BOOK REVIEW: The Fix-It Shop by Frederick Alimonti

The Fix-It Shop:  A Story of Music, Magic, a Baseball Bat and a Toaster

Author:  Frederick Alimonti
Paperback:  116 pages
Publisher:  Tate Publishing & Enterprises (August, 2011)
Language:  English

Taconic, New York is a sleepy town.  In fact, it's practically dead.  Tommy Jameson wonders what has happened to "his town".  

One day, an odd little man opens Ed's Fix-It Shop.  Ed Lunden, its mysterious owner, seems able to fix everything-even a hopelessly cracked baseball bat is returned to its owner "better than new" and fit for play.  

Can this strange man fix only things?  Do his abilities extend to people and perhaps even the whole "broken" town?
Tommy Jameson befriends the new store owner in town, Ed Lunden, who has opened a Fix-It shop.  Tommy is worried about his town, jobs are declining and people are becoming depressed and he is at a loss as to stop the madness from continuing.

The townspeople do not believe that Mr. Lunden's shop will work, but Tommy can see the magic of Ed and continues to learn all that he can from the man.

I thought The Fix-It Shop was a great read and was impressed with the author's writing style.  I loved how you don't even realize that Tommy is in a wheelchair, the author has blended this fact nicely with the story, allowing you to see that there is nothing that can stop Tommy from accomplishing his dreams and desires.

I loved the message that if you have a special gift, then you should share it and not hide it from others.  Tommy was an endearing character to read and I would love to read more of him.

I would give The Fix-It Shop a four out of five stars.  I would've loved to have learned a bit more about the characters, I felt the story was too short.  I was able to read it in about 20 mins. or so, the print is large and the illustrations are few.  However, author, Fredrick Alimonti, writes with a beautiful prose that your youngsters would be sure to enjoy.

**  Reviewed by me...as I see it~!!  **