ABOUT THE BOOK
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions
Written by Anthony J. Rapino and Anthony D. Grate
Ages 10+ | 392 Pages
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group | ISBN-13: 9781626349667
Publisher’s Book Summary: Sometimes our greatest moments of enlightenment come from our worst mistakes.
When life supplies eleven-year-old Tommy Grant with some unfavorable circumstances intruding on his otherwise tranquil life in rural 1980s Ohio, he retreats into the spell-binding Order of Cosmic Champions. When he discovers that the largely successful animated program and toy line is holding a nationwide ”Create-A-Character” contest where applicants submit their action figure designs, Tommy knows he has to enter as surely as he knows his own name.
But when Tommy’s character design fails to win the contest, he finds his world crumbling from all sides. And there is only one way he knows to fix it. What follows is a whirlwind coming-of-age adventure of righting wrongs, overcoming perilous obstacles, confronting our inner demons, and challenging the limits of reality. In this waxing nostalgic and imaginative fantasy, readers will discover what excitement lies waiting when you take risks and conquer your fears.
Only one question remains: In the final hour when you heed the call, the courage to give your all, will you stand or fall?
PURCHASE LINK
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Anthony J. Rapino resides in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his cats Luna and Poe. When he’s not writing speculative fiction, Anthony can be found in the classroom teaching English or crouched in dark alleyways sculpting horrific autumnal creatures out of clay. His work has appeared in On Spec, Acapella Zoo, Black Ink Horror, Madhouse, Liminal Spaces, and others. His novel, Soundtrack to the End of the World, and the story collection, Greetings from Moon Hill, are both available now.
Anthony D. Grate lived through the ’80s, from ages six to sixteen, by surviving on steady doses of Masters of the Universe, Kool-Aid that he put way too much sugar in, and BarNones. Occasionally he put pencil to paper and created comic strips to entertain his friends. He dreamed of one day working for Marvel or DC. Once out of college, however, he found himself selling furniture. Life sure is funny.
After a few failed attempts to use a new thing called ”the internet” to find a nice lady to share life with, a nice lady found him. They married and soon found themselves raising four children together. Meanwhile, in his spare time, Anthony tried desperately to appease the creative spirit dwelling within him. Comic strips, websites, books, board games, interactive online games . . . you name it, he probably gave it a shot.
Nowadays, Anthony juggles the responsibilities of a husband, father, business owner, and creator pretty well—or at least he thinks so. He lives in the same quiet corner of Ohio that he always has, with no plans of changing that. The guy’s not much for change, which is probably why he still watches Masters of the Universe and eats too many BarNones. He did ditch the Kool-Aid, however.
OFFICIAL LINKS
https://www.orderofcosmicchampions.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OOCCSocial
MY THOUGHTS
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions is written by Anthony J. Rapino and Anthony D. Grate. This book is recommended for readers age 10 and up. My 11 year old son and I read this book and we both really enjoyed it. This book came at a perfect time, because my 11 year old started middle school this year. I loved the fact that this book was set in the 80's. It brought back some really great memories. (I mean, I turned 40 this year)
We meet Tommy. He finishes elementary school and is looking forward to summer and hanging out with his best friend, Evan. However, it seems that Evan is not as good as a friend as Tommy thought. Not only does Tommy lose his best friend, he is going thorugh a lot at home.
Then middle school starts. Tommy unfortunately does not get a clean break. We see bullying and hazing happen. My son and I had a nice long talk about this situation. He has been bullied and this brought up some memories for him. Tommy seems to use his comic friends and games to cope with life.
Overall, I thought the book was well written. Tommy is a realisitc character that middle grade readers can relate too. My son and I had some good conversation with this book. I loved that it was set back in the 80's. My son felt that was "foreign".
Thank you to the author, publisher and Children's book Review for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.
This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review, Anthony J. Rapino, and Anthony D. Grate.
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions
Virtual Book Tour Dates
| Saturday, August 13, 2022 The Children’s Book Review A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Monday, August 15, 2022 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers An article by author Anthony J. Rapino |
| Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Life Is What It’s Called An interview with author Anthony D. Grate |
| Wednesday, August 17, 2022 The Momma Spot A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Thursday, August 18, 2022 icefairy’s Treasure Chest A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Friday, August 19, 2022 Lisa’s Reading A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Monday, August 22, 2022 The Fairview Review A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Tuesday, August 23, 2022 Because I Said So A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Wednesday, August 24, 2022 J.R.s Book Reviews A book review of Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions |
| Thursday, August 25, 2022 The Children’s Book Review An interview with author Anthony D. Grate |
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions
Book Giveaway
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- The giveaway begins August 13, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends September 13, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
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I’d really love to win this giveaway. Everyone loves to put themselves in the fictional protagonist’s shoes and imagine what they’d do.
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