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A review by jscarpa14
The Call by Michael Grant
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.