Daniel X: Review Parade

Trying to offer a vaccine for the common belief that "boys don't like reading" James Patterson has published a new book for pre-teen kids called Daniel X and I have been bestowed the privilege of receiving a free copy for review. If I was paranoid, I would think that the people who sent me this book were aliens taking over the minds of bloggers throughout the world.

But fortunately, I am not paranoid. . . .

This story is about a boy alien hunter, named Daniel, in search of an evil alien who killed his parents and tried to kill him. Turning himself into a tick, Daniel created his own way of escape, observing the killer and taking mental notes he would need later in life.

Maturing into a full-blown alien hunter by the age of 15 with little history on how he developed into such a well-rounded kid unattended from age 3, Daniel has to talk fast and move faster to keep out of the way of social workers, police and horse-headed man-eating aliens that want him dead. He is able to use his mind to conjure real-to-life parents, a sibling and best friends when the situation called for it. He is also able to make them disappear just as fast.

In this introductory epic, Daniel tries out his superhuman transformative powers to battle Ergent Seth, #6 on the black list of all alien black lists, called appropriately The List. Ergent Seth takes Daniel to his home world where Daniel escapes, is reunited with long-lost family and then battles Ergent to which end you will have to read the book. I wouldn't want to give it away.

As any good parent with a preteen child, I let my daughter read this book before me and then grilled her on the details before reading it myself. Her words to be exact were "it was predictable, funny and I definitely want to read the next one."

While I knew this book was geared towards the young at heart, I was still disappointed in the short, sometimes two page, chapters that didn't give the mind much time to flesh out a thought before moving on to some new crisis in the alien adventure.

BUT, the book does not disappoint where young love, ultimate rejection and importance of camaraderie among friends are concerned. Throw in family ties and the ultimate battle of good versus evil and you have your text book superhero boy wonder tale that will appeal to children everywhere with its common slang,  modern references, and relative need of humankind to find a place to fit in.

Overall, it is a perfect book for pre-teens: a quick read, lots of action and enough slime to fill a black hole.

Check out the Daniel X website for a clever CGI video clip.

Comments

[Musings of a Housewife]

Hm. Not my cuppa tea, I don't think. Nice review, though. Can I copy and paste next week? HA!

[Mel @ A Box of Chocolates]

Too funny, I just finished typing my review for Thursday! I enjoyed the book and so did my husband. I liked hearing what your daughter had to say about it. A+ on your book review!!