Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I'm 12, and I do NOT read a lot of books. In fact I barely read any...only when i HAVE too. But i saw this book in the book fair at my school and another child said it was good. So I picked it up and read it and it was absolutely great. This is a great book to read for people who don't read a lot. It's not hard to understand and it's very adventurous...I LOVED IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't compare this book to Harry Potter!!
Review: From the opening lines, this book grabs you and takes you on a fast-paced ride! Its fun, exciting, gritty and real, despite being a fantasy novel. The reason I say not to compare this book to the Harry Potter books is because I don't view them as being in the same class. Sure, they are both young adult fantasy novels, but there is one key difference: Harry Potter reads more like a cartoon. Many of the things that occur and characters involved are deliberately "fluffed" (for lack of a better word). Most things come across as cute or charming. McHale has no such compunctions. He leaves things dirty and real. He doesn't idealize his characters or the situations in which they find themselves. Its an incredibly refreshing twist in the young adult genre: a genre that I believe is becoming bloated with cutesy, "Potteresque" spinoffs. (read: A Series of Unfortunate Events or The Magickers. What a stinker!!)
Rating:
Summary: "Pen"ed to the Pages: A Pageturner full of Twists
Review: At first sighting, this book looked distinctly, er, okay, boyish, from the apparently gruesome title and sinister looking cover. It took one of my friends saying "you HAVE to read this" to get me to buy it. Even then I suspected that "the Merchant of Death" was definitely not something I was going to buy into. SUPRISE! I opened the cover and was shocked to discover that the first thing Bobby Pendragon (our protoganist) was doing was kissing a girl! The book was certainly more appealing now with a tad bit of romance and I started to enjoy the story. Bobby Pendragon's Uncle Press shows up unexpectedly and sweeps him away to another "territory" called Denduron, through a doorway in a New York subway tunnel (no easy access here!) despite being chased by wild beasts called quigs. Bobby soon realizes that his notions of reality are way off. Bobby is fated to help save the Milago people from their oppressors, the people of the neighboring Bedoowan. Reluctant and scared, Bobby wants to return to his perfect life at home, where he was considered smart, popular, a jock, and not to mention the love interest of the coolest girl in his grade. But no such luck; he must learn how to use his Traveler powers to help save this world...and all the others...from complete distruction... I really enjoyed this novel. It is told in narrative form as Bobby writes scrolls back to his best friend Mark and sort-of girlfriend Courtney back on Second-Earth to tell them what is happening, and then switches to third-person once in a while to describe what Courtney and Mark are doing. It was fast-paced and Bobby's witty comments made me laugh. Be warned, this novel also contains explicit language and the afore-mentioned making-out scenes. These parts are appropriate however, and I think that they added a sense of humanity to the read. I'd say do not let this stop you from reading the book! So go grab the book at your local bookstore and spread the word: its not just for boys! 4 stars for lots of action, not a 5 because the plot was simplistic. I hope the sequel, the Lost City of Faar, is just as good! Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: IF YOU LIKED HARRY POTTER...PLEASE READ THIS!!!
Review: Wow! this book was awesome. The plot was very original and it was really exciting and suspenseful. The author did a good job making the characters seem real, and the discriptions were great. I could picture everything perfectly.
This book was about a boy named Bobby Pendragon, who is swept off to a whole different territory called Denduron. Soon, he is caught up in an adventure before he really knows what is going on.
PLEASE READ THIS!!
Rating:
Summary: The first novel in an amazing new quartet
Review: Bobby Pendragon lives a life most 14-year-olds dream about. He's popular, athletic, smart, and he's just kissed one of the hottest girls in school. Unfortunately right after he receives that special kiss his Uncle Press takes him away to another world called Denduron through an abandoned subway station in the Bronx. Denduron is a world much different from our own. Its ruled by the Bendoowan who treat the lower working class like slaves. But before he can find out what's going on his uncle is captured and two mysterious woman become his guide. They tell him that he is a traveler and now that his Uncle has been captured and will die soon it's his duty to lead the revolution of the working class against the Bendoowan. Bobby, of course, freaks. He doesn't want to lead a revolution but as it turns out he doesn't have much of a choice. He needs to help these people whether he wants it or not. His only link to our world, known to travelers as Second Earth, is the journals he writes and sends to his best friend Mark and maybe-one-day-girlfriend Courtney. Soon Bobby realizes that his job as a traveler isn't about Denduron, it's about something much bigger. I didn't know what to expect with this book. The summary on the back of the book was rather vague. Still it was recommended to me so I felt that I had to read it. I was very pleasantly surprised. Bobby's journey is very suspenseful and covered with fantasy filled adventure. The thing I like the most about Bobby is the fact that he's not a warrior like Loor or Osa. He's a normal 14-year-old kid but somehow he manages to triumph over all, even though he stumbles a lot on the way. Although on the outside this book may seem like a simple fantasy there's a lot of deeper issues imbedded inside of it about class relations, morality, and nuclear weapons. The younger readers probably won't get all of these issues but that won't impair their enjoyment of the novel at all. I really enjoyed this book and I look foreword to reading the other three books in the quartet, including the next book in the series, The Lost City of Faar. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Different Book
Review: I'm only 12 but I love to read. I read lots of books. When I went to my school's book fair I saw this book and it's companion, The Lost City of Faar, I thought they looked good. I read the first one in only 6 days(I had a lot of homework plus I play with my friends a lot too). I couldn't put it down. This is like no other book I've ever read(and I've read many books). I would recamend this book to anyone who likes interesting and really good stories. This book has a good plot, vivid scenes, and imaginative places.(Note to teachers:Please don't ruin this book by making it some lituature assignment. Lituature is dumb. This is a good book to just read instead of saying well, what's that mean, or making predictions).
Rating:
Summary: The best action/suspense/fantasy since when?
Review: The book gets off with a little intro, he leaves the girl behind, and then gets into a big action-packed suspense thriller. Overall this book is the best I have read in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: The Merchant of Death draws you in from the very beginning!
Review: This is one of the most realistic books I have read! It is very believable and you really have faith in the colorful characters. It does not seem like it was really written by an adult and the characters act like real teenagers would act. It has an extremely interesting plot and I couldn't put it down! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading and even people who aren't.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book REALLY EXCITING!
Review: This book is great it is an epic fantasy which takes place in a seperate world from earth where Bobby Pendragon a 14 yr. old boy finds his destiny to save a poor civilazation from the evil Bedoowan I highly reccomend buying this.
Rating:
Summary: Step down Harry and Frodo!
Review: This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It has all the makings of a great novel. It is filled with suspense and is very creepy. It will keep you on you toes! The characters are funny, strong and EVIL! I stayed up until 1:00 am reading this book. I was always thinking ok maybe one more page. Or I cant believe this happened! Great book for all ages! This would make a great movie.
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