Fearless

Rating:
Summary: You must read!! Won't be able to put it down.
Review: Fearless is a fictional series of books. It's filled with action, adventure, and everyday emotions. The main character Gaia Moore is a girl who was born without the fear gene. When they find this out, her father then starts training her in the martial arts (along with other self-defense moves) and teaches her chess and other games that use the mind. She can also speak many different languages. Since her father works for the CIA he is usually away on missions and things. When her mother is killed her father leaves because he doesn't know how to deal with it and Gaia is left alone and moves from foster family to foster family. The first book of the series starts with Gaia living with George Niven and his wife Ella in New York City. She hates Ella but has no choice of who she lives with. She goes to school when she feels like it because it bores her since her dad, wherever he is, already taught her all of this. She becomes friend with Ed Fargo who is in a wheel chair because of an accident on his skateboard. Ed Fargo later on through the story always happens to save Gaia's life or help her through what she is has to deal with. Through the series you will read about Gaia and all the problems that she faces because of her messed up life.
I found this book very interesting and entertaining because since Gaia doesn't have the fear gene and she is trained in martial arts she finds herself beating up rapists and bullies that she comes in contact with in Washington Square Park and the rest of the city. I think the author did a great job writing the series, which she is continuing to write today. I like everything that she wrote about in this book. For example, I like how she wrote about how Gaia has people after her because she is so capable of fighting people and doesn't have to face fear like normal people. She could be bred into a killing machine. The book suggests that once Gaia finishes off all the bad guys she will lead a somewhat normal life. The book doesn't leave out any major issues because she basically sums up everything there is to know. This book gives you a taste of how the CIA and other organizations work to try and accomplish the tasks at hand. It also shows you how Gaia learns to deal with a life without fear. The book is related to real life in the way that the CIA works to finish off the terrorists. This series will give you a taste of how Gaia Moore's life and background effects her friends, love life, and even her very existence.

Rating:
Summary: no fear gene?!?
Review: When I plucked this book off the shelf, and paid for it my mother said to me "why on earth would you read that?". I don't know what she was talking about. THIS BOOK WAS INCREDIBLE!!! It has it's only little twist of wittiness (is that a word?), action, and even a little romance. My favorite... :) This has been the first of the series, and I think i will be getting a ton more of the books.

Gaia (guy - uh) is a not-so-normal girl in NY. The reason she is not so normal is because she has literally no fear. She was born without the fear gene...strange, huh? Her father made her train in kung-fu, tai-chi, tae kwon do, karate, and any other kind of defence-attack thing. Then her father *being in the CIA or something* leaves her, and her mother dies, and she is put in a foster home with George *who likes her* and Ella *who is 30 something and acts like she is 17*. Gaia goes to a new school, and all that stuff. She meets Ed, a handycapped person, and they become sort of friends. Gaia loves to play chess, and she plays all the time with this old man named Zolov. She meets Sam playing chess too...you never know, there might be some kind of thing behind it all *as the second book is called 'Sam'... READ TO FIND OUT!!!

*another note* I thought that this book was ok for the first half of the book, but when all the action happened in the middle, I couldn't put it down! I encourage anyone who is looking for something different, but with a little action and romance. ^.^

Rating:
Summary: I wish I liked gaia more.
Review: Francine Pascal is a good writer. She has the ability to keep the readers very interested, and this series is a great example of that. But she depends too much on action and drama and spends too little time actually dealing with the characters reactions to these events well. Because of this her characters seem too contrived and their emotions all seem obvious and unreal.

I believe that a good story must be believable. Even when you write about issues that are physically impossible (like not having a fear gene) your character and the rest of her predicaments must be within the realm of reality. I find the fearless series to be more and more unbelievable. Gaia is your stereotypical outcast, she is very defensive and therefore has little to no friends, and dresses badly which of course means everyone shuns her. But after this has been made clear Pascal makes sure to show us another, contradictory side of Gaia, the one that every single male is obsessed with. Ed Fargo, her best friend is, of course, obsessed with her. Then Sam, a guy who is dating the most popular girl in school is obsessed with her. And then there is heather, who is insanely jealous of this supposed outcast because of how "she doesn't even try" and manages to be beautiful. Sounds too good to be true? well that's because it is. If you are going to make your character one of those luminous people that everyone is drawn to (and that is what Francine Pascal is trying with Gaia) then your readers need to understand the appeal. They need to see that despite the sweatpants and nasty scowl, she is somehow undeniably lovable. The readers need to love her too and be able to see how just about everyone who knows her has fallen in love with her. Pascal does a good job showing everyone else mooning over her, but the reader can't always see why. An neither can I. I can't seem to find this quality in the character that Pascal has created in these books that makes her so wonderful. I can't see any undercurrent of kindness or optimism. She gets defensive and jealous easily over popular girls in her school (heather) but lacks any interesating personal qualities or maturity that might bring her to overcome these flaws. Gaia has superhuman strength and fighting talents, but her personality is very normal. Nothing about her own person is surprising or interesting except for her overcomplicated and dramatic past. I guess this is why I find it hard to fall in love with Gaia Moore.
good story, but not the most convincingly fanatastic character.

Rating:
Summary: A good series, but not for everyone
Review: This is a good series, and not like many other teen books. It does confront a lot of the regular teen problems: popularity, dating, drugs, etc (no, it's not one of those sappy book series about teen facing and overcoming their problems), but it does it in a different way.

Gaia has no fear, literaly. She was born without the fear gene. This doesn't, however, stop her from having all of the normal teenage problems. She's in love with the boyfriend of the girl she hates more than anyone else in the world. Her best friend is in love with her, but she doesn't know it. She lives in foster care because her mom died and her dad left her. Her foster-mother hates her. People keep trying to kill her. OK, maybe she has more than the normal teenage problems, but it does make for some interesting reading.

Gaia's not the only interesting character in the book. There is Heather and Sam, her enemy and her one true love. Mary and Ed, her friends, and other characters you meet in each book. Each character is completly different in their own way and contribute to the plots.

There are only two things I don't like about this series:

1. The indicisivness of Heather and Sam's relationship. In each book they seem to be at a different level of it, braking up, getting back together, both. It can get on a person's nerves. This probably wont bother you until you get deeper into the series though.

2. Each book depends on the other books for you to completly understand the complete plot, and all of the characters and why they do what they do. Fortunatly the books come out once a month, so this problem isn't as bad as it could be.

Despite these two things I realy do like this series, though other people might not. Give it a try and see what you think.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Teen Books out there!
Review: This is probably one of the best teen series books I've ever read. It is written in many different POV's giving you different perspectives of everything. This series tackles real life issues, living in New York. It's not some sappy, corny novel. It is exciting, intense, witty, adventurous, and even a little romance is put in. I'd reccommend trying to buy as many of the books in the series at once, because once you finish reading one, your dying to know what happens in the next book. Francine Pascal has done a wonderful job writing these books. They are a big change from her normal Sweet Valley books. Put this book in your shopping cart now, and don't forget to get the rest too! A new book comes out every month!

Rating:
Summary: This book is the best book ever!!
Review: Fearless is an amazing story for any teenage girl. It is about a girl born without the fear gene, whose father trained her since she was little to be a fantastic fighter. She enjoys walking through Central Park of New York City, just to prove thugs wrong who think they can attack innocent teenage girls. The story has humor with her witty thoughts about what is going on in her head, along with what is going on in other character's heads. There is also a person who broke the wall she built around her heart, Ed, her new best friend. Then there is Sam, who likes/hates her, and who also happens to be going out with Gaia's enemy. I love this book because it is action-packed, with a little romance, but it also relates a lot with me, and probably other teenagers as well. She deals with trying to fit in, starting a new school, being self concious about the way you look, and thinks about a lot of the other popular issues with teenagers. The story isn't too believable when you think about it, but while you read it, you believe she has no fear, and it is just a part of her life. I enjoy thinking about all the different things that I would do or would happen to me if I had no fear as well.

Rating:
Summary: incredible!
Review: i never thought that i would love this book. i was just you know kinda...? the title was/is different and the antagonist is different also.being born without the fear gene is somewhat different some kind of a mutant thing.you'ver got to read this book.it's fantastic! you'll like it too!

Rating:
Summary: Better the Second Time Around
Review: The first time I read "Fearless" I was kind of mad, I mean, it was good, but the plot changes get pretty annoying. The second time, you get a lot more out of the characters and the scenarios, and it's a heck of a lot more interesting.

Gaia Moore is different than most girls her age. Not only is she a natural beauty (IE she doesn't need to wear makeup, designer clothes, etc), but she has a black belt in any type of karate you can think of. She's also fearless. She was actually born without the fear gene, and can handle anything that comes her way. If she sees a girl getting mugged, she just runs into the fight and breaks it up, not thinking about how dangerous the situation is. And most of the time, she beats the guy.

One day, she goes too far and gets not only herself in to great danger, but her newfound friend Ed and Sam, the "love of her life."

Overall grade - A

Rating:
Summary: Fun story thats almost adicting!
Review: I usually don't go for action stories in general, they seem not as fun to read than to watch in the movies or television but Fearless proved to be more. I first bought the book because I was having a slow summer and thought that reading a series would help to take up the long hours. It first moved so slow that after only about 30 pages it was left collecting dust, but when I picked it up once again i couldn't put it down and finished it in a day, rushing to the library to get the next one. The main characters of this story are very interesting and theres a level of humor that one can easily relate to. The one problem is that after your done, its not over. This series of almost 30 books are a continuation of one big story, despite the smaller stories within each book. Don't read this one unless you are commited to either reading several more, or being kept in suspence!!!

Rating:
Summary: Kept me hooked
Review: This was a great book that kept me hooked 'til the end... and further; I'm now on book #26 and I'm still not sick of the characters or unique writing style displayed by Francine Pascal. If your looking for a great book that is followed by a page-turning series, read this book. It's about a girl who has a rather cynical outlook on life and how she deals to cope with the changes around her. Throughout this series, you start to love the characters and feel attached to them after learning how their attitudes and opions of each other change. I highly recommend this book and entire series by Francine Pascal.