with confusion. He was sure he hadn’t finished the problem,
but as he stared at the paper, there were numbers filled in on the page. The writing was crooked and light, as if
whoever had written it had a hard time holding the pencil. He scrutinized it for a long time.
Broden
came into the room and pulled him out of his stupor. Landon placed the paper back into his
book. He looked at his brother.
“Did
you do my homework?”
Broden
stopped getting dressed and looked at him.
“Why would I do your homework?”
“I
don’t know. To mess with me. The writing is all sloppy.”
Broden
cocked his head to the right. “Landon,
if I wanted to mess with you, I wouldn’t do your homework for you. I’d flush it down the toilet.”
Landon
shrugged. “Well, someone did it.”
Broden
pulled on his pants. “Maybe it was Mom.”
Landon
nodded. “Maybe.” He placed his book in his backpack.
“Boys,”
Mom called from down the hall, “are you getting ready?”
“Yes,”
they answered.
“Mom,”
Landon yelled, “did you do my homework?”
“What?”
“Did
you do my homework?”
Mom
poked her head into their room. “Why
would I do your homework for you?”
Landon
shrugged. “I don’t know. ‘Cause you felt sorry for me?”
Mom
rolled her eyes. “First of all, sweetie,
I didn’t even know you were having trouble with your homework. Secondly, I’m busy sleeping at night, not
sneaking around in the dark finishing people’s homework. Maybe it was the homework fairy.”
Landon
chuckled. “Mom! You know there’s no such thing.”
“There
is if you believe.” She knocked on the
wall. “Now, c’mon, we’ve got to get to
school.” She left the room.
After
the boys were dressed and ready to go, they met their mom in the living
room. They piled into the car and backed
down the driveway. The ride to school
was silent. Mom pulled in front of the
building and turned to face the boys.
“Have
a good day, angels.” She smiled. “Go
straight home after school. Your dad
will be waiting for you.”
“Okay,
Mom,” they said as the climbed out of the car.
“Love you!”
“Love
you, too!”
Landon
turned and waved as he walked toward school, but Broden was already half way to
the playground. They played until the
bell rang, then headed into their classrooms.
The
first thing Landon’s teacher asked for that morning was the math homework. Landon turned it in, feeling pretty proud of
himself that he had finished all of it, even if he had a little help. He came to the conclusion that he must have
gotten up in the middle of the night and finished it in his sleep. It was the only way to explain it. Surely, the zombie in his closet didn’t do
it, so who could have? And it would
explain why he was so exhausted.
He
went through the rest of his day without giving it a second thought. By the time lunch rolled around, the only
thing he thought about was getting onto the playground and playing
kickball. He ate his turkey and noodles
as fast as he could, then ran outside.
On his way, his shoe came untied.
While retying it, the shoelace broke.
He held the string in his hand and stared at it.
“Oh,
man.”
“Landon,
c’mon!” his friends called.
He
put the lace in his pocket and headed onto the field. He’d have plenty of time to worry about it
later. Right then, the most important
thing was the game.
Landon’s
team was up by two points, and it was his turn to kick. He was easily one of the best kickers in his
class. The game would be won by the
bell. There was a runner on second, and
Landon was sure he could get him home.
He lined himself up at the plate and eyed the pitcher. The boy watched him for a few seconds, his eyes
narrowed to slits, before winding up his arm and tossing the ball. Landon steadied himself and watched the ball
approach. He took one step forward and
kicked. His foot connected with the ball
with a thump, sending it sailing over the other player’s heads, along with his
shoe.
At
first he didn’t notice, the excitement of the great kick overwhelmed him, but
when he started running, the gravel dug into the bottom of his foot. Still, he wasn’t going to let it slow him
down. The runner on second base took
off; Landon had to get to first. He would, even if he had to limp. He was half way there when he turned to see
where the ball was. The shortstop was
crouched down with his arms out. The
ball bounced and he scooped it up, shifting it quickly to his right hand to
throw. Landon quickened his pace. If he didn’t hurry, he would be out. As his shoeless foot came down, he stepped on
a rock. Pain started in his heel and
traveled up his calf, causing him to almost lose his balance. He wanted to yell, but the pain took his
breath away. That, and he had to get to
first base. There wasn’t time to
yell. The shortstop cocked his arm back. Landon braced for the blow. Before it could come, the bell rang. Landon stopped in his tracks, and he and the
other kids groaned with disappointment.
He turned to get his shoe, then headed back into the building.
Landon
was thankful to be able to sit down. The
heel he hit on the rock was on the same foot he jammed his toe. His whole foot felt like it was pulsating. He lifted his foot to his chair and slid his
sock down. The heel was already
bruised. A black circle surrounded by
red covered part of his foot. That was
going to be sore for a while. He was a
little thankful that he couldn’t tie his shoe.
The pressure might have made his foot explode. He replaced his sock and put his foot on the
floor as the teacher handed back their homework from the night before. Landon looked at his grade. B. He
shrugged. Not bad. He glanced down the page to see which problems
he missed. The first one that caught his
eye was the one he didn’t finish. Not
only was it checked, but the teacher had written a little note beside the
problem. It read: “Please make sure I can read your
writing. This is a mess.” Landon shook his head and stuffed the paper
in his desk.
After
school, Landon met Broden at the monkey bars, as usual, and they headed
home. They only lived a few blocks from
school, but their mom liked to drop them off on her way to work. They didn’t mind because that meant they got
to sleep in a little bit longer. They
didn’t say anything the whole way home.
Landon’s foot was sore from the rock, although it didn’t hurt as bad as
it had earlier in the day, and he had to concentrate on walking so he didn’t
lose his shoe. Broden was busy kicking a
plastic bottle cap down the sidewalk.
When
they got close to the house, Broden turned and kicked the cap at Landon. It hit Landon in the hand, and even though it
wasn’t going fast enough to cause real damage, it still stung. Landon’s gaze flicked up from the
ground. Broden smiled, then took off
running. How dare he! He would pay for that! Landon tried to follow him, but his shoe kept
falling off, preventing him from running.
He would have taken it off, but that would make his foot hurt even
more. It didn’t really matter. There would be plenty of time to get
revenge. Broden didn’t have anywhere to
hide.
Landon
walked into the house and noticed Broden hugging Dad around the waist. He would have to wait to get back at his
brother.
“Hey,
sport,” Dad said. “How was your day?”
Landon
set his backpack by the couch. “Good.”
Dad
smiled. “We’re going to go play some
football in the backyard. Do you want to
come?”
He
nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. Let me change my shoes real quick.”
He
ran upstairs and kicked his shoe into the room.
Sitting on Broden’s bed, he took off the other one and pulled on a pair
of old sneakers. He ran back downstairs
and joined his dad and brother outside.
Playing
with Dad was always fun, but Landon’s foot still hurt, so he wasn’t overly
excited. Still, he tried his best. Broden caught the first throw, so Landon
promptly tackled him. The second one was
his, and Broden whacked him hard.
Broden’s shoulder dug into his back, which hurt, then when he hit the
ground, the air got knocked out of him.
That was painful, too. It took
him a few moments to get to his feet.
When he did, his arm was around his waist to help with the pain. He thought about quitting and going inside,
but then Broden would tease him. He
could stick it out for a little longer.
Mom
got home a few hours later, and the family ate dinner and watched a little
TV. Broden didn’t tackle him hard again,
and Landon was thankful. By the time
they sat on the couch to watch cartoons, Landon was so tired, he forgot about
getting revenge on his brother. Landon
and Broden went to bed at 9:00. All
night, Landon kept dreaming that someone was poking his foot, right where he
stepped on the rock, with a small stick.
At one point, they poked it so hard, pain radiated through his leg,
causing Landon to jerk awake. His foot
throbbed again. He rubbed his heel for a
moment, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Right before falling asleep, he couldn’t help but think something weird
was going on.
Review
By Sapphyria
The story is about
two brothers, Landon & Broden, who discover that mystical little creatures
called the Ifs are, indeed, real. According to their mother the Ifs, "if
they existed would be about 6" tall, they would help with problems, and
you wouldn't really know they are here." When they think there is an If, or
two, in the house, the boys devise a plan to catch one. Little did they know
that the little man they catch, Slade, is there on a mission. Slade is the
leader of a village of Ifs and they are being threatened by a rogue clan. In
order to defeat the rogue clan, Slade calls Landon and Broden to arms. While
Slade is organizing his battle group, the boys are approached by another If
named Gage, from a different clan. Gage also needs help from the boys to battle
the same rogue group of Ifs. When Landon and Broden realize that one of the Ifs
deceived them and Broden is kidnapped, Landon must join forces with the good If
(who is the brother to the bad If) and save his brother.
This a great story
about two sets of brothers (each set of brothers come from different
backgrounds; Ifs or humans) that sometimes get along, but like most siblings,
tend to disagree a lot, too. The plot was exciting and well written. The entire
book kept me engaged and interested in the characters and what was going on.
J.D. Pooker wrote an amazing book that fantasy lovers of all ages would enjoy.
This would make a great gift for boys or girls to put in their personal
library; whether you purchase the paperback version or an ebook.
About the Author
J. D. Pooker lives in wonderful Wyoming with her husband and two sons,
along with a black lab named Ryder and a sweet kitty named Alia. J.D. likes to
spend time with her family and go camping, fishing, and snowmobiling.
Her sons are the inspiration for writing children's stories. She wants to
encourage them to be readers and show them how powerful and exciting the
imagination can be. She wants them to see that countless worlds exist, and all
it takes to get there is a good book.
Links
Tour Stops
5 December – Books Direct
– Spotlight
6 December – Fantasy Book Lane
– Review
16 December – Emm’s Wonderland – Review
30 December – Tanya’s Book Nook - Review
