Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Journal of Curious Letters (The 13th Reality #1) by James Dashner

From Goodreads:  What if every time you made a choice that had a significant consequence, a new, alternate reality was created — the life that would've been? What if those new Realities were in danger? What if it fell to you to save all the realities?

Atticus Higginbottom, a.k.a. Tick, is a regular thirteen-year-old boy living a regular life until the day a strange letter arrives in his mailbox. Postmarked from Alaska and cryptically signed with the initials "M.G.," the letter informs Tick that dangerous — perhaps even deadly — events have been set in motion that could result in the destruction of reality itself. M.G. promises to send Tick twelve riddles that will reveal that on a certain day, at a certain time, at a certain place, something extraordinary will happen.

Will Tick have the courage to follow the twelve clues M.G. sends to him? Will he be able to solve the riddles in time? As M.G. warns Tick, very frightening things are coming your way. Will you join Tick and his friends on an amazing journey through the Realities? What will your choice be?


From Heather:  I loved this book!  The writing was colorful and fun to read, the characters were well developed and the story was fantastical and engaging.  I fell in love with Tick!  But the thing that I probably loved the most about him (and the book!) is that he let his dad know what was happening.  His dad didn't go on his adventures with him, but he is a source of strength when things are hard and I love that there was a parent involved.  I realize that books written for kids need to have kids as the main characters, but as a parent, I LOVED that the parents were involved in the story.

I have picked up the next two books in the series and can't wait to get reading them!  The clues that were given were a little odd and had Tick do some odd things.  But the story was packed full of action and extremely colorful characters.  Love this book!  Five stars!

5 comments:

Jillian said...

Great review, thanks! I'm looking for a book for a nephew and this one looks perfect. What would you say the age range is on this one?

Heather said...

Jillian, it's a pretty hefty book. (432 pages) And there are a couple parts that are a little scary. I think 5th or 6th grade would be a pretty good starting point.

Jillian said...

Okay, I don't think that will work... is there one you could recommend for an 8-9 year old boy?

Heather said...

I've always been a fan of the My Weird School books, although they may be a bit young for him. (Recommended age is 7 and up, but they are hilarious) I also like Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger. It has knights and action and lots of fun potty talk. That's good for boys, right? =] Thomas and the Dragon Queen or Elliot and the Goblin War are both books I've reviewed on here and they would be good for that age too.

Jillian said...

GREAT! Thanks SO much for all in the help. It's a hard age for me to get books for since my son hasn't gotten there yet and I personally don't read those kinds of books. :)