This is sort of MG/young YA. The author writes 13-year-old protagonists who are more what the parents of 10-year-olds want their kids to be at 13 than what 13-year-olds are actually like. These 13-year-olds, for example, have no hormones whatsoever and behave like responsible 10-year-olds. That part is a bit bizarre.
The plot is sort of Dan Brown for grade schoolers also. Our hormoneless trio races from place to place in an alternate reality NYC wherein things are solar powered and clean, a BETTER NYC, if you will. Each time they easily find clues to help them in their goal of saving the old, history-filled apartment building they call home. The kids do not grow, change, or mature. This is not Harry Potter, folks.
That being said, the pacing is good. The plot rips along at a very good rate until.....WAIT FOR IT.....until there is no real ending because.....SEQUEL!!! I mean; why write a good book for kids if you can stretch it out with filler and make a SERIES, right?
Sigh.
Look; this could have been really good. I enjoyed much of it (the setting, for instance, is well-explained), but I won't read the sequel.
If you put this next to anything by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Beverly Cleary, or Judy Blume, it pales.
On the other hand, if your kid wants to read it, encourage her/him. It's far, far better than RL Stine or endless rounds of phone games.
If you're an adult that loves YA, I'd suggest checking this out from the library (as I did) rather than shelling out bucks for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment