Reading as an adult, the writing, plot and character development were all fairly simple and high level. But reading from the mindset of a young boy, especially one with a short attention span who loves video game adventures more than reading, I felt like the tone, level and depth of the story is about right.
The writing is rather cheesy at some points and the story had some elements that felt overdone but it makes for a comfortable opportunity for young readers to get into the adventure of reading. A lot of the scenes read more like comic books than novels, complete with the *pew pew* sound effects in the text. Couple that with some fun artwork and this seems like a nice step up for helping kids work their way into novels.
The last page of the book includes a couple of questions for thoughtful discussion ("how do you think the character felt when this happen", etc.). I seriously doubt my nephews will really want to spend time answering the questions but I think it's a nice thought and a good option, especially for parents or mentors who might be reading this aloud with children.
The comic book adventure nature of this book makes it well suited for reading aloud. But the reading level and overall content makes me feel like this is a good book for trying to get kids to read books on their own. Perhaps a hybrid approach would be a good fit (read one or two chapters aloud and then let the kids take off on their own).
Personally, I want a little more meat to the story but for the intended audience, this book would hopefully meet the goal and be well accepted. I fondly remember reading books aloud with my kids when they were younger and sometimes chatting about scenes after we finished for the night. Hopefully books like this one will provide new ways to guide new readers into the love of reading.
3 out of 5 stars
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