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shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Twelve-year-old Grayson MacNeil desperately wants out of the family hoaxing business. What's the point of risking life and limb to set up elaborate hoaxes (think Big Foot and Loch Ness Monster) when you can't photograph it or talk about it ever. One weekend Dad and Gramps are both out of the country setting up hoaxes requiring Grayson and his older brother to step up to the plate in a big way. Enter one adventure/disaster after another. Underlying the adventure is a story about family and sacrifice and love.
droar's review against another edition
4.0
3-3.5 for me but I think it'll really appeal to the target audience so it all rounds up.
I really like the premise of this book (a family of cryptid hunters turned cryptid hoaxers has to pull off a huge job with the odds against them) & I greatly enjoyed the crime shenanigans of the two teen protagonists, buuuuuuuut I hated the way the characters & the story itself treated the feelings of it's protagonist. See the emotional drama of the story is that the Youngest McNeil, Grayson, doesn't want to join the family business, he wants to be a photographer instead. He completely tuned out of hoaxing when he tried to merge his passion & his family's livelihood with a class report/photos on the Loch Ness monster (My memories are a bit fuzzy here, but I'm fairly sure he didn't have any pictures of the actual dummy his family uses for fake Nessie sightings) & his Dad torched the whole project with little explanation (Like I get their all dealing with some trauma, but when you're kid is Stoked about something you can't just burn it to the ground & expect there to be no emotional consequences). Almost every person in this book is a general butt about Grayson's feelings & while there is a change of heart towards the end (fine, its a middle grades book, I get it) there is NEVER a reckoning with dad about it. Grayson is the one that has to change for the story to go forward & while that is not unreasonable, it is upsetting to see it when no one tries to understand his side of things really. Blergh! Basically it boils down to what most Mg adventures do for me, I want to gather up all these little abused adventure hooligans, give them a hug, let them feel their feelings, & smack their adults/'caretakers'.
All that said, the premise is fun & interesting (cryptids & crime), the story reads fairly well (a bit slow at the beginning but there's a lot to set up), & the characters are relatable enough (& boys! Why are there so few good boy protag Mg books these days?). I think it'll be a big hit when we get to booktalk at schools again & I mostly enjoyed reading it (despite my desire to strangle most everyone).
I really like the premise of this book (a family of cryptid hunters turned cryptid hoaxers has to pull off a huge job with the odds against them) & I greatly enjoyed the crime shenanigans of the two teen protagonists, buuuuuuuut I hated the way the characters & the story itself treated the feelings of it's protagonist. See the emotional drama of the story is that the Youngest McNeil, Grayson, doesn't want to join the family business, he wants to be a photographer instead. He completely tuned out of hoaxing when he tried to merge his passion & his family's livelihood with a class report/photos on the Loch Ness monster (My memories are a bit fuzzy here, but I'm fairly sure he didn't have any pictures of the actual dummy his family uses for fake Nessie sightings) & his Dad torched the whole project with little explanation (Like I get their all dealing with some trauma, but when you're kid is Stoked about something you can't just burn it to the ground & expect there to be no emotional consequences). Almost every person in this book is a general butt about Grayson's feelings & while there is a change of heart towards the end (fine, its a middle grades book, I get it) there is NEVER a reckoning with dad about it. Grayson is the one that has to change for the story to go forward & while that is not unreasonable, it is upsetting to see it when no one tries to understand his side of things really. Blergh! Basically it boils down to what most Mg adventures do for me, I want to gather up all these little abused adventure hooligans, give them a hug, let them feel their feelings, & smack their adults/'caretakers'.
All that said, the premise is fun & interesting (cryptids & crime), the story reads fairly well (a bit slow at the beginning but there's a lot to set up), & the characters are relatable enough (& boys! Why are there so few good boy protag Mg books these days?). I think it'll be a big hit when we get to booktalk at schools again & I mostly enjoyed reading it (despite my desire to strangle most everyone).
always_reading_a_novel's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a lot of fun! I really liked it, and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.
bewarethebookwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
Plot (4 stars): It's a cute story that follows two brothers. The youngest one is twelve and the oldest is old enough to drive, but I'm not sure of actual age. They have to carry on the family business of pulling of hoaxes. Things get complicated and they wind up having to risk everything to pull off the grand slam of hoaxes.
Characters (5 stars): Grayson and Curtis have such well developed personalities. The reader watches as they grow as people and in their brotherly bond throughout their adventure. Gramps has my favorite personality of everyone though. He is very funny!
Writing (3 stars): The writing was great, but there was sometimes too much and it made the story go a little slow for my tastes. There were a lot of chapters where I just read the first line of each paragraph and the dialogue. I was just a bit bored reading all the details of everything. It was great for the character development, but I loved the characters even though I skipped a lot of it.
Overall: This was such a cute book that, I think, my son would have enjoyed. It's great for the age range it's intended for!
Characters (5 stars): Grayson and Curtis have such well developed personalities. The reader watches as they grow as people and in their brotherly bond throughout their adventure. Gramps has my favorite personality of everyone though. He is very funny!
Writing (3 stars): The writing was great, but there was sometimes too much and it made the story go a little slow for my tastes. There were a lot of chapters where I just read the first line of each paragraph and the dialogue. I was just a bit bored reading all the details of everything. It was great for the character development, but I loved the characters even though I skipped a lot of it.
Overall: This was such a cute book that, I think, my son would have enjoyed. It's great for the age range it's intended for!
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