Series

This Can’t be Happening at MacDonald Hall by Gordon Korman Review

January 30, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 5 Comments

When twelve year-old Gordon Korman didn’t have an English teacher to teach his seventh grade English class, the school had no choice but to have a gym teacher put the reading and writing hat on. As Korman said, “When it came to writing he just sort of blanked, so he said, ‘Just work on whatever you want for the rest of the year.’ And I wrote my first book.”

It is such a crazy and inspiring. Twelve year-old Korman going crazy on a homework assignment and writing his first book, This Can’t be Happening at MacDonald Hall. Now remember, this wasn’t modern day where children authors are fairly common and most of them are self-published. The G-Man sent in his manuscript to the address on the Scholastic book order form, and the day after his thirteenth birthday he signed a contract for his first book.

But here, I’ll let Korman tell you himself (the first part of the movie is about his journey as a kids author. The second part is about his recent book Swindle):

Isn’t that so amazing? The thing is that it’s not like this book is a slacker, either. It’s actually quite good, already showing the humorous style of Korman that everyone loves.

Summary

At the beginning of the story we are introduced to the main characters, Bruno and Boots, two roommates at the boarding school MacDonald Hall who are “partners in crime,” playing all kinds of funny pranks. We see some of their hilarious escapades, including going over to the girls school and hanging out with Diane and Cathy.

Unfortunately, however, the headmaster of their school, Mr. Sturgeon (also known as “The Fish“) decides that their trouble making has come to point of being detrimental to both them and the rest of the school. He switches their rooms, making Bruno the roommate of Elmer Drysdale, the eccentric school genius, and Boots the roommate of George Wexford-Smyth III, a weird guy who is obsessed with money and the stock market.

Bruno and Boots attempt to get themselves back together into the same room, but all of their plans backfire. In the end, a series of improbable events take place that make Bruno and Boots heroes. They are congratulated by an important government official, but will their headmaster congratulate them by giving them what they really want; having each other as roommates again?

Review

It’s hard to believe that Korman really wrote this book at twelve. Many of the jokes in this book are quite funny, hilarious even. It’s written in a very different style than his current books, which are mainly based on action. Korman’s earlier books (and all the MacDonald Hall) books are based on humor.

The characters in this book are very familiar and it’s easy to connect with them. I still remember and feel for all the lovable characters in this series. It’s like a happy world that is no less real than this one.

The only way that you can tell Korman was twelve when he wrote this book is the fact that it’s only 144 pages. In those 144 pages, however, is a story of very great depth and enjoyment.

This book also opens the way for a great series. The books only get better and better and climax with The Zucchini Warriors and Beware the Fish, the latter of which is the funniest book I have ever read.

These books are super easy to read. The great thing about Korman’s writing is that he doesn’t write his books to prove a point, not for book committees or reviewers. He writes books to be enjoyed, period. Reading MacDonald Hall you feel a great happiness and joy for life.

As much as Korman’s current books are great, I know old fans of Korman’s classic stories who think that his new books pale in comparison. While they are both good in different ways, I have to agree that there is no better way to guarantee yourself you’ll be laughing up a storm than reading MacDonald Hall.

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Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham Review

January 29, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 9 Comments

Everyone’s heard of John Grisham, haven’t they? After all, Grisham has written dozens of great legal thrillers that are interesting and will keep you on your toes the entire time. So when Grisham decided to foray into the kids book world, a lot of people were super excited. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is the first in a series of books Grisham is writing for kids.

Theodore Boone was the first book I read by Grisham a few years ago. My mom was a big Grisham fan and thought I’d enjoy him on a little less intense scale. Now I’ve also read many many of Grisham’s adult books. Are they comparable? No, Grisham’s adult books are far better than his kids books so far. That doesn’t mean, however, that Theodore Boone is a slacker.

Summary

At the beginning of Theodore Boone we meet the main character, unsurprisingly named Theodore (or Theo) Boone. Both of his parents are lawyers, and at 12 he is also interested in becoming one. Or maybe a judge. He’s not quite sure yet.

A lot of the book is telling us about the legal system and how it works. It’s kind of dry, and also not that interesting. Most kids reading the book will probably already know it. It is interesting, however, to see Theo going to different court cases and even defending a hot girl in Animal Court.

It’s interspersed, however, with an exciting trial: Did Pete Duffy murder his wife? Boone’s small town doesn’t have exciting trials like that very often, and Theo is of course absolutely stoked.

Although the plaintiffs are mounting what looks to be a good case against Duffy, they don’t have any real evidence, and everyone knows that Duffy is going to walk. At least that’s what Theo’s Uncle Ike tells him, a former lawyer who was kicked out of the profession.

Theo loves watching the trial, but he never thought he would have any actual involvement. Until he meets Bobby, a young immigrant who witnessed Duffy on the day of the murder. With Bobby’s testimony, Duffy may be locked up behind bars.

The problem is that Bobby isn’t just an immigrant; he’s an illegal immigrant. Bobby is afraid to step forward because the authorities will catch him if he does. Theo tries to convince him that they will grant him citizenship in return for his information, but Bobby just doesn’t know.

Grisham, being smart, doesn’t let us know what happens to Duffy yet. Instead, he makes us read the next book. He leaves us wondering what other adventures will Theo have? And, more importantly, will a murderer be let free?

Review

I mainly enjoyed Theodore Boone while I was reading it for the parts about Theo going to different trials and seeing the outcome. I used to watch judge shows for hours, so that kind of thing is interesting to me.

Really, though, I don’t think this is a particularly good book. Although Grisham presents his characters clearly, we get very little identification with them or learn to care for them. That would be fine if this book was as much a thriller as his others. But it isn’t.

Very little action actually takes place in this book. Sure, the murder trial is entertaining, but Grisham gives us very little reason to care about it and also mostly ignores it in the next books. I would be fine with the way it developed in this book if it was solved in the next, but instead book 4 is already out and we are no closer to Duffy either walking free or being put behind bars.

Some intellectual kids like me might enjoy the book, but the fact is that there are far better kids books than this. For a twelve year-old, this book may alienate Grisham. Better to wait a couple of years and have them read the thrillers. That’s where Grisham got his name, not from twelve year-old Theodore Boone.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also get this feed or subscribe through email below.

The 39 Clues Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson Review

January 28, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

When Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson came out, I was super excited. It was the fourth book in The 39 Clues, an exciting multi-author series in which two orphans, Dan and Amy Cahill, learn that they are members of the most powerful family in the world. The source of their families power is hidden throughout the world in the form of 39 clues (or chemicals). Whoever finds all the clues will become the most powerful person in human history.

Amy and Dan, of course, are not the only ones going after the clues. They have tons of competition in the form of their venomous relatives, who will stop at nothing to win the clue hunt. Literally. In the last book, The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis, Amy, Dan, and their Uncle Alastair were nearly killed by their rich cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra.

Up until this book, I had been reading this series together with my friends. None of my friends ended up actually reading the fourth book, however. A couple of them started, but then gave up. The reason for that I attribute to the poor writing in the previous book, which you can read about in my review here. It’s a shame, because Beyond the Grave is a rather good addition to the series.

Summary

At the end of The Sword Thief, Amy and Dan learned that the next clue was hidden in Egypt, so they fly out to Cairo. Unfortunately, Irina Spasky is already there, an ex-KGB agent who means business. She disguises herself as a vendor and tries to trap Amy and Dan, but they manage to outsmart her and get away.

Along the way they find a Sakhet that they think they might be looking for, but a tour guide named Theo convinces them that it’s merely a fake.

They find themselves at a fancy hotel. They originally don’t want to go there because of how expensive they know it’s going to be, and there is a sense someone is directing them to be there. When Dan accidentally says his last name is Oh, however, they get a huge discount and a suite that takes up an entire floor.

Things seem too good to be true, but Amy and Dan manage to sneak their way into a secret Ekaterina stronghold hidden inside the hotel. Dan is fascinated by all the inventions, but Amy is scared. To her the inventions of things like the nuclear bomb represent death and destruction.

Soon, however, there is a far worse threat to Amy and Dan than destructive inventions; Bae Oh is in the stronghold with them, and he traps them. Bae Oh is the uncle of their Uncle Alastair and is the ruthless leader of the Ekaterina branch. In The Sword Thief, we also learned that Bae Oh murdered Alastair’s father.

Although Bae Oh does a good job of trapping them, Amy and Dan are able to escape with the help of their Au Pair, Nellie. They book it out of the hotel and travel with a person named Hilary Vale, who apparently used to be good friends with Amy and Dan’s beloved grandmother, Grace Cahill. Grace was the one who started the whole clue hunt in motion, and Amy and Dan are still shocked at her death. The thought that Grace may still be helping them “beyond the grave” comforts both of them.

Hilary, acting according to Grace’s instructions, give Amy and Dan a letter and one of the Sakhet statues. A map is hidden inside the Sakhet statue, leading them to the tomb of Queen Nefertari. Theo, who ends up being Hilary’s grandson, is able to help them sneak in.

In the tomb, they are attacked by Irina and then trapped on a crocodile-filled island by their famous rap star cousin, Jonah Wizard. Dan and Amy have faced tough things before, but how they can defend themselves against a pack of hungry crocodiles? And are Hilary and Theo really acting on Grace’s behalf, or do they have a secret agenda? Worst of all, what if the mysterious Madrigals don’t want Amy and Dan to find the clue?

Review

Beyond the Grave was a fairly good addition to the series. I was glad while reading because it was, for me at least, a big improvement on The Sword Thief.

Beyond the Grave, however, is not written quite as skillfully as books one and two, or as the rest of the books of the series, for that matter. Book six, In Too Deep, by the same author was one of the best books of the series, with great character development. Parts of this book were hard to understand, however, especially towards the end.

As for the historical value, I remember some historical information in this book, but I don’t really think a lot was included. Besides some basic info about Egypt that everyone already knows, you’re not likely to learn much historically.

Besides that, though, this book is good. I view the main value of the book as being in ethical questions. Were the Ekats inventions good or bad? All the emotions that come with being betrayed by people claiming to act on behalf of a dead person who you trusted the most. A fake romance that ends up knocking Amy off guard. There is certainly a lot to think about after reading this book.

For dedicated readers of The 39 Clues, this is a must read. I’d recommend starting with the most current books and then, if the reader is really interested, starting with The Maze of Bones and then going through the series. Unless you or your kids are really prolific readers, you’re unlikely to read all the books, but they’ll definitely be an exciting series as you read them. I now consider them a major part of my childhood.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook page or subscribe through email below for more book reviews.

Jackpot (Swindle Series) by Gordon Korman Review

January 24, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 5 Comments

Jackpot by Gordon Korman is the sixth and latest installment in the exciting Swindle Series. This series has sold millions of copies and has been adored by kids all over the world. They are standalone books, so you can read one of them and not miss anything. They have the same characters, however, and so I’d recommend starting at the beginning to learn some of the background.

I honestly wasn’t super excited to read Jackpot. After all, it’s the sixth book about the same kids doing basically the same thing. Korman, however, was already a step ahead of me, and wrote this book in a completely different way from the rest of the series. While the other books were primarily based on action, this book was driven by characters.

Summary

The book starts off with Griffin Bing and his friends learning about a lottery ticket worth $30 million. The catch: It’s lost, and is about to expire. Griffin is The Man with the Plan of the group, and everyone else has their own special talents that make them great friends and an effective team.

Griffin decides to use the lottery ticket to get back at Darren Vader, a school bully who is always trying to get in on their plans, and the rest of the team agrees. They make up a fake newspaper article about the ticket being somewhere in Cedarville, and, as expected, the money-grubbing Vader goes after the money and starts searching for it all around town, diving through dumpsters to get to it.

Unfortunately, a lot of other people take Vader’s idea and before long there a dozen people digging through the city in hopes of becoming a millionaire. The police put a stop to it, and also figure out that it was Griffin and his friends who played the trick. They get community service hours for playing the trick on Vader, and everyone starts to look at Griffin Bing as though he is a bully. After the event, the principle calls a school conference on bullying and Vader stands up and accuses Griffin of bullying him.

Anyone who knows the situation will be aware that Darren is the real bully. For people unfamiliar with the situation, however, it’s easy to take Griffin for a bully. That’s what happens to Victor Phoenix, a new kid. He breaks into Griffin’s group, but treats Griffin terribly. In fact, he’s starting to take Griffin’s place!

Griffin can’t figure out why, The Man with the Plan skips school and goes to Victor’s old school to do research. At the school, he learns that Victor was bullied terribly. He also learns that Victor changed his last name. Griffin realizes that Victor believed Darren when he called Griffin a bully and that’s why he’s treating him poorly. Griffin can see that Victor is deceiving all of his friends to try and join the group, but when Griffin tells them, they have nothing but nice things to say about Victor. Griffin stops hanging out with his friends, and instead starts sitting alone at lunch.

Vader is still after the money, however, and he recruits Griffin to try and help him find it. Griffin never thought he’d team up with the likes of Darren Vader, but without his friends he doesn’t have much else to do. They go to the lottery store where the ticket was sold and check the surveillance camera. They start trying to track down the people who may have the ticket, but the owner doesn’t know any of their names or addressees, so they don’t have much to go on.

By this time Griffin has also taken in Savannah’s dog Luthor. Savannah has taken in Victor’s cat Penelope, and they do not get along. Savannah blames Luthor and is happy to give him away for a little while. Griffin feels a companionship with Luthor; both of them have been driven away from their friends by Victor.

Vader also recruits Victor and “his” team to try and find the lottery ticket. With Melissa’s computer skills, they are able to figure out where the prospects live, and find them. In the end, Griffin, Darren, and Victor and the team all end up at the last possible person who could have the ticket at the same time, right before the deadline of the ticket. Will they find the ticket? Will they cash it in on time? Will Griffin ever get his friends back?

What I Thought

The beginning of Jackpot is written a little weirdly, in that it does a lot of telling and relies on some pretty unlikely things to happen. After a while, though, the story settles down and becomes very good.

This seems to be Korman’s first foray into a character-based story. Instead of humor or action to keep us turning the pages, it’s our identification with Griffin that does it. Griffin feels misunderstood and mistreated by his friends, and Korman does a good job of making you genuinely feel for him. The reader wants to see Griffin feeling better and united with his friends again.

Of course, there is action too with everyone trying to find and cash in the lottery ticket before it’s too late. After all, it’s a Gordon Korman book! The action is almost secondary, however, but is also well done and a big part of the story.

It’s good for Korman to add the character development at this point of the story, because up to this point it was just the plot that was driving it and it was getting a little boring because I didn’t care about the characters very much. I still am not super attached with them after six books, but it’s more than before. This book will keep the series alive.

This is a new type of writing for Korman, and he definitely makes some mistakes. Parts of the book are all over the place. Is it still a book kids will love? Yes, it is. I’ve never heard of a kid not liking a book by Gordon Korman, and this book is going to be no exception.

The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

January 20, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

When The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis first came out all the way back in early 2009, I was stoked. I had already read the first two books in The 39 Clues series, the last one being One False Note by Gordon Korman, and the series was progressing along well. Great story, great mystery, and great characters. What more could you want?

The 39 Clues is a multi-author series written by super popular, bestselling authors about orphans named Amy and Dan Cahill. When their grandmother Grace dies, they learn they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is scattered throughout the world in the form of thirty-nine different clues. Whoever finds all the clues will become the most powerful person in history.

Amy and Dan, of course, are not the only ones who want the prize. Their treacherous, back-stabbing relatives will do anything possible to find the clues first.

As with all books in The 39 Clues series, I finished The Sword Thief the very day I got it. Although it was an interesting book and moved the plot along, I remember not being very satisfied with the book.

Summary

At the end of One False Note, Amy and Dan find samurai swords by the location of the clue. They take the hint and head off to Japan. Before they are able to get there, however, their cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra, manage to trick them and leave them stranded in the airport.

After that, Alistair Oh offers to help Amy and Dan and create an alliance. After all, Alistair has resources in Seoul, Korea, and he has wisdom and age. Amy and Dan do not fully trust him, but they agree to work together for the time being.

Amy, Dan, and Alastair realize that the clue is hidden in the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a great Japanese warrior and son of Thomas Cahill, the founder of the Tomas branch.

The Holt family, however, are also hot after the clue and manage to trap them in a subway. It looks as though it’s about to curtains for the Cahill kids, but Alastair rescues them before they end up being hit by a train. We get to see the human side of the Holt kids as they balk at the idea of killing Dan and Amy.

Unfortunately, the three of them accidentally go into the abode of sword-wielding Yakuza, or Japanese warriors. Nellie, their au pair, is able to save them, along with Ian and Natalie Kabra. Amy, Dan, and Alastair agree to form an alliance with Ian and Natalie. The reason for that is partly because Amy has sort of a crush on Ian, and Ian is acting as though it’s reciprocal.

The clues point to Korea, and the six of them go to Alastair’s house. We learn more about the Ekaterina branch and about Bae Oh, Alastair’s uncle and leader of the Ekaterina branch. After Alastair’s dad died, he lived miserable years under his uncle. On the plane ride to Korea, however, he learns for the first time that Bae Oh arranged for Alastair’s father to be murdered.

At Alastair’s house, he shares some of his own information with the others. We learn a lot more about the clue hunt, specifically that the thirty-nine clues are thirty-nine elements that when mixed together will create a sort of philosopher’s stone. They travel to the mountain Pukhansan, and Dan tricks the others regarding the location of the clue.

The end is an interesting and treacherous tale, where we learn the true intentions of Amy and Dan’s relatives. Will Ian and Natalie steal the clue, or will Amy and Dan outsmart them once again? More importantly, will Alastair Oh survive?

Review

Like I said before, I consider this to be one of the weakest books in the series. Although Gordon Korman talked about how he used The Maze of Bones as his bible in writing One False Note, Peter Lerangis clearly did not do the same. The book is written in a very different style from the rest of the series. The other books are written in an exciting, detached, and realistic way. This book is much more relaxed, the tone is more informal, and it is not nearly as action-packed. Plus, it is kind of difficult to understand. As a result, the book loses some of its educational value and I don’t remember any of the historical information, very different from the author books.

Although some of my friends who were reading the series at the time told me that they liked the break from the action, all of them stopped reading after this book. None of my friends who started the series actually read the fourth book. Plus, books one and two were both #1 on the bestseller list for a long time. This book was on the bestseller list, but did not hit number one. None of the subsequent books in the series did, either.

There are some good parts to the way Lerangis writes, though. He introduces a possible romance between Ian and Amy that has continued throughout the series to the current books with different boyfriends and hints of crushes. This was the subject most frequently discussed among clue hunters during the Cahills vs. Vespers arc, and was in my view a valuable addition to the series.

This book has some good information about the clue hunt that moves the story along, so it’s a must for dedicated clue hunters going back through the early books to read. Overall, however, the writing is not nearly as good as in the rest of the series and on its own I would not recommend it.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook page or subscribe through email below to get the scoop on books.

Swindle by Gordon Korman Review

January 17, 2014 by Daniel Johnston 8 Comments

Swindle by Gordon Korman has become a modern classic. I was in fifth grade in 2008 when it first came out, and Gordon Korman was coming to visit my school! In preparation, our librarian had us read some books by Gordon Korman, and I was instantly hooked!

The common refrain of kids about Swindle is, “I finished it in three days!” Well, guess what; I finished Swindle the very night I got it! By the time Gordon Korman came to my school, everyone was in love with him, and tons of kids I know have read it.
Swindle has sold millions of copies and spawned follow-up books Zoobreak, Framed, Showoff, and Hideout. It has also been adapted into a movie by Nickelodeon (which I thought was rather subpar, especially compared to the book, by the way). So why is Swindle so popular? What makes this one of the best-selling kids books of recent times?

Also check out the video trailer on Scholastic’s website. It’s quite well done.

Summary

Swindle starts off with the main character Griffin Bing and his best friend, Ben Slovak, camping out in an old abandoned mansion. It was going to get knocked down the next morning, and Griffin had come up with a plan to protest by having some of his fellow seventh-graders camp out with him at the building.Tons of people said they were going to show up, but ultimately, he and Ben were left alone.

While exploring the house, Griffin finds a 1920 Babe Ruth baseball card. His father is an inventor who has fallen on tough times recently, and his family is facing the possibility of having to move away. Griffin is greatly upset by this. He doesn’t want to be separated from his town. Mainly, though, he doesn’t want to leave Ben.

Griffin is hopeful that the baseball card will be able to solve his family’s financial woes. After all, he’s heard of old baseball cards selling for a lot of money, and this card is still in good condition. When he takes it to Palomino’s Emporium, a shop owned by S. Wendell Palomino, the collector tells him and Ben that it’s actually a knockoff of the card from the sixties. Griffin is crestfallen, but sells it for $120.

A couple of days later, Griffin is furious to discover on TV that S. Wendell Palomino (now nicknamed “Swindle”) had swindled him out of an original 1920 card that was worth $974,000! $974,000 would mean the world to Griffin; not only being able to stay in Cedarville, but it would also put his parents constant arguments about money to rest forever.

Griffin can’t stand it when adults take advantage of kids. As Korman says, “The main theme of the book is kids taking matters into their own hands.” Luckily, Griffin is known as “The Man With the Plan” around town because he’s constantly making crazy and adventurous plans to accomplish whatever goal he wants to. In this case, he knows that if he wants that card back there’s only one thing to do: He’s going to have to steal it back.

To steal the card back from this thief is going to take the best plan of them all. Swindle has a tough guard dog named Luthor, a high-tech security system, a fence, and a safe. Griffin knows he and Ben can’t do it alone. Griffin compiles a team of people from his school whose talents he believes he can use to complete the heist.

Griffin and his team go to work trying to outfox Swindle. It comes down to an incredibly exciting ending, with the police eventually intervening. This book creates lots of exciting questions. Do they get the card back? Will Griffin’s family have to move away? What are the ethical consequences of what they’re doing? Who will ultimately win in the battle of Griffin and his friends versus Swindle?

Review

This is a great, action-packed book. The characters are interesting and each have their own personalities. Griffin and his friends are regular, independent kids trying to make their way in the adult world. They also have an enemy named Darren Vader who forcibly joins their team and no surprise causes trouble. The team has to be extremely intelligent and good at what they’re doing if they want to snag the card.

This is a very original story, although it is the kind of theme that could be expected from Gordon Korman. Griffin isn’t about to let a crook like Swindle make off with what was his baseball card. Griffin has never seen an object he considers immovable, and although his team may seem to be made up of a bunch of random kids, he has carefully chosen them for the skills that possess that will be necessary to the heist. Swindle may have the baseball card under very careful guard, but that’s just another challenge to be solved for The Man with the Plan.

Kids just love Swindle. I’ve spoken to lots of kids who have read it, and that’s the only impression I’ve gotten. I highly recommend it, and all the books in this series.

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