“Witty, adventurous, and full of laugh-out-loud moments, The Heart of Pangaea is perfect for readers who love dinosaurs (and dimetrodons, which are definitely NOT dinosaurs).”

Review by Rayleigh Setser

Robyn has a vivid imagination, even for a twelve-year-old. Vivid enough to create herself a companion—but Ed isn’t your ordinary imaginary friend. Ed is a Dimetrodon, an ancient beast from a forgotten age.

When her mother falls ill, Robyn and Ed delve into her subconscious, to the prehistoric kingdom of Pangaea, in search of a cure. But in a world of dinosaurs, pirates, and ancient magic, can they find what they seek? Can they even save themselves from the creatures which inhabit this mysterious land?

The Heart of Pangaea brings the wonders of palaeontology to a vivid and magical fantasy setting. In this novel, the reader will dig up scientific discoveries, and be gripped by a story rich with the meaning of friendship, family, and love.

The Heart of Pangaea is now wonderfully illustrated by Katharina Holzinger.

"I'd follow you anywhere, Robyn, though mostly out of morbid curiosity."

Witty, adventurous, and full of laugh-out-loud moments, The Heart of Pangaea is perfect for readers who love dinosaurs (and dimetrodons, which are definitely NOT dinosaurs). I really enjoyed reading about Robyn and Ed's adventure through Pangaea. There are heartfelt moments, pulse-stopping suspense, brilliant ways of breaking the 4th wall, and just an overall good time!

"Look, I had a more intricate trial planned, but the beta readers didn't like it."

The dialogue is top-tier sarcasm and deadpan, making it an amusing book for readers of all ages. On the more meaningful side of things, Robyn's search for a cure for her mother is heartfelt and makes for many emotional conversations. In a few ways, Ed's comments about his desire to be "real" paired with the heartstring-tugging motivation, I wanted to compare The Heart of Pangaea to The Velveteen Rabbit; though obviously with dinosaurs rather than stuffed animals. It's not a great comp (and certainly a strange one), but the thought crossed my mind several times as I read. 

Overall, I had a great time reading this book and will certainly keep my eye out for future works from this author. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5!

Content Ratings:

4. Some action (a few mildly detailed battle sequences and/or fights)

0. None.

3. Infrequent and mild cursing (less than 10  “h*lls”, “*ss”, “sh*ts”, and “d*mns”) 

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

There is a bit of light cursing sprinkled throughout the book, somewhere between a high PG rating and a low PG-13. There’s not a lot of gore, considering the theme of the book, but there is some action and scary scenes where we aren’t sure who’s going to make it to the next chapter (appropriate for a middle grade audience, in my opinion). And finally, it is about dinosaurs, so you can expect evolution to be a prevalent topic, so if this bothers you, maybe pass on this one.

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