Like any right-thinking teenager who has grown up on Star Wars and comic books, Darren knows that if there’s anything unique about you, men in suits and dark glasses will show up and take you away. This knowledge takes on a new immediacy when Darren discovers that his new best bud, Eric, has a strange, well, superpower: he literally never sleeps and never has to! The good news about this is that it gives Eric lots of time to think about TimeBlaze, the multiplatform sci-fi epic he and Darren are creating. The bad news is that what they imagine starts to become real, including, yes, a man in a suit and dark glasses! -Booklist
As you can tell from the summary, this book is very imaginative. I would say it is a coming-of-age tale with a comic-book feel to it. Since I'm not really a comic-book type of gal I think some of those aspects were lost on me. But I really do think that kids who enjoy video-gaming or super heroes will find lots to like in this book.
Both Darren and Eric are loners and they find each other through their mutual interest in creating TimeBlaze, cartoons full of super heroes. Their friendship hits a speed bump over a girl but reconnects over a mutual enemy.
Will I recommend this book to my students? Sure, but first I will make sure that they are mature readers as there are several references to illegal drug use and to sexual activity. I also think that this book will appeal to a specific niche in the population. But I will keep it on hand for just those kids. In the meantime, I'm going to let this book simmer a while in my brain. I have a feeling it is one of those books that will stay with me for a while.
I loved this book! I've read it twice now and it was just as funny the second time. I laughed so much. I've never laughed as much before or since while reading a book.
ReplyDeleteI think it targets my generation - the older teens to early thirties group. I thought Pierson nailed every reference to pop/sci-fi culture. Nice review!
This definitely sounds like a unique read - perfect for those kiddos who sound a little like Darren and Eric themselves! I love the cover. It can't really be a pop-up cover... can it?!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Not quite for me, but something I would have added to my classroom library.
ReplyDeleteI have heard incredible things about this one. It's on my TBR list. In fact, it was in the library the other day when I was there, but I currently have so many books checked out that I hated to grab yet another one. But I plan to get to it VERY soon.
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