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Magnificent 12, The: The Call
Ditulis oleh Michael Grant
Narasi oleh Ramon De Ocampo
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Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys' bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it's up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen's dangerous daughter, Ereskigal-also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn't want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?
A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant's hilarious new fantasy adventure series.
Tindakan Buku
Mulai MendengarkanInformasi Buku
Magnificent 12, The: The Call
Ditulis oleh Michael Grant
Narasi oleh Ramon De Ocampo
Deskripsi
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys' bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it's up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen's dangerous daughter, Ereskigal-also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn't want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?
A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant's hilarious new fantasy adventure series.
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Can we say juvenile? Explaining the plot by using a double time line, with one in pre-historic times, with the cartoon mindlessness of cave-people (Grimluk), really drags this story down. I did like sidekick Stefan, but this is not one I care to visit again.
Rating: 1Liked this first book in the Magnificent 12 series. It is funny and full of adventure for David, the reluctant hero. My most favorite parts were the notes from David's golem. Might make a good Review Crew book.
Rating: 3Mack MacAvoy is an ordinary 12-year-old kid, with a long list of phobias from dentophobia (fear of dentists) to phobophobia (fear of phobias). The one thing that he's not afraid of is trouble. When he saves the life of Stefan, one of the school bullies (there's one for every social group), Mack's life takes an unexpected turn.Grimluk is another 12-year-old from a very, very, very long time ago. He is known as one of the Magnifica. He and eleven others must defeat the Pale Queen before she destroys the Earth. During the ensuing battle, she is only imprisoned for 3000 years.Now that 3000-year end date is close at hand, and it's up to Mack to find the other eleven 12-year-olds to bring together The Magnificent 12 and defeat the Pale Queen once and for all. Lots of obstacles stand in thier way, including the Pale Queen's daughter, Princess Ereskigal, and her many many minions.A laugh-out-loud adventure that alternates the story between Mack in present day and Grimluk way, way, way back when. Michael Grant has created very relatable characters (the human ones at least) and hilarious situations in a great new series. Book Two will be coming out in Fall 2011. If you like this, I also recommend the Nathan Ambercrombie Series by David Lubar or vice versa.Ages 9-12Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (August 2010)ISBN: 9780061833663 Available as an eBook
Rating: 3***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***David "Mack" McAvoy is a bright, but average twelve-year-old with caring, but somewhat neglectful parents. When he saves the school bully - Stephan's life by helping stem the flow of blood after the boy puts his arm through a window he is taken under the big brute's wing. Though at first he isn't sure this is a good thing, he's grateful for the protection when an old man shows up informing Mack is fated to be the leader of The Magnificent 12, a group of twelve-year-old's, who through magic must save the world from the evil mother of all monsters, The Pale Queen. He might have ignored the man, but for the aged assassin and monsters who show up at his middle school to kill him. And so Mack and Stephan embark on a journey around the world to locate the rest of the magnificent twelve. But can a group of twelve-year-old's really save the world?In a way I'm glad that I read the second book in this series before reading the first. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book filled with adventure and some funny scenes, however it pales in comparison to the hilarity of its sequel - The Trap (review to be posted on release date). While this book might have received a higher rating from me than it did, I probably wouldn't have bothered to pick up another book in the series which is very obviously geared to children, not really the type of book meant to expand to include adult interest. The difference between this and The Trap is even though they're both clearly geared toward children The Trap keeps you laughing from beginning to end so you don't really mind the immaturity of the book as an adult reader. This book has funny moments which make you smile, but it doesn't reach the same level of funny as The Trap does.What makes this adventure novel so appropriate for children is that Grant takes the adventure and makes it out right silly. And though his topics are somewhat violent in nature, he manages to skip the really violent parts by giving the reader two intertwining story lines at the same time. In some chapters you are in the modern world with Mack seeing his world turn upside down. In others you are three thousand years in the past with Grimluk, engaged in a war against the Pale Queen. None of the chapters are really gruesome or gory and parts that you would expect to be scary are so silly in nature that they're laughable. Grant engages in a wonderful method of bringing adventure to children with a distinctive voice and original style. To be honest the book probably deserves a higher rating but it's hard to give it that with the comparison to its sequel so fresh in my mind.I don't know if I'd so much call the characters well developed, however I would call them memorable. I don't think the characters are meant to be well developed in this story because the more realistic you make them, the less laughable they seem. As the goal of this adventure novel is laughter for once I think this is a positive thing. There's Mack with his numerous phobias freaking out about everything. Stephan, the dumb but brave bully ready to protect him. With a bunch of other characters along the way. My favorite character in this novel is the Golem whose mostly portrayed though journal entries and text messages. Because he has a brain made from mud, clay and magic he takes everything literally. So for example when a teacher asks if Mack is still devouring books, he says yes and promptly eats a book for her then can't understand why he gets in trouble. If everything else in the book was deadly serious, the Golem's passages would still be enough to keep the mood light and children laughing.Overall this is an excellent tale of adventure and laughter that I believe children, especially boys will love.
Rating: 3The only thing about Mack McAvoy that's not completely average is the LONG list of phobias he has... so many that he even has a phobia of phobias. The only thing he doesn't seem to be afraid of are the school bullies, and in a bizarre twist, he actually saves the life of Stefan, who is 15 in the 8th grade and the worst bully of all. For this, Stefan says to all that Mack is "Under My Wing." Add to this a nasty looking old man called Grimluk who can stop time while talking to the two boys, and telling Mack that he is the First of the Twelve, and must find the rest of the group to save the world from the Pale Queen, who's been waiting 3,000 years to destroy it. Alternating between Grimluk's experiences with fighting the Pale Queen and her forces thousands of years ago, and Mack's newfound quest in the present, this is a riproaring ride, perfect for Lightning Thief fans! Short and hilarious, this is perfect for 6th grade.
Rating: 3I love when middle grade books aren't patronizing. I love when children are not beat over the head with the fact that they are not adults and cannot possibly comprehend big words. I love it when authors do not talk down/write down in their books for children. The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant is such a book. It is genuinely funny, even from my adult ivory tower I chuckled quite a bit. What sold me on this book was the comparison to Monty Python. Now, I know the blurbs they put on a book are supposed to be enticing, they are supposed to make you want the book. BUT, how many middle schoolers know what Monty Python is? Really. If I was to scream BUT NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISTION at an eighth grader, would they understand me? Probably not. Mack MacAvoy is our intrepid hero. He is twelve and is fairly average, or as the book would say, has a case of mediumness. He is afraid of heights, the dark, enclosed spaces, but fearless in the face of bullies. The school Mack goes to has bullies for every clique. That passage in the book, BTW, is very very funny. Of course, Mack runs afowl of the bullies, and is about to get creamed when he actually winds up saving the king of the bullies, Stefan, thus coming under Stefan's protection. More craziness ensues, Mack gets a golum in his image, meets a crazy old dude named Grimluk AND discovers he is one of the Maginificent 12 and must find the rest of the 12 to defeat the villain.Instead of my usual rumination, I thought I would let the text speak for itself, as I have lots of pages folded with quotes that I laughed my face off at, having all the humor of a 12 year old."But there was one bully to rule them all , one bully to find them, one bully to bring them all and in the darkness pound them." - pg. 4You had me at the LOTR reference."Grimluk wasn't sure. He didn't know what a mummer's game might be, and millennia would pass slowly by before Google would be created to answer questions such as this." pg. 86Ah, snark after my own heart."Of course he can text. He's golem,' Rose said, 'not an adult.'" pg. 94LOLOLOLOL. Yeah, my parents can't text. Granted, I am an adult, but still."One of the rules of Great Literature is: show, don't tell. But one of the other rules of Great Literature is: don't go on and on with boring scenes where nothing happens but a lot of talking." pg. 140True dat.
Rating: 4Mack, age 12, has every kind of phobia you can imagine. So when he's targeted by the school bully, of course he's scared. But he ends up saving the bully's life, and in turn the bully vows to protect him. Fast forward to the middle school hallway the next day, where time is stopped by a wizard who seems to be after Mack. Suddenly he finds out he's part of a group of teens called the Magnificent 12, who's mission it is to stop the Pale Queen. Told with tons of humor.
Rating: 4Rounding up from 2 and a half stars.
Disability tag for two elderly and debilitated characters, both portrayed as grotesque and horrible, even though only one is a bad guy.
Gender-politics tag because the major villains are female, and while there are some neutral-to-positive female characters, this is a great example of the puerocracy/paedocracy at work: 12 year old boy has to defeat the evil females and also decide how much to embrace the good females.
Warning for animal harm (against poisonous snakes) that read as all-too-realistic when compared to later, cartoonishly drawn, battles against high fantasy monsters.
Mack himself is 12, very clever, a smartass, and terrified of a long list of specific things, meaning he isn't at all afraid of the things people usually are. It's charming. He's a good Every-Kid.
Meanwhile, Mack's bodyguard and former bully is a 15 year old blond Adonis named Stefan, who can pass for 21 and who is devoted to Mack. If Mack weren't 12, the slash would write itself. As it is, I could happily read a G-rated romance between them while Jarrah (awesome mixed race Aussie girl) saves the world. Puppy love = adorable.
Anyway, I read this because it was free and decently reviewed among middle school set librarians. The writing is nothing great (and doesn't pretend to be, breaking the 4th wall all the time), but it's a fun little adventure.
Rating: 3Disability tag for two elderly and debilitated characters, both portrayed as grotesque and horrible, even though only one is a bad guy.
Gender-politics tag because the major villains are female, and while there are some neutral-to-positive female characters, this is a great example of the puerocracy/paedocracy at work: 12 year old boy has to defeat the evil females and also decide how much to embrace the good females.
Warning for animal harm (against poisonous snakes) that read as all-too-realistic when compared to later, cartoonishly drawn, battles against high fantasy monsters.
Mack himself is 12, very clever, a smartass, and terrified of a long list of specific things, meaning he isn't at all afraid of the things people usually are. It's charming. He's a good Every-Kid.
Meanwhile, Mack's bodyguard and former bully is a 15 year old blond Adonis named Stefan, who can pass for 21 and who is devoted to Mack. If Mack weren't 12, the slash would write itself. As it is, I could happily read a G-rated romance between them while Jarrah (awesome mixed race Aussie girl) saves the world. Puppy love = adorable.
Anyway, I read this because it was free and decently reviewed among middle school set librarians. The writing is nothing great (and doesn't pretend to be, breaking the 4th wall all the time), but it's a fun little adventure.
David "Mack" McAvoy wants you to believe that he's not a hero. He has a huge list of phobias (including a phobia of phobias), he's constantly being bullied, his parents don't even seem to know he's there, and yet he's the one who has been chosen to help save the world. At least that's what Grimluk, the ancient man who appeared in the middle of the hallway one afternoon, has told him. Mack sets out, with his new friend (and old bully) Stephen, to seek out the remaining eleven, so they can complete the circle and defeat the ancient threat of the Pale Queen. Michael Grant relies on an interesting premise in this first book in the Magnificent Twelve series. In execution, he stumbles a bit, the action is poorly described and confusing, while the dialogue is somewhat silly at times. However, the books brevity, the underlying mystery of who the Pale Queen is, as well as the tongue-in-cheek remarks of Mack and Stephen, keep the reader interested. Readers between 9 and 12 who appreciate Brandon Sandersons "Alcatraz" series, "The 39 Clues" by Linda Sue Park, or "The Sister's Grimm" series by MIchael Buckley will enjoy this series as well.
Rating: 3Not often do I have to abandon a book before I finish it, but I just couldn't get into this fully. I think it will still have an audience with younger readers, but it was just a bit too silly for me to fully appreciate the story. I started to lose interest when the green man accosted Mack in the washroom, but was too slow to even stab him, because he was so old. This was disappointing for me because I LOVE the Gone series, and was hoping for something magnificent from Grant, but aimed at a younger audience.
Rating: 3