It is with great delight I join The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer book tour. This exciting new middle-grade mystery was released by Little, Brown Young Readers US on the 29th June 2023.

The main protagonist, Owen Godfrey, is spending his summer in Paris studying science fiction writer Jules Verne, the brilliant mind behind Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days. When Owen and his new friends find what appears to be a dusty copy of Verne’s collected works in an old bookshop, they’re intrigued by the hidden codes written inside.

As one clue leads to another, the trio gets swept up in an epic treasure hunt spanning the city – from the depths of the catacombs to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and by way of skateboard, boat, car, and even a hot air balloon! But they quickly realize they’re not the only ones searching for the hidden riches, and that there are others who will stop at nothing to get to them first. This fast-paced larger-than-life adventure is filled with action, high stakes, and three friends who are dead set on cracking the Jules Verne mystery.

For my stop of the tour I have elected to do a creative post and tell you my top five reasons to read The Jules Verne Prophecy and traditionally I am going to give these in reverse order, saving the best to last.

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My Top Five Reasons to Read The Jules Verne Prophecy

5. It is Set in Paris

I love Paris. It is a beautiful city. Reading The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer bought back pleasant memories of wandering the streets of Paris with my husband. This novel captures the atmosphere and the intrepid adventurers, Owen Godfrey, Nas Shirvani and Rose Bordage are  propelled into a vast array of incredible iconic attractions that the reader is instantly able to visualise, even if they have never visited Paris before.

They venture deep into the catacombs of Paris, float by the Eiffel Tower in a hot air balloon and sail down the Seine in style. They visit Europe’s oldest scientific museum, the Musée des Arts et Métiers, home of many scientific inventions and their search leads them into the neighbouring arts et Métiers Metro Station, which was redesigned in 1994 in recognition of Jules Verne and his amazing novels. I enjoyed discovering the historical significance to Jules Verne these landmarks have.

4. Refers to the Jules Verne’s Novels

The title, The Jules Verne Prophecy, drew me to the book instantly. I immediately thought this must be a novel for middle-grade that is themed around Jules Verne’s many imaginative scientific inventions that have since become a reality. I was already aware that Jules Verne had written 54 novels and each one in my opinion is a masterpiece. Bearing in mind he was writing his books between 1863 and 1905, many things such as rockets that could fly to the moon in From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and submarines, as in the Nautilus from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869), etc did not exist. So the title piqued my interest before I had even received the book. I was not disappointed. The Jules Verne Prophecy mentions many of these inventions and some are important for the success of the quest.

There are many instances where the characters discuss Jules Verne’s novels in relation to the next step of their adventure. I particularly liked the way little facts were weaved into the plot, such as when their teacher, Professor Bessier, points out that they never actually use a hot-air balloon in Around the World in Eighty Days as they dismiss the idea as highly risky. It is however used in his novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon. Although, at no point do you feel the authors are overloading you with scientific jargon or facts. The Jules Verne Prophecy is pitched perfectly to maintain the attentions of a middle grade reader.

3. Involves a Treasure Hunt

A treasure hunt is a simple and compelling premise that will draw many readers in because treasure hunts are fun. I remember the amazing sense of achievement I would get when taking part in treasure hunts as a child. It was a fantastic boost to my own self-confidence when I found the reward at the end. I even went through a phase of designing my own treasure hunts for my friends and later on my children.

Our main protagonist, Owen Godfrey, is enrolled into a Jules Verne course in France over the summer where they are going to study and discuss Jules Verne’s novels starting with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I was intrigued when his copy is stolen just before the test and so he goes to the nearest bookshop where he is mysteriously hit on the head with a dusty old book, entitled The Jules Verne Prophecy – just like the title of the Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer novel. This book is the catalyst that propels them on their quest finding a wide range of hidden doorways and secret passages with Jules Verne links at various destinations around Paris.

The great thing about The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer is not only are they whisked off on a treasure hunt around Paris but there are actual proper clues to decipher, which the authors give time for the reader to try and solve for themselves rather than, as other books I have read that involves a mystery, tells you there is a cryptic clue without actually telling the reader what the clue was. Here we get to read the clue for ourselves and think about it and witness the step-by-step way our heroes solve the puzzle, thus challenging the reader to think and use their creativity to solve the mystery.

I also like the way that each bit of treasure they found was significant in helping them to solve the next step of their treasure hunt in a similar fashion to the National Treasure movies starring Nicholas Cage.

2. The Terrific Tension

There is a lot of mystery and tension in The Jules Verne Prophecy from the start. We are immediately caught up in the story of who led him to that particular bookstore where he was hit on the head by a book and why was he chosen? Then there is the mystery of who is the nameless antagonist who is trying to thwart their efforts to discover Jules Verne’s treasure. We are never quite sure who to trust and even the police could be on the antagonists payroll, so we are routing the whole time for Owen and his friends to escape their clutches.

All the way through we want to discover the answers to our questions of what the treasure will be and how will it lead them to their next destination. The characters are constantly placed in situations where they have to work hard to solve each clue and their struggle increases in difficulty as the story progresses. As well as the tension of finding the treasure before the mysterious ‘baddies’, Owen has his own inner tension of self-confidence believing his mum does not think him worthy of her attention as she has to work all the time. Then their teacher goes missing and later Owen’s mum is kidnapped. Each time this conflict racks up the tension of the plot.

The Jules Verne Prophecy is plotted so the tension rises and falls but still gives sufficient time for the reader to breath during this roller-coaster of an adventure.

1. The Vibrant Voice

Yes, the book is well-plotted but the thing that stood out most for me and why it has made my number one spot in my list of the five top reasons to read The Jules Verne Prophecy is… the voice. This novel is absolutely filled with the voice of Owen Godfrey.

From the very first page the authors have captured Owen’s personality and American colloquialisms and this is maintained throughout the novel. I found him to be a relatable and dynamic protagonist with clear goals and flaws, who reacts to the situations he finds himself in organically. He reminded me of Marty McFly, Michael J. Fox’s character in Back to the Future.

In fact, every character in the story has their own voice so they are easily identifiable not only by what they say but also how they react. If other writer’s are searching for a book that showcases voice this is the book for you.

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Larry Schwarz is a creator and producer of live action and animated series for kids, teens, and families. He’s best known for Nickelodeon’s anime comedy Kappa Mikey and Speed Racer: The Next Generation and the live action series Thumb Wrestling Federation for Cartoon Network; Team Toon, a Netflix Original; and Alien Dawn for Nickelodeon. In addition to The Jules Verne Prophecy, he has co-authored Romeo, Juliet & Jim with Iva-Marie Palmer. He lives in New York City.

You can discover more about Larry on Twitter @ZoomSchwarz, Instagram @zoomschwarz and find links to his other books on Goodreads here.

Iva-Marie Palmer is the author of the novels Gimme Everything You Got, The End of the World as We Know It, and The Summers. A former journalist in Chicago’s south suburbs and still a bit of a jock who loves to box, run races, and swing big at batting cages, Iva now lives with her husband and two sons in Burbank, California.

Iva’s website where you can find out more about her and her writing is www.ivamariepalmer.com.

You can follow her on Twitter @ivamarie and Instagram @ivamarie. Reviews of her other books can be seen on Goodreads here.

You can use this link to the tour schedule to follow the rest of the tour: https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2023/05/24/tour-schedule-the-jules-vernes-prophecy-by-larry-schwarz-iva-marie-palmer

To purchase a copy of The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer you can use the following book links:

: Goodreads : Amazon : Barnes & Noble : Indigo : IndieBound :

I would like to thank TBR and Beyond Tours for inviting me to take part in this book tour. Thank you.