MATEGUAS TALK!

I was privileged to be selected to read an Advanced Reader Copy of Bernie and the Putty, the first book in Steve LeBel's Universe Buliders' series. While the genre is a departure from what I usually read, LeBel's gentle humor and unique storyline piqued my interest.

The main character is Bernie, a shy young god who has just graduated from (you guessed it) "god school" and is about to begin building universes. He has good friends, Lenny and Suzie, who help him along his way, but he also has an enemy. Billy, another young god who was a year ahead Bernie at school, is determined to sabotage our hero's career and sets about to ruin any chance he has of success.

However, in his corner, Bernie finds other unusual friends that help him on his way - but I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling you about them here. Just suffice to say that LeBel has created a fascinating world populated by a bunch of weird, crazy characters that will tickle your funny bone and, at times, tug at your heartstrings.

I give "Bernie and the Putty" five stars and look forward to see what LeBel will come up with in the next of his Universe Builders series.