Jeremy and the Magic Lobster
by Matthew Licht
Date: 2014
Publisher: East of the Web
Reading level: A
Book type: short story
Pages: 3
Format: e-book
Source: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/
Just cuz a crustacean can talk don't make him magic! A children's story for adults.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
This is a weird little story. It sounds like it should be for kids, but it has a lying, opportunistic lobster entertaining his lady friend in his tank, so... it's really not.
Jeremy lives on Coney Island, and he loves the sea. One day, his mother buys lobsters for dinner. One of them speaks to Jeremy, promising him a wish if he'll save him from certain death. So Jeremy keeps the lobster as a pet and wishes for a sailboat.
It's quite obvious from the beginning that the lobster has no intention of granting the wish. It's also obvious that he doesn't have the power to do so. So he strings Jeremy along, getting his own needs met and convincing Jeremy to wish for smaller and smaller things. Finally, Jeremy wises up... but not before the lobster has milked the kid's hospitality nearly to death.
The writing was a bit weak in spots. I liked the way the lobster talked, but the overly casual style occasionally crept into the regular narration as well, which didn't seem to fit. The story reads a bit like a contemporary fairy tale, so I would've liked to see the language reflect that consistently.
Overall, this isn't a terrible story, and the lobster is fairly amusing. I do wonder what his ultimate fate was, though...
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5
Overall Rating: 2.57 out of 5 ladybugs
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