Tag archives for James Patterson
Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
Posted by BOOK NAME: Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
AUTHORS: James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts
Rafe Katchadorian was an ordinary boy. Yet after this book, he was no longer ordinary.
Rafe started Hills Village Middle School. As many of you can imagine (especially those who just entered middle school like me), he wasn’t too excited. To him middle school was the start of three years of prison. At the assembly on the first day of school, everyone had to follow along as the principal read the handbook. Rafe’s imaginary friend, Leo, gave him the idea to try to break all the rules in the handbook. He started with the first one, pulling the fire alarm.
You’ve probably guessed by now that things only went downhill from there. This rule breaking game started having a points system, and Rafe tried to get as many points as possible. That fired up Miller the killer, the school’s biggest bully. Miller thought that Rafe was trying to prove to be the worst boy in the school.
Throughout the book, you’ll join Rafe on his adventures through school, family, and even girls! And at the end of the book, you’ll discover that Leo may not have been just an imaginary friend after all.
I really loved this book. Rarely do books make me laugh, yet this one had me cracking up on almost every page! One of my favorite parts was the illustrations. They look like real doodles in a notebook. My other favorite part was the surprising ending. But I’m not going to tell you that part….. you’ve just got to read the book…..
Posted by BOOK NAME: The Gift: Witch & Wizard Book 2
AUTHOR: James Patterson
I hope all of you know who the author James Patterson is. If not, abandon the computer and get one of your parents to take you to the bookstore ASAP. But while you’re there, don’t pick up The Gift. I’ve already made that mistake.
Okay, okay, it wasn’t THAT bad. Let me start at the beginning: I’m normally a huge Patterson fan, but when I picked up Witch and Wizard (the book before The Gift), I was a little disappointed because it was only mediocre. It was an okay plot and everything, but the way it was written was not as appealing as it could have been. Despite this, when the sequel (The Gift) came out, I went right to my local Barnes and Noble, bought it, and read it. Now, a few hours later, I’m still in a state of confusion.
Before we get into why I didn’t like it, I’ll give a little background. Whit and Wisteria Allgood are just normal teenagers until they discover they have magical powers when the New Order is established (basically, all of the job titles start with “The One” and they hate anyone who isn’t into the whole “kill people who look like they don’t like us” thing). That was the first book, in which they engage in many adventures, live in an old department store, and use magic. The Gift is the second book in the series, and follows Whit and Wisty again as they engage in even more fun adventures, sometimes involving chocolate and inevitably ending in meeting “The One Who is The One.” Don’t worry, I’m confused, too.
Basically, my problems with the book were these: James Patterson and his coauthor (conveniently listed in barely-visible print at the bottom of the dust cover) tried WAY too hard to get the teen language and vibe right–I mean, I never say ‘totes cool.’ Also, the plot was not as great as it could have been. We’ve all seen post-apocalyptic new world government stuff before, and we’ve also seen magic. But mix them together in a generic plot line, and what do you get? Not a good book, I can tell you that.
Before you forgo reading this, remember that this is only my opinion and I tend to be pretty tough on books. If you have read it, comment back and tell me what you thought!
BOOK NAME: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
AUTHOR: James Patterson
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment is the first novel in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. It’s about Maximum Ride and her 5 unofficial siblings, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel, who are bird-human hybrids–I believe the politically correct term is Avian Americans–that have wings and can fly. They were raised for their early years in a laboratory that they know as “the School,” but were rescued by one of the scientists and were living with him until they were attacked by “Erasers”–wolf-human hybrids that were manufactured by the same lab. They had to leave their safe-house, and since their scientist friend, Jeb, couldn’t fly, they were on their own. They were doing fine until Angel, the youngest, was taken captive. At this point, the rest of the flock, led by Max, went on a mission to get her back from the evil scientists at the School.
There are actually 6 books in this series, and this is only the first one. I absolutely love this series, and have read the books many times–I don’t know why I haven’t reviewed this before. Some of my favorite things about it are James Patterson’s sardonic tone throughout the book, and the overall hilarity of some of the comments that Max makes. It is narrated from Max’s point of view. The whole concept of genetic engineering is very modern, and I like to keep up with the latest science news. The theme was therefore enthralling to me, and I think that the book put an interesting spin on this controversial topic. Overall, Patterson did a great job with this novel and the succeeding installments of the series.
