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stem_kristina's review against another edition
4.0
Great road trip listen! Ridiculous "meddlesome kids" kind of story with an amazing cast and sound effects - made it sound like an old-timey radio story!
bookishshan0678's review against another edition
5.0
Grabenstein gained a new fan with this story in one of our non-reading family members
While my kids and I are already a Grabenstein fan in any form (book, collaboration on book, audiobook, book to movie, etc), my husband has still not come over to the reading side due to his upbringing and how he wasn't really encouraged to read especially with his learning difficulties. After listening to this story with us on Audible and hearing the excitement and feeling that can come from pages of black words on white paper with just a little enthusiasm added in the mix, he has become excited to know more about this author and these characters. This is a huge start!
My kids and I connected with the story and the characters at different times, according to our personalities. The dog rescue story was popular with us all. I am a mystery fan who is constantly trying to solve puzzles, so I was all over the parts that pertained to that. My son loved the technology that Riley and his friends used to carry out their plans. He was amazed at small things he could do to trick someone into thinking something more serious was going on, as well as the larger plans the group put into action.
This book really had something for everyone. Action, adventure, mystery, villainy, suspense, and a satisfying story that had no actual dating or love story (spoiler: unrequited love because party A knows but party B has no clue).
While my kids and I are already a Grabenstein fan in any form (book, collaboration on book, audiobook, book to movie, etc), my husband has still not come over to the reading side due to his upbringing and how he wasn't really encouraged to read especially with his learning difficulties. After listening to this story with us on Audible and hearing the excitement and feeling that can come from pages of black words on white paper with just a little enthusiasm added in the mix, he has become excited to know more about this author and these characters. This is a huge start!
My kids and I connected with the story and the characters at different times, according to our personalities. The dog rescue story was popular with us all. I am a mystery fan who is constantly trying to solve puzzles, so I was all over the parts that pertained to that. My son loved the technology that Riley and his friends used to carry out their plans. He was amazed at small things he could do to trick someone into thinking something more serious was going on, as well as the larger plans the group put into action.
This book really had something for everyone. Action, adventure, mystery, villainy, suspense, and a satisfying story that had no actual dating or love story (spoiler: unrequited love because party A knows but party B has no clue).
queenoftheharpys's review against another edition
3.0
A decent adventure story. Many logical inconsistencies, but I don't think the intended audience will notice them.
mudder17's review against another edition
4.0
Okay yes, this is a middle school book and some of the things that happen are somewhat silly and unbelievable. But it was an enjoyable adventure and I very much enjoyed the audio production. The Opera scene was both ridiculous and hilarious and the ending was very satisfying. I think a lot of late elementary/early middle schoolers would enjoy this book. I may have to read some more books from this author.
williamsocnwld's review against another edition
4.0
Fun and funny. Another ‘kids are the heroes’ books in which there are a few trustworthy adults who are not simply put in the book for comic relief, to be tormented, or lied to. An entertaining family-friendly book for a long commute.
gorelenore's review against another edition
4.0
Riley Mack is the first book by Chris Grabenstein that I have pick up outside of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library Series. This audible original is read by a full cast and has background noise as well. Each character is read by a different voice actor/ess.
The book is the first in a series, and it follows a boy named Riley Mack. He and his gang of friends help their friends and family solve mysteries and crimes in their small town. The story was fun and all of the different plot elements kept me guessing. There are a bunch of smaller side stories that all come together in the end and it added a lot of depth to the story.
Riley, the main character, just wants to do good, but the town cop has it out for him, much like the cop's son has it out for all the 6th graders. Riley tends to get wrapped up in trouble as he tries to help the people around it am it lends to some hilarious mishaps and trouble for him and his friends.
An aspect that I really liked about the story was that one of the kids always uses great vocabulary words and then defines them for the reader, and he does it quickly and it is part of his quirky personality so it fits really well into the story - so well in fact I didn't even realize I was learning definitions until I had to stop and really think about it. A great learning tool that is obvious but not so.
I enjoyed this book, but the full cast thing kind of threw me off again. I listened to an adult book that I gave up on that was similarly done. I think it is a fun way to voice all the characters but I feel like presenting it this way also takes a bit away from the character development that I like in most books.
This book was fun and very short, so I think reluctant readers will like it, however since I really love the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series, this one fell a bit short for me in comparison.
The book is the first in a series, and it follows a boy named Riley Mack. He and his gang of friends help their friends and family solve mysteries and crimes in their small town. The story was fun and all of the different plot elements kept me guessing. There are a bunch of smaller side stories that all come together in the end and it added a lot of depth to the story.
Riley, the main character, just wants to do good, but the town cop has it out for him, much like the cop's son has it out for all the 6th graders. Riley tends to get wrapped up in trouble as he tries to help the people around it am it lends to some hilarious mishaps and trouble for him and his friends.
An aspect that I really liked about the story was that one of the kids always uses great vocabulary words and then defines them for the reader, and he does it quickly and it is part of his quirky personality so it fits really well into the story - so well in fact I didn't even realize I was learning definitions until I had to stop and really think about it. A great learning tool that is obvious but not so.
I enjoyed this book, but the full cast thing kind of threw me off again. I listened to an adult book that I gave up on that was similarly done. I think it is a fun way to voice all the characters but I feel like presenting it this way also takes a bit away from the character development that I like in most books.
This book was fun and very short, so I think reluctant readers will like it, however since I really love the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series, this one fell a bit short for me in comparison.
thechapterhouse's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the listen on Audible, and then I read the reviews. Haha! Now I’m feeling suitably convicted.
dogmomirene's review against another edition
5.0
Super cute story read by a full cast. Felt like a middle grade version of Ocean’s 11. Includes an obligatory fart joke
annashiv's review against another edition
3.0
It's fine. I'm not the target audience, but I'm mainly just unimpressed with Audible's selection of Originals so far. This was pretty well done narration-wise other than being a little too campy sometimes, but that's to be expected for children's stories. It kept it interesting and it was entertaining. I just didn't find it all that unique or exciting. I'm likely to forget it quickly.