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jscarpa14's review
3.0
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
David "Mack" McAvoy is a bright, but average twelve-year-old with caring, but somewhat neglectful parents. When he saves the school bully - Stephan's life by helping stem the flow of blood after the boy puts his arm through a window he is taken under the big brute's wing. Though at first he isn't sure this is a good thing, he's grateful for the protection when an old man shows up informing Mack is fated to be the leader of The Magnificent 12, a group of twelve-year-old's, who through magic must save the world from the evil mother of all monsters, The Pale Queen. He might have ignored the man, but for the aged assassin and monsters who show up at his middle school to kill him. And so Mack and Stephan embark on a journey around the world to locate the rest of the magnificent twelve. But can a group of twelve-year-old's really save the world?
In a way I'm glad that I read the second book in this series before reading the first. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book filled with adventure and some funny scenes, however it pales in comparison to the hilarity of its sequel - The Trap (review to be posted on release date). While this book might have received a higher rating from me than it did, I probably wouldn't have bothered to pick up another book in the series which is very obviously geared to children, not really the type of book meant to expand to include adult interest. The difference between this and The Trap is even though they're both clearly geared toward children The Trap keeps you laughing from beginning to end so you don't really mind the immaturity of the book as an adult reader. This book has funny moments which make you smile, but it doesn't reach the same level of funny as The Trap does.
What makes this adventure novel so appropriate for children is that Grant takes the adventure and makes it out right silly. And though his topics are somewhat violent in nature, he manages to skip the really violent parts by giving the reader two intertwining story lines at the same time. In some chapters you are in the modern world with Mack seeing his world turn upside down. In others you are three thousand years in the past with Grimluk, engaged in a war against the Pale Queen. None of the chapters are really gruesome or gory and parts that you would expect to be scary are so silly in nature that they're laughable. Grant engages in a wonderful method of bringing adventure to children with a distinctive voice and original style. To be honest the book probably deserves a higher rating but it's hard to give it that with the comparison to its sequel so fresh in my mind.
I don't know if I'd so much call the characters well developed, however I would call them memorable. I don't think the characters are meant to be well developed in this story because the more realistic you make them, the less laughable they seem. As the goal of this adventure novel is laughter for once I think this is a positive thing. There's Mack with his numerous phobias freaking out about everything. Stephan, the dumb but brave bully ready to protect him. With a bunch of other characters along the way. My favorite character in this novel is the Golem whose mostly portrayed though journal entries and text messages. Because he has a brain made from mud, clay and magic he takes everything literally. So for example when a teacher asks if Mack is still devouring books, he says yes and promptly eats a book for her then can't understand why he gets in trouble. If everything else in the book was deadly serious, the Golem's passages would still be enough to keep the mood light and children laughing.
Overall this is an excellent tale of adventure and laughter that I believe children, especially boys will love.
David "Mack" McAvoy is a bright, but average twelve-year-old with caring, but somewhat neglectful parents. When he saves the school bully - Stephan's life by helping stem the flow of blood after the boy puts his arm through a window he is taken under the big brute's wing. Though at first he isn't sure this is a good thing, he's grateful for the protection when an old man shows up informing Mack is fated to be the leader of The Magnificent 12, a group of twelve-year-old's, who through magic must save the world from the evil mother of all monsters, The Pale Queen. He might have ignored the man, but for the aged assassin and monsters who show up at his middle school to kill him. And so Mack and Stephan embark on a journey around the world to locate the rest of the magnificent twelve. But can a group of twelve-year-old's really save the world?
In a way I'm glad that I read the second book in this series before reading the first. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book filled with adventure and some funny scenes, however it pales in comparison to the hilarity of its sequel - The Trap (review to be posted on release date). While this book might have received a higher rating from me than it did, I probably wouldn't have bothered to pick up another book in the series which is very obviously geared to children, not really the type of book meant to expand to include adult interest. The difference between this and The Trap is even though they're both clearly geared toward children The Trap keeps you laughing from beginning to end so you don't really mind the immaturity of the book as an adult reader. This book has funny moments which make you smile, but it doesn't reach the same level of funny as The Trap does.
What makes this adventure novel so appropriate for children is that Grant takes the adventure and makes it out right silly. And though his topics are somewhat violent in nature, he manages to skip the really violent parts by giving the reader two intertwining story lines at the same time. In some chapters you are in the modern world with Mack seeing his world turn upside down. In others you are three thousand years in the past with Grimluk, engaged in a war against the Pale Queen. None of the chapters are really gruesome or gory and parts that you would expect to be scary are so silly in nature that they're laughable. Grant engages in a wonderful method of bringing adventure to children with a distinctive voice and original style. To be honest the book probably deserves a higher rating but it's hard to give it that with the comparison to its sequel so fresh in my mind.
I don't know if I'd so much call the characters well developed, however I would call them memorable. I don't think the characters are meant to be well developed in this story because the more realistic you make them, the less laughable they seem. As the goal of this adventure novel is laughter for once I think this is a positive thing. There's Mack with his numerous phobias freaking out about everything. Stephan, the dumb but brave bully ready to protect him. With a bunch of other characters along the way. My favorite character in this novel is the Golem whose mostly portrayed though journal entries and text messages. Because he has a brain made from mud, clay and magic he takes everything literally. So for example when a teacher asks if Mack is still devouring books, he says yes and promptly eats a book for her then can't understand why he gets in trouble. If everything else in the book was deadly serious, the Golem's passages would still be enough to keep the mood light and children laughing.
Overall this is an excellent tale of adventure and laughter that I believe children, especially boys will love.
igu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
mokey81's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
littlebitofe's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. The characters are great, the writing is easy and full of wit, making it a great read for the age group (and us oldies who enjoy the genre). There was excitement and suspense without it going too far. I especially liked the growth and friendship between Mack and Stefan (the bully!). Looking forward to reading more!
katiecatbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Middle grade. Adventure quest. Fantasy.
Story: Mack is an average 12 year old boy. He goes to middle school and one day has the unfortunate luck to fall out with the school's biggest bully. Who knew that by the end of the day Mack would be a hero and that bully would come along for the ride.
Language: The book is told in third person from Mack's perspective. Occasionally we get chapters featuring a character from the past, that has a direct correlation to Mack's timeline in the present. For some added humor, there are some letters from a side character at the end of some chapters. The chapters are of medium length. The settings include southwest USA, Australia and a fantasy world.
Characters: Mack is a 12 year old middle school boy whose parents don't really pay attention to him, gets picked on by bullies and has some phobias. He is also destined to become a hero. Stefan is his bully turned companion, 15 years old and not so bright.
I liked the premise of the book and in general it's fine as a light read, but the main character supposedly has phobias which have no reference or context and doesn't seem to react realistically when facing these phobias other than screaming a lot and then being fine. One thing I didn't care for is that even though this is a middle grade (or children's) book , there are references to stoners and the mafia, which far surpasses the humor level for middle grade and is really just inappropriate. The series has potential and I hope it improves.
Story: Mack is an average 12 year old boy. He goes to middle school and one day has the unfortunate luck to fall out with the school's biggest bully. Who knew that by the end of the day Mack would be a hero and that bully would come along for the ride.
Language: The book is told in third person from Mack's perspective. Occasionally we get chapters featuring a character from the past, that has a direct correlation to Mack's timeline in the present. For some added humor, there are some letters from a side character at the end of some chapters. The chapters are of medium length. The settings include southwest USA, Australia and a fantasy world.
Characters: Mack is a 12 year old middle school boy whose parents don't really pay attention to him, gets picked on by bullies and has some phobias. He is also destined to become a hero. Stefan is his bully turned companion, 15 years old and not so bright.
I liked the premise of the book and in general it's fine as a light read, but the main character supposedly has phobias which have no reference or context and doesn't seem to react realistically when facing these phobias other than screaming a lot and then being fine. One thing I didn't care for is that even though this is a middle grade (or children's) book , there are references to stoners and the mafia, which far surpasses the humor level for middle grade and is really just inappropriate. The series has potential and I hope it improves.
sean67's review
2.0
Really by the numbers series which felt devoid of passion and excitement and more like these are the points I have to make here and here and here. Nothing that sustained interest and overall fairly forgettable.
jdeternal's review
3.0
Found this book to be funny but at times too silly. I wouldn't mind reading the others but only if I got them cheaply like I did this one. (love nook free Fridays)
funsizelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This short novel is packed with humor, adventure and magic. I loved it!
lizlogan's review
4.0
The main character was a bit annoying at first, but the book was overall very enjoyable.