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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Ages 9+
Reminiscent of the Mysterious Benedict Society, A Whole Nother Story features brave and clever children battling a variety of evil forces. Though similar to the Benedict series, this book is far goofier but still a great pleasure to read.
Reminiscent of the Mysterious Benedict Society, A Whole Nother Story features brave and clever children battling a variety of evil forces. Though similar to the Benedict series, this book is far goofier but still a great pleasure to read.
This is a highly entertaining and imaginative book. I read this to my 4th grader and she can't wait for me to grab the sequel! Government agents, international super spies, pirates, thieves,time machines, poetry slinging cowboy vagabonds,psychic dogs and sock puppets are all contained inside. Mr. Cheeseman and his family are on the run from everyone because he and his now dead wife built a time machine. Once he completes it, he hopes to go back in time to save his wife's life. But in the meantime, he has to keep it out of the hands of a lot of different bad guys and so he keeps moving locations with his three kids and his dog.
Funny in a Series of Unfortunate Events meets "A Wrinkle in Time sort of way. I found the action fun, but the humor was wearing a little thin about half-way through.
I liked this! I know the folks at Bloomsbury are hoping for a major blockbuster, a la Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I don't know if it'll happen. And it's SUPER derivative of that one, mashed up with Series of Unfortunate Events and probably a lot of others that I don't know about. But I don't care! It was funny, clever and entertaining. Cute, but not too cute. Funny, and sometimes the jokes fall flat, but still! Fun, fun.
Three stars for the story itself, five stars for the smart aleck storytelling and audiobook narrator, so I averaged it out to a four. Because there is an exciting tale of intrigue and espionage starring an inventive father, his two sons and one daughter, a host of government agents and goons, and all the people they meet over the course of their adventure, but this isn't really a book based on plot and character development. No, the joy of this tale is the telling, the constant clever asides, snarky comments, witty puns and plays on language, ridiculous situations and set-ups, and cerebrally silly humor. I was most happily amused.
A few examples:
The secret government agency whose agents go by their initials, spelled out, so we get "names" like Agent Aitch Dee, Agent El Kyoo, and Agent Gee Doubleyou.
---
As the station wagon pulled back onto the highway, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon like a leaky boat. Well, except for the fact that boats are not generally round, orange, and on fire. Hmm. Come to think of it, in no way whatsoever did the sun, in this instance, resemble a leaky boat. My apologies. That was a dreadful attempt at simile. Please allow me to try again.
As the station wagon pulled back onto the highway, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon like a self-luminous, gaseous sphere comprised mainly of hydrogen and helium.
---
There was a time when, if you encountered someone with a tattoo, you could pretty much assume he was either a sailor or had, at one time or another, been in prison. There was something, it seemed, about men being cooped up together that made them want to draw on themselves.
---
All gifts are not created equal. Historically speaking, there are good gifts and there are bad gifts.
Good gifts: A bottle of champagne, a box of fine Belgian chocolates, the Statue of Liberty.
Bad gifts: A bottle of shampoo, a box of fine Belgian matches, the Trojan Horse.
---
If I could give you all just one word of advice, it would be . . . well, an incomplete sentence. Besides being grammatically iffy, I'm sure you'd agree that a single word of advice is rarely of much use. Even the phrase "Look out!" (which could prove to be life-saving advice--especially where large falling objects or missing manhole covers are concerned) is two words.
To simply shout out "Look!" to a friend as a tuba falls from a ninth-story window toward his unsuspecting head will, at best, only serve to make sure he gets a good look at the tuba before it parades him, unceremoniously, into the sidewalk.
And so, throughout this book, I will attempt to offer more than one word of wisdom whether you want it or not because, after all, that is what we do here at the National Center for Unsolicited Advice.
A few examples:
The secret government agency whose agents go by their initials, spelled out, so we get "names" like Agent Aitch Dee, Agent El Kyoo, and Agent Gee Doubleyou.
---
As the station wagon pulled back onto the highway, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon like a leaky boat. Well, except for the fact that boats are not generally round, orange, and on fire. Hmm. Come to think of it, in no way whatsoever did the sun, in this instance, resemble a leaky boat. My apologies. That was a dreadful attempt at simile. Please allow me to try again.
As the station wagon pulled back onto the highway, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon like a self-luminous, gaseous sphere comprised mainly of hydrogen and helium.
---
There was a time when, if you encountered someone with a tattoo, you could pretty much assume he was either a sailor or had, at one time or another, been in prison. There was something, it seemed, about men being cooped up together that made them want to draw on themselves.
---
All gifts are not created equal. Historically speaking, there are good gifts and there are bad gifts.
Good gifts: A bottle of champagne, a box of fine Belgian chocolates, the Statue of Liberty.
Bad gifts: A bottle of shampoo, a box of fine Belgian matches, the Trojan Horse.
---
If I could give you all just one word of advice, it would be . . . well, an incomplete sentence. Besides being grammatically iffy, I'm sure you'd agree that a single word of advice is rarely of much use. Even the phrase "Look out!" (which could prove to be life-saving advice--especially where large falling objects or missing manhole covers are concerned) is two words.
To simply shout out "Look!" to a friend as a tuba falls from a ninth-story window toward his unsuspecting head will, at best, only serve to make sure he gets a good look at the tuba before it parades him, unceremoniously, into the sidewalk.
And so, throughout this book, I will attempt to offer more than one word of wisdom whether you want it or not because, after all, that is what we do here at the National Center for Unsolicited Advice.
In a very Lemony Snicket-ish manner, Dr. Cuthbert Soup introduces us to the Cheeseman family. I would share their names here but unfortunately, they change quite often! You see the Cheesemans are on the run from a few top secret agencies because of Mr.Cheeseman's invention, the LVR, an unfinished time machine. To keep himself and his three children, hairless psychic dog, and sock puppet friend safe, Cheeseman has taught his family to be ready to relocate at a moment's notice. There is never quite enough time to make new friends, join clubs, or just be comfortable because each time they do, the agents catch up to them. These same agents are responsible for the death of Mrs. Cheeseman, so the family knows there is no end to what they'll do to get their hands on the LVR.
I rather enjoyed this book once I got into it. I began the audio version first, and though the voice work is great, it was hard to keep up with the different special agents and groups. Getting the book in print version made it much easier to follow. The dry wit and ironic humor was familiar and very entertaining. Each secret agency has sent out a quirky set of agents on the Cheeseman trail, all with their own unique(and hilarious) behavior.
The Cheeseman's are a sweet family, and quite funny!
I rather enjoyed this book once I got into it. I began the audio version first, and though the voice work is great, it was hard to keep up with the different special agents and groups. Getting the book in print version made it much easier to follow. The dry wit and ironic humor was familiar and very entertaining. Each secret agency has sent out a quirky set of agents on the Cheeseman trail, all with their own unique(and hilarious) behavior.
The Cheeseman's are a sweet family, and quite funny!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very fun, good friendships and uncomplicated plot line. Even though there's potential for time travel involved, there's no pesky talk about paradox's so it's perfect for middle-schoolers probably.
I enjoyed it too!
I enjoyed it too!
This book is hilarious - best YA novel (actually younger than YA - all my kids loved this). It's the story of a scientist and his 3 children as he tries to develop a time machine to go back in time to get his wife who was poisoned. Meanwhile they are pursued by the weirdest cast of spies, government agents, and corporate goons. I haven't laughed this much with any book - highly recommended.