Review: The Atomic Weight of Secrets or The Arrival of The Mysterious Men in Black

Courtesy of Bancroft Press

The Atomic Weight of Secrets or The arrival of the Mysterious Men in Black by Eden Unger Bowditch

Pages: 339, hardcover

ISBN: 9781610880022

Publisher: Bancroft Press

Release Date: March 15th 2011

Genre: Middle Grade / mystery

Source: galley from the publisher

Premise:

In 1903, five truly brilliant young inventors, the children of the world's most important scientists, went about their lives and their work as they always had.

But all that changed the day the men in black arrived... (continued on the Goodreads page)

Buy it from: The Book Depository / Amazon

First things first: wow, I was really impressed with the writing. From the very first page, it lured me in. It has this mesmerizing quality that makes this book feel so magical and almost impossible to put down. The writing works well for this MG book (it's described as YA on Goodreads, but none of the characters are close to teens, and the writing is MG-y). This is the kind of book I wish I had when I was growing up. The writing falls short near the end of the book, but otherwise, is still enjoyable.

The characters feel so real. They're kid scientists with the ability to create great things. I'm sure some people would find a problem with the little insertions of each child's life, but I quite liked it. It gave me a insight as to what these kids were like before they were taken from their parents by the men in black. Sort of watching them grow up, so to say. This is especially effective for Faye, who was a horrid, spoiled brat at the beginning. I honestly thought that I was going to hate her, and I worried for a while that she'd remain that way and ruin the book. But, instead, she grew a whole lot. We saw the reasoning behind her brattiness in the first place, and we also see her learn to have friends, and to treat people like, well, people. It's quite a remarkable change, and I really applaud it.

My second favourite character was Wallace. He's the character I felt most sorry for. He has a tragic past, where his mother had passed away when he was young, and with her, all the love and affection he ever received. His father had incredibly high expectations of him, and never let him forget it. Amongst all the pressure, Wallace seemed close to cracking. His sweet, secret relationship with his teacher (don't worry, not THAT kind of relationship), Miss Brett showed just how much his mother's death had affected him, and it was a bit saddening.

My one issue is the chapter titles. There are two chapter titles for each chapter, and it doesn't really feel necessary. It feels a bit like overkill. Though, I suppose it's because I don't really care for chapter titles.

This is a great book if you want to read something mysterious, or about nerdy kids. Something like Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks.

Cover Art: 2 (one of the downsides of the book. I have no idea what's going on in the cover)
Plot: 4
Characters: 5
Writing: 4
Level of Interest: 4

Total Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: The Gates

The Gates by John Connolly

Pages: 272, paperback

ISBN: 9780340995808

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Date Released: October 1st, 2009

Genre: Middle Grade / fantasy / horror / humor

Source: library

Premise:

A strange novel for strange young people.

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Hallowe'en. Which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Avenue. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with Satanism. But it just happens to coincide with a malfunction in the Large Hadron Collider that creates a gap in the universe. A gap in which there is a pair of enormous gates. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out ...

Can Samuel persuade anyone to take this seriously? Can he harness the power of science to save the world as we know it? (Taken from Goodreads)

Buy it from: The Book Depository / Amazon

After reading The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, I knew that I needed to get my hands on something else by him, and honestly, this didn't disappoint. (By the way I totally recommend that you read it).

This book is written in the same vein of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe or Monty Python. Meaning, despite it's genre, it's full of that excellent British humour that I so adore. That wit, that sarcasm, oh, it just makes me excited just thinking about it. I just have to show you an example of the wit and hilarity:

"Schwell, the Demon of Uncomfortable Shoes; Ick, the Demon of Unpleasant Things Discovered in Plug Holes During Cleaning; Graham, the Demon of Stale Biscuits and Crackers; Mavis, the Demon of Inappropriate Names for Men; and last, and quite possibly least, Erics', the Demon of Bad Punctuation. - pg 37

One bother I had with the writing was that there were footnotes, and while they were sometimes funny and often informative, they also distracted me from the text. I often found myself having to reread the previous paragraph, because the footnote sometimes deviated from the text that I forgot what was happening in the story.

What made this story even more awesome was the use of the Large Hadron Collider. I'm not sure if any of you guys remember all that buzz about two years, that it would be the end of the world if they operated it and tried to recreate the Big Bang. I've always been fascinated by physics, so the use of this as a main plot hole just rocked my socks.

A major part of this book revolves around the idea that Samuel is trying to get y while his mum is surviving a nasty break-up with his dad. His dad has moved out, and is living with another woman, and his mum is having a hard time dealing with it. It has a fresh and real perceptive on separation and divorce, and the way that it's described--in the slightly childish voice of the prose--it makes the reader feel just how painful divorce is for the child, not just the parents.

The unlikely friendship between Nord--a demon who isn't quite so demonic--and Samuel was just lovely. When they first met by an accidental mishap of physics, they really get to know each other, and their friendship grew into something big and believable.

My main concern was at the end of the book, when Samuel is confronted by a demonic personification of his worst fear: spiders. It would only have made sense in his growth as a character if he had killed the demon himself and conquered his inner fear. Instead, his friends kill it, while he's just standing there, frightened. Apart from that, his character grew well.

The story was filled with action, and the kind of things that children and adults alike would enjoy reading. Each chapter is more interesting than the one preceding it, and you'll find yourself unable to put this book down.

Cover Art: 4
Plot: 5
Characters: 4
Writing: 4
Level of Interest: 5

Total Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Pages: 375, paperback

ISBN: 9780141329994

Publisher: Puffin

Date Released: January 7th, 2010 (first published in 2005)

Genre: Middle Grade / fantasy / adventure / mythology: Greek

Source: library

Premise:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. (Taken from Goodreads)

Buy it now from The Book Depository

I was slightly skeptical about this book. A middle grade book about Greek mythology, said to be the next Harry Potter? I didn't think it could be pulled off properly. And I was wondering what was so good about it that Hollywood decided to make of it (which I saw many months later).

I read it to give it a try. I just knew, though, that I wouldn't like it.

Every skeptical thought I had was lost on the first page of the book. From the beginning, I was drawn into the world of Percy Jackson. The writing just draws you in and doesn't ever release its hold until the very last page. Even then, it gives you this thirst to read the rest of the series. The writing flowed in such a way that it kept my attention: fast paced with such an elaborate voice. It really did feel like Percy Jackson was narrating the story to me. It was fun, and it sounded like a genuine 12-year-old, what with all that silly humour and whatnot.

What I loved most about the writing in this book is how every chapter is filled to the brim with action. There's just so much going on all the time that there's hardly any time for a breather, but I think that it works in this case, for it makes putting the book down a near impossible feat.

I loved the characters. They weren't two-dimensional, they felt so completely real, and I found myself loving each and every one of them (especially Hades and Ares. Man, those two were so hardcore). While I found myself cringing at the niceness at some of the gods, I still found it believable (and I thought it was appropriate enough for a MG novel) especially with the adulterous nature of the gods. I loved that they didn't exclude that, unlike some novels I've seen.

The infusion of Greek mythology into a modern setting was done splendidly. I was in awe at how well it was done. Some things were a bit predictable, but I guess that's mainly because I have quite a lot of knowledge on Greek mythology. I loved it.

As soon as I finished this book, I rushed out to get my hands on the rest of the series, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint.

Cover Art: 3
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing: 4
Level of Interest: 4

Total: 4/5 stars