Summary: Moose still lives on Alcatraz, but his father has been promoted to Associate Warden because of his prowess in the prisoner-escape in the previous book. (spoiler, highlight to view) Natalie is living at home for the time being, and their parents go out and leave her in Moose's care for the night. Moose falls asleep, however, and their apartment is set on fire while he's sleeping. A new character has emerged, Donny Caconi, who seems pretty nice to the kids.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
Donny plays a throwing game with Moose in which they throw bottle caps for a bet, but Donny somehow wins, and Moose thinks he's cheating. Moose saw one of the convicts, Count Lustig, put a piece of paper in a sewer pipe, and he pulls it out, but it's just numbers. Piper has hired Theresa (another young girl on the island) to be her maid/servant, but it's a bit suspicious how she has enough money to pay Theresa. Moose is still a bit suspecting about Donny cheating in the game, and checks his laundry for any clues. He finds a large sum of money in Donny's mom's pants, but nothing else. Later, Natalie catches Donny cheating at poker, and their suspicions about him help them find out that Donny was the one who burned down their apartment (but he was paid by Darby Trixle, as his daughter accidentally revealed)! Donny was also helping Count Lustig make counterfeit money, which is how Piper got all her money (she accidentally got it in her pants pocket). He was sent to jail, and their apartment was rebuilt, thankfully.
Plot: I wasn't expecting that Donny was the one who burned down their house and was involved with counterfeiting, so that was a nice twist. The plot moves at a nice pace and makes sense. The intensity level was somewhere between book 1 and book 2, which isn't the best for a book. It needs to have a little more action or a little less action, but not how it is. Plot score (40% of final score): 8.5/10.
Characters: Donny was introduced very quickly and I feel like he needed to be more relevant to the book for longer to make sense as such a major antagonist. Other than that, the characters were all fine. Some character development was shown, most notably in Moose. He has more of a clear personality at this point, and the rest of the characters do too. Character score (30% of final score): 8.5/10.
Setting: Once again, the same as the previous books. The characters do have to live with another family for a while because of the fire, but the setting isn't often in the other family's house, so it's not a big deal. Setting score (10% of final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: As mentioned in the plot segment, it's at an awkward intensity level, but otherwise similar to the other books. Mood/style score (20% of final score): 7/10.
Final score:
8.5
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Al Capone Book 2) by Gennifer Choldenko
Summary: Moose still lives on Alcatraz Island, and Natalie has been staying at the Esther P. Marinoff school and improving each day. Their father has been put on probation by somebody unknown because of the false allegation of drinking on the job. Natalie's coming home from school to visit the family soon, but they're worried that if she messes anything up, the father could be fired.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
Moose gets a note in his laundry from Al Capone, like before, that says Moose has to pay him back for getting Natalie into the Esther P. Marinoff. He tells Moose to get yellow flowers for his wife, who will be on a boat at 2:00 to Alcatraz. It sounds like a simple task, but it's the same day Moose has to visit Natalie. He devises a plan, but realizes that it would look suspicious to give a bunch of yellow flowers to Mae Capone, so he gives one flower to every woman on the boat (including Annie, his baseball-star friend). Darby Trixle, an officer who has it out for Moose, gets suspicious anyway, but his wife, who received one of the pretty flowers, calms him down. Natalie comes home and sets off the metal detector at the boat gate. The officers assumed it was a metal button, but when Moose checked, he was shocked to find a bar spreader to aid a prison escape in one of Natalie's socks. Moose's friends throw it into the ocean so that no criminals can get it, but Janet Trixle, the 6-year-old daughter of Darby Trixle, finds it when it washes up on the shore, and starts playing with it as a carnival toy. Even right under Darby's nose, he doesn't notice it. Natalie says that the bar spreader was given to her by Alcatraz 105, who she had been friends with before he was released. Moose didn't realize that this meant a prison break was being organized already, and then three prisoners made it out. They took some of the kids hostage, but Natalie, being extremely observant, noticed that the prisoners' guns were fake, and Moose was able to yell for help. The escaped prisoners were caught with help from their father, and Natalie gained a bit of respect from people who didn't like her before.
Plot: The plot is definitely more action-filled and intense than the first book in the series, and the plot is clear. I'm always a fan of plot twists in books, and this one's quite good. Plot score (40% of final score): 10/10.
Characters: Moose is much better in this book than in the last, and all the other characters hold steady. Some new characters have been introduced, but their personalities seem clear enough minus Seven Fingers and possibly Buddy Boy. Character score (30% of final score): 9/10.
Setting: Exactly the same as on my review of the previous book in the series, as the setting remains the same. Setting score (10% of final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: I feel like this is more intense than the last one and maybe slightly less realistic, but that's not necessarily a problem; just a different style. Mood/style score (20% of final score): 8/10, as it doesn't do anything to particularly stand out, but it's pretty good.
Overall score:
9.5/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
Moose gets a note in his laundry from Al Capone, like before, that says Moose has to pay him back for getting Natalie into the Esther P. Marinoff. He tells Moose to get yellow flowers for his wife, who will be on a boat at 2:00 to Alcatraz. It sounds like a simple task, but it's the same day Moose has to visit Natalie. He devises a plan, but realizes that it would look suspicious to give a bunch of yellow flowers to Mae Capone, so he gives one flower to every woman on the boat (including Annie, his baseball-star friend). Darby Trixle, an officer who has it out for Moose, gets suspicious anyway, but his wife, who received one of the pretty flowers, calms him down. Natalie comes home and sets off the metal detector at the boat gate. The officers assumed it was a metal button, but when Moose checked, he was shocked to find a bar spreader to aid a prison escape in one of Natalie's socks. Moose's friends throw it into the ocean so that no criminals can get it, but Janet Trixle, the 6-year-old daughter of Darby Trixle, finds it when it washes up on the shore, and starts playing with it as a carnival toy. Even right under Darby's nose, he doesn't notice it. Natalie says that the bar spreader was given to her by Alcatraz 105, who she had been friends with before he was released. Moose didn't realize that this meant a prison break was being organized already, and then three prisoners made it out. They took some of the kids hostage, but Natalie, being extremely observant, noticed that the prisoners' guns were fake, and Moose was able to yell for help. The escaped prisoners were caught with help from their father, and Natalie gained a bit of respect from people who didn't like her before.
Plot: The plot is definitely more action-filled and intense than the first book in the series, and the plot is clear. I'm always a fan of plot twists in books, and this one's quite good. Plot score (40% of final score): 10/10.
Characters: Moose is much better in this book than in the last, and all the other characters hold steady. Some new characters have been introduced, but their personalities seem clear enough minus Seven Fingers and possibly Buddy Boy. Character score (30% of final score): 9/10.
Setting: Exactly the same as on my review of the previous book in the series, as the setting remains the same. Setting score (10% of final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: I feel like this is more intense than the last one and maybe slightly less realistic, but that's not necessarily a problem; just a different style. Mood/style score (20% of final score): 8/10, as it doesn't do anything to particularly stand out, but it's pretty good.
Overall score:
9.5/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Bad Magic (The Bad Books Book 1) by Pseudonymous Bosch
Summary: This book is somewhat of a continuation of the Secret Series by the same author. However, it centers around Max-Ernest's (from the aforementioned series) little brother rather than Cass and Max-Ernest. Clay is a big graffiti fan, but he only likes to draw it in his journal and on his room walls. He isn't interested in vandalism, but when he wakes up one day to find his graffiti art of the words "MAGIC SUCKS!" on the school walls (he has some residual anger against his brother, who used to put on magic shows with him, but abandoned the family after high school), not put there by him, he's shocked! Everybody thinks it actually is him, including his English teacher, who was empathetic to him when writing a report about the Shakespeare play The Tempest. Even his parents don't believe him and send him to a mysterious summer camp as a punishment.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
He takes a dubious plane to the camp, called Earth Ranch, and the plane drops him in the ocean on what seems like an abandoned island with a large package. He meets a llama, supposedly his guide to the camp, named Como C. Llama, and has to feed him carrot tops to get to the ranch. While the camp director's tent is strange, disappearing and reappearing randomly, the camp mostly seems normal (minus what seems like a ghost in the library)... until the campers go on a lava hike. Clay discovers that the entire camp is a real life reenactment of The Tempest, and nearly everything that happened was fake. A pyromaniac from another cabin starts to go try to burn down the library afterwards, and Clay has to beat him to the library to keep him from doing it. Clay has to walk across lava, but he makes it to the library. Inside, he finds not a fire, but a huge celebration for him, with his brother!
Plot: The plot is quite enjoyable until the part where everybody is a character from The Tempest. It made the book weird and hard to follow after that point, and that might be reflected in my summary. There were a couple good parts during the lava hike segment, but that section of the book was somewhat terrible. Plot score (40% of the final score): 7/10.
Characters: The characters are all very clear as soon as you get halfway through the book. Character development is visible and goes in a good direction. Character score (30% of the final score): 10/10.
Setting: Earth Ranch is vast and it was easy to visualize where everything was due to the author's use of imagery and characters often moving through the terrain. Even one-off areas were easy to visualize. Setting score (10% of the final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: Pseudonymous Bosch is really an amazing writer in this respect. The only writer whose style even comes close is Lemony Snicket. He keeps a light (or as he might put it, blase) mood in the book, even in more serious parts. His use of asterisks by sentences with little fun facts or jokes really adds to this. Mood/style score (20% of the final score): 10/10.
Overall score:
8.5/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
He takes a dubious plane to the camp, called Earth Ranch, and the plane drops him in the ocean on what seems like an abandoned island with a large package. He meets a llama, supposedly his guide to the camp, named Como C. Llama, and has to feed him carrot tops to get to the ranch. While the camp director's tent is strange, disappearing and reappearing randomly, the camp mostly seems normal (minus what seems like a ghost in the library)... until the campers go on a lava hike. Clay discovers that the entire camp is a real life reenactment of The Tempest, and nearly everything that happened was fake. A pyromaniac from another cabin starts to go try to burn down the library afterwards, and Clay has to beat him to the library to keep him from doing it. Clay has to walk across lava, but he makes it to the library. Inside, he finds not a fire, but a huge celebration for him, with his brother!
Plot: The plot is quite enjoyable until the part where everybody is a character from The Tempest. It made the book weird and hard to follow after that point, and that might be reflected in my summary. There were a couple good parts during the lava hike segment, but that section of the book was somewhat terrible. Plot score (40% of the final score): 7/10.
Characters: The characters are all very clear as soon as you get halfway through the book. Character development is visible and goes in a good direction. Character score (30% of the final score): 10/10.
Setting: Earth Ranch is vast and it was easy to visualize where everything was due to the author's use of imagery and characters often moving through the terrain. Even one-off areas were easy to visualize. Setting score (10% of the final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: Pseudonymous Bosch is really an amazing writer in this respect. The only writer whose style even comes close is Lemony Snicket. He keeps a light (or as he might put it, blase) mood in the book, even in more serious parts. His use of asterisks by sentences with little fun facts or jokes really adds to this. Mood/style score (20% of the final score): 10/10.
Overall score:
8.5/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Al Capone Does My Shirts (Al Capone Book 1) by Gennifer Choldenko
Summary: Al Capone Does My Shirts is about a boy who recently moved to Alcatraz Island to accommodate his father's job, and his struggles due to an autistic sister, a dangerously nonchalant friend, and living on Alcatraz. The story starts off with him just barely moving to Alcatraz, where he doesn't want to live (as his friends are all back home). His sister, Natalie, has high functioning autism, which had not been diagnosed at the time this book is set. His parents have tried everything for her, including voodoo dolls, Bible reading, and psychologist sessions. Now, they're trying to get her into the Esther P. Marinoff school, a prestigious academy for mentally handicapped children.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
She is rejected from the school and their parents, dejected, have to entrust her into the care of Moose, the main character, so that their mother can teach piano lessons to make ends meet. He's upset at her burden because he's embarrassed to take her outside where people can see her tantrums and awkwardness (as well as messing up his baseball schedule because of the embarrassment), but he ends up getting used to her. The warden's daughter, Piper, acts like an angel towards her dad, but a brat to Natalie and plans many rule-breaking schemes (sometimes involving Moose). She acts as a roadblock and antagonist towards Moose oftentimes, getting him in trouble when a money laundering (pun intended) scheme involving prisoners doing laundry for school students goes awry. Eventually, Moose's friend, Scout, finds out that prisoners play baseball at Alcatraz and sometimes accidentally throw the balls over the fence for the children's taking, and asks Moose for one. Moose, not wanting to lose his friend, looks for balls with Natalie staying a bit behind and looking for rocks about 6-7 times, but finds out that she had been sitting with one of the prisoners for a few of these occasions. He, understandably, got upset and feared the worst, but he was reassured eventually. After another while, the family tries to get Natalie into the EPM school again, but fails (though Natalie has matured quite a lot in the time between the first entrance attempt and now). In a last-ditch attempt to get her into the school, Moose writes a letter to Al Capone, who lives on the island, and asks him to use his influence to get Natalie in. Surprisingly to Moose, it works, and Mr. Purdy, the director of the school, suddenly allows Natalie to attend the school.
Plot: The plot is a bit hazy at first, causing me to wonder what the main point of the book was supposed to be, but it cleared up about at Part 2 of the book. Natalie ended up being a much more important character than I expected, and the plot was straightforward after Part 2 started.
Plot score (40% of the final score): 9/10.
Characters: I feel like the characters were the best part of the book. All of the primary characters and some of the secondary have very clear personalities. I would probably be able to identify any of them by a quote without needing to see their names. Sadly, a bit of an exception is the main character. He has a personality, but his dialogue and speech style aren't as unique as they could be. It's not a huge issue, however, considering the book does label who's speaking (as it should). The character development in Natalie is also very clear and visible. She subtly becomes better at communicating throughout the book, and it becomes noticeable if you look hard enough.
Character score (30% of the final score): 8.5/10.
Setting: The setting is a unique one; Alcatraz isn't a setting I've seen in a book before. It's a great place to hold the story, however, and increases to the effect that some of the family's problems have.
Setting score (10% of the final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: The book's genre is realistic fiction, clearly identified by the way it's written. Everything in it could be a real life scenario, despite what you might think going into the book with only its title as information. I like the way everything pans out, without every incident turning out well. There isn't too much joking inside the book, but in realistic fiction it's not likely to have much.
Mood score (20% of the final score): 10/10.
Overall score:
9/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!
She is rejected from the school and their parents, dejected, have to entrust her into the care of Moose, the main character, so that their mother can teach piano lessons to make ends meet. He's upset at her burden because he's embarrassed to take her outside where people can see her tantrums and awkwardness (as well as messing up his baseball schedule because of the embarrassment), but he ends up getting used to her. The warden's daughter, Piper, acts like an angel towards her dad, but a brat to Natalie and plans many rule-breaking schemes (sometimes involving Moose). She acts as a roadblock and antagonist towards Moose oftentimes, getting him in trouble when a money laundering (pun intended) scheme involving prisoners doing laundry for school students goes awry. Eventually, Moose's friend, Scout, finds out that prisoners play baseball at Alcatraz and sometimes accidentally throw the balls over the fence for the children's taking, and asks Moose for one. Moose, not wanting to lose his friend, looks for balls with Natalie staying a bit behind and looking for rocks about 6-7 times, but finds out that she had been sitting with one of the prisoners for a few of these occasions. He, understandably, got upset and feared the worst, but he was reassured eventually. After another while, the family tries to get Natalie into the EPM school again, but fails (though Natalie has matured quite a lot in the time between the first entrance attempt and now). In a last-ditch attempt to get her into the school, Moose writes a letter to Al Capone, who lives on the island, and asks him to use his influence to get Natalie in. Surprisingly to Moose, it works, and Mr. Purdy, the director of the school, suddenly allows Natalie to attend the school.
Plot: The plot is a bit hazy at first, causing me to wonder what the main point of the book was supposed to be, but it cleared up about at Part 2 of the book. Natalie ended up being a much more important character than I expected, and the plot was straightforward after Part 2 started.
Plot score (40% of the final score): 9/10.
Characters: I feel like the characters were the best part of the book. All of the primary characters and some of the secondary have very clear personalities. I would probably be able to identify any of them by a quote without needing to see their names. Sadly, a bit of an exception is the main character. He has a personality, but his dialogue and speech style aren't as unique as they could be. It's not a huge issue, however, considering the book does label who's speaking (as it should). The character development in Natalie is also very clear and visible. She subtly becomes better at communicating throughout the book, and it becomes noticeable if you look hard enough.
Character score (30% of the final score): 8.5/10.
Setting: The setting is a unique one; Alcatraz isn't a setting I've seen in a book before. It's a great place to hold the story, however, and increases to the effect that some of the family's problems have.
Setting score (10% of the final score): 10/10.
Mood/style: The book's genre is realistic fiction, clearly identified by the way it's written. Everything in it could be a real life scenario, despite what you might think going into the book with only its title as information. I like the way everything pans out, without every incident turning out well. There isn't too much joking inside the book, but in realistic fiction it's not likely to have much.
Mood score (20% of the final score): 10/10.
Overall score:
9/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Sway by Amber McRee Turner
Summary: Sway is about a girl whose mother leaves after a horrible fight on the first day she's home from rescuing people from a storm. Her seemingly-boring father decides to take her on a trip in "The Roast," an RV that he reconstructed after being broken. He introduces her to the power of "Sway," the magic contained in old soap from famous people. This power can rub off onto people who wash their hands with the soap. Through Sway, the two bond together instead off the main character, Cass, being annoyed by her father.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Plot: Sway's plot is amazing. Its plot had me nearly crying one second and laughing the next. It's extremely nuanced as well, with huge attention to tiny details and little things that later prove to be important to the story. There are some amazing plot twists as well, like the falsehood of the soap slivers and Toodi's (the mom) elaborate lie.
Plot score (40% of final score): 10/10. No large faults that I can find.
Characters: The main characters in Sway are almost as good as the plot. Cass is in character for a 10-12 year old girl, with her own unique bits like "noodling" (drawing things that happened in her life from a slightly abstract perspective). She doesn't seem quite so detailed at the start, but only a minor issue. Cass's dad, Douglas (or M.B. McClean when marketing soap) seems to be boring, but shows her the interesting power of Sway. Toodi doesn't show up very often, but she legitimately loves her daughter (but apparently not enough to stay faithful to Douglas).
Character score (30% of final score) 9/10. The point deduction is only because of the Cass issue at the start of the story.
Setting: The setting is varied in this book, but, as in all the other categories, Turner pays incredible attention to detail. The settings are established well, even in throwaway settings. The only exception to this is Cass's house, which is the setting for the first few chapters.
Setting score (10% of the final score): 8.5/10. Some issues in Cass's house, but not too major.
Mood/style: As mentioned a bit in the Plot section, the book made me laugh and then cry the next second. That takes a lot of work to switch between moods so fast, but the author does this fairly smoothly. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, the fast-switching mood is good. The style is a bit eccentric, which is not objectively bad, but in my (subjective) opinion, it's a bit overdone. I found myself somewhat annoyed by "wrength" and "uh-gane." Just use real words, please.
Mood/style score (20% of the final score): 7.5/10. Some minor issues in mood switching and the style is too eccentric.
Overall rating:
9/10
In short, I would definitely recommend this book!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Plot: Sway's plot is amazing. Its plot had me nearly crying one second and laughing the next. It's extremely nuanced as well, with huge attention to tiny details and little things that later prove to be important to the story. There are some amazing plot twists as well, like the falsehood of the soap slivers and Toodi's (the mom) elaborate lie.
Plot score (40% of final score): 10/10. No large faults that I can find.
Characters: The main characters in Sway are almost as good as the plot. Cass is in character for a 10-12 year old girl, with her own unique bits like "noodling" (drawing things that happened in her life from a slightly abstract perspective). She doesn't seem quite so detailed at the start, but only a minor issue. Cass's dad, Douglas (or M.B. McClean when marketing soap) seems to be boring, but shows her the interesting power of Sway. Toodi doesn't show up very often, but she legitimately loves her daughter (but apparently not enough to stay faithful to Douglas).
Character score (30% of final score) 9/10. The point deduction is only because of the Cass issue at the start of the story.
Setting: The setting is varied in this book, but, as in all the other categories, Turner pays incredible attention to detail. The settings are established well, even in throwaway settings. The only exception to this is Cass's house, which is the setting for the first few chapters.
Setting score (10% of the final score): 8.5/10. Some issues in Cass's house, but not too major.
Mood/style: As mentioned a bit in the Plot section, the book made me laugh and then cry the next second. That takes a lot of work to switch between moods so fast, but the author does this fairly smoothly. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, the fast-switching mood is good. The style is a bit eccentric, which is not objectively bad, but in my (subjective) opinion, it's a bit overdone. I found myself somewhat annoyed by "wrength" and "uh-gane." Just use real words, please.
Mood/style score (20% of the final score): 7.5/10. Some minor issues in mood switching and the style is too eccentric.
Overall rating:
9/10
In short, I would definitely recommend this book!
Friday, March 11, 2016
Janitors (Janitors Book 1)
After a two-year hiatus, this blog is back from the dead. An improved rating system and review style is now here, as well. Anyway, on to the real guts of the review.
Book summary:
The book is about a boy who, after a twist of fate involving soap, discovers that magical creatures roam the halls of almost every school in America. They breathe brainwaves and make it hard for children to learn. These creatures, dubbed "Toxites," are classified into three subgroups: Filths, Rubbishes, and Grimes. Filths are rodent-like beasts that cause intense sleepiness, Rubbishes are vulture/bat hybrids that exhale apathy, and Grimes are salamanders that cause distraction.
SPOILERS AHEAD: PLEASE SKIP IF YOU DON'T WANT PLOT SPOILED
At first, the Bureau of Educational Management's regional director, Garth Hadley, convinces the main character that the janitors in the school are evil wizards that help the Toxites. However, Spencer (the main character), hears a different story from the janitors. They said that the BEM originally protected schools from Toxites, but suddenly withdrew support for unknown reasons. Spencer believes this and begins to train and fight the janitors.
Plot:
The plot in this story is actually my largest gripe about it. The summary may make it sound good, but in reality, it moves too slow and has large, gaping holes. There were times when the book nearly had me on the edge of my seat, but the author's way of writing seems like he just tries to drag it out for no reason. In regards to plot holes, there are scattered tiny holes in the book, but the most prominent problem is this: No reason for the BEM's withdrawal of help is given, and it leaves a huge question mark--"Why did they stop helping? There's no reason for it!" This is impossible to ignore, and makes you question why you're reading the story in the first place when there's no explanation or backstory.
Despite this, the plot can have interesting twists and good moments where it moves at a decent pace.
Overall score for plot (40% of final score): 5/10--2 point deduction for the horrible BEM plot hole, 1 point deduction for minor plot holes, 2 point deduction for slow progression.
Characters:
I'll be honest here: the main character in this book really grates on me. He's an obnoxious germaphobe that seems like he has obsessive-compulsive disorder and regularly makes rash decisions. Now, he's 11, and I can understand that. But, when somebody this ridiculously annoying is made the main character of the book, it's really hard to read about him. The other main character, Daisy, is unrealistically gullible. This fits well with the plot progression, so I won't rant about it, since it would be considerably harder to write the book with a rational sidekick. The janitors and villains in the book are, while a bit cliche, decent enough to work.
Overall score for characters (30% of final score): A 3-point deduction for horrible main character and 0.5 point deduction for cliche side characters puts us at a score of 6.5 in this area.
Setting:
Most of the book is set in a school. The parts that aren't are in houses. Not much to say here, so I'll just give the setting an 8/10 (-2 points for not having anything unique, 10% of final score.)
Mood/style:
The mood of most of the book feels somewhat generic, with a few cheesy jokes mixed in. Overall, the mood isn't very important to the actual plot. The language is usually easy to understand for the target audience (4th/5th/6th graders) with a few larger words that may require a dictionary. The writing style is similar to Brandon Mull's (Fablehaven, Candy Shop War, and Beyonders series) but slightly slower. Overall, I'd rate it a 7/10 (which is worth 20% of the final score) for generic mood, cheesy jokes, and slow-paced writing style.
Overall rating:
6/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
Book summary:
The book is about a boy who, after a twist of fate involving soap, discovers that magical creatures roam the halls of almost every school in America. They breathe brainwaves and make it hard for children to learn. These creatures, dubbed "Toxites," are classified into three subgroups: Filths, Rubbishes, and Grimes. Filths are rodent-like beasts that cause intense sleepiness, Rubbishes are vulture/bat hybrids that exhale apathy, and Grimes are salamanders that cause distraction.
SPOILERS AHEAD: PLEASE SKIP IF YOU DON'T WANT PLOT SPOILED
At first, the Bureau of Educational Management's regional director, Garth Hadley, convinces the main character that the janitors in the school are evil wizards that help the Toxites. However, Spencer (the main character), hears a different story from the janitors. They said that the BEM originally protected schools from Toxites, but suddenly withdrew support for unknown reasons. Spencer believes this and begins to train and fight the janitors.
Plot:
The plot in this story is actually my largest gripe about it. The summary may make it sound good, but in reality, it moves too slow and has large, gaping holes. There were times when the book nearly had me on the edge of my seat, but the author's way of writing seems like he just tries to drag it out for no reason. In regards to plot holes, there are scattered tiny holes in the book, but the most prominent problem is this: No reason for the BEM's withdrawal of help is given, and it leaves a huge question mark--"Why did they stop helping? There's no reason for it!" This is impossible to ignore, and makes you question why you're reading the story in the first place when there's no explanation or backstory.
Despite this, the plot can have interesting twists and good moments where it moves at a decent pace.
Overall score for plot (40% of final score): 5/10--2 point deduction for the horrible BEM plot hole, 1 point deduction for minor plot holes, 2 point deduction for slow progression.
Characters:
I'll be honest here: the main character in this book really grates on me. He's an obnoxious germaphobe that seems like he has obsessive-compulsive disorder and regularly makes rash decisions. Now, he's 11, and I can understand that. But, when somebody this ridiculously annoying is made the main character of the book, it's really hard to read about him. The other main character, Daisy, is unrealistically gullible. This fits well with the plot progression, so I won't rant about it, since it would be considerably harder to write the book with a rational sidekick. The janitors and villains in the book are, while a bit cliche, decent enough to work.
Overall score for characters (30% of final score): A 3-point deduction for horrible main character and 0.5 point deduction for cliche side characters puts us at a score of 6.5 in this area.
Setting:
Most of the book is set in a school. The parts that aren't are in houses. Not much to say here, so I'll just give the setting an 8/10 (-2 points for not having anything unique, 10% of final score.)
Mood/style:
The mood of most of the book feels somewhat generic, with a few cheesy jokes mixed in. Overall, the mood isn't very important to the actual plot. The language is usually easy to understand for the target audience (4th/5th/6th graders) with a few larger words that may require a dictionary. The writing style is similar to Brandon Mull's (Fablehaven, Candy Shop War, and Beyonders series) but slightly slower. Overall, I'd rate it a 7/10 (which is worth 20% of the final score) for generic mood, cheesy jokes, and slow-paced writing style.
Overall rating:
6/10
Please note that scores are rounded.
Scores calculated using Ben Eggleston's grade calculator.
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