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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was endearing for so many reasons. Take one kid who is absolutely passionate about rocket building and has a dog sidekick named after his hero Carl Sagan. Then, instill in him the drive and dedication to overcome some serious obstacles to make his dream of attending a certain rocket launching event and voila. You can embark upon the grand adventure that unfolds along with Alex and the motley crew that he encounters along the way.
Despite some unlikely odds and disappointments, he perseveres and his optimism and caring for people shines through, despite being 11, but a self-proclaimed responsibility age of 13 (and having some indications of being on the spectrum). He saves up his money and buys a train ticket for both himself and his dog to travel to NM, even though neither his mom or brother is really engaged or supportive of his dream.
The honesty in his encounters and portrayed through his recordings for his golden ipod are sincere, touching, occasionally funny and sometimes heartbreaking. As a fan of podcasts, I loved that this narrative style was woven into the book.
Keep on writing Jack Cheng. I look forward to your next tale.
Despite some unlikely odds and disappointments, he perseveres and his optimism and caring for people shines through, despite being 11, but a self-proclaimed responsibility age of 13 (and having some indications of being on the spectrum). He saves up his money and buys a train ticket for both himself and his dog to travel to NM, even though neither his mom or brother is really engaged or supportive of his dream.
The honesty in his encounters and portrayed through his recordings for his golden ipod are sincere, touching, occasionally funny and sometimes heartbreaking. As a fan of podcasts, I loved that this narrative style was woven into the book.
Keep on writing Jack Cheng. I look forward to your next tale.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Review to follow. Full cast audiobook very well done.
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
3 1/2 stars. Listened to audiobook, which I enjoyed except for Jed's character when all he did was laugh at everything...
Wow. I started out not really liking it, to not really sure how I felt about it. I think overall I did enjoy it, but its such a hard book to rate that I honestly just didn't rate it.
I think that this book was not meant for middle grade readers. Although the writing is juvenile (not bad, just for younger people), and the main character is 11 years old, the story is quite mature, and I feel like there's too much that wouldn't be understood if a 7 year old read this book. This also brings in the question of what age range is appropriate for different 'age ranges genres' (ex: ya, adult, new adult, middle grade etc.) and what is considered to be appropriate in this day. I've definitely been an early reader, as I started middle grade in 1st, 2nd grade ish, but I still read children's books until about 4th/5th grade. I started reading YA in 5th grade, and I still read YA, but I started reading adult in 8th grade, and I still rarely read adult. I think you should read books when you are mature enough, but especially when you're younger, it's hard to gauge that level. If I read this in 4th grade, I would be so confused, and likely not enjoy the story because of it. I feel like you'd be in at least 6th grade to understand a good majority of the book, and even then, some sweet, naive, teens (not that I know any) still wouldn't understand it. There's so much you have to infer, and which seems to come easily for older people, but I simply don't feel like it's a book meant for younger kids, especially because kids read middle grade at such a young age.
I liked all the characters and the character dynamics. They were so great, and I loved Alex's voice. He was so honest, and just told things as they were. He's still a naive kid, but he's learns so much throughout the book and about how the world really is. He's right, his maturity age is 13, perhaps even older.
Although it started out a bit slow, I was hooked on this book, and I couldn't put it down. I do feel like it's a bit unrealistic, as this 11 year old boy travels and meets all these adults without one of them wanting to take advantage of him. Seems a bit too good to be true, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it.
I had a good time reading this. Many times I feel like it's too hard to give a book a rating because I'm torn between how well the book was written and how much I enjoyed it. Normally I try to find an even balance, and they correlate with each other, and many times directly effect (did i use the right effect/affect?) each other, but this time I feel like my feelings and brain just couldn't find a common ground. It wasn't badly written, but I do feel like there are some technical issues with this book that I really just don't know how I feel about. But at the same time, it was such a heartwarming story, with characters that I grew to care about, characters that weren't like normal middle-grade one-dimensional characters, but characters with depth and maturity (that probably should've belonged in a YA or adult book if I'm being honest). It was honestly one of the best stories that I've read in a while, and I couldn't bear to give it anything less than a five star, but I also feel like that is untruthful. I think you should read this book. Even if you won't like it, it'll still be worth it.
I think that this book was not meant for middle grade readers. Although the writing is juvenile (not bad, just for younger people), and the main character is 11 years old, the story is quite mature, and I feel like there's too much that wouldn't be understood if a 7 year old read this book. This also brings in the question of what age range is appropriate for different 'age ranges genres' (ex: ya, adult, new adult, middle grade etc.) and what is considered to be appropriate in this day. I've definitely been an early reader, as I started middle grade in 1st, 2nd grade ish, but I still read children's books until about 4th/5th grade. I started reading YA in 5th grade, and I still read YA, but I started reading adult in 8th grade, and I still rarely read adult. I think you should read books when you are mature enough, but especially when you're younger, it's hard to gauge that level. If I read this in 4th grade, I would be so confused, and likely not enjoy the story because of it. I feel like you'd be in at least 6th grade to understand a good majority of the book, and even then, some sweet, naive, teens (not that I know any) still wouldn't understand it. There's so much you have to infer, and which seems to come easily for older people, but I simply don't feel like it's a book meant for younger kids, especially because kids read middle grade at such a young age.
I liked all the characters and the character dynamics. They were so great, and I loved Alex's voice. He was so honest, and just told things as they were. He's still a naive kid, but he's learns so much throughout the book and about how the world really is. He's right, his maturity age is 13, perhaps even older.
Although it started out a bit slow, I was hooked on this book, and I couldn't put it down. I do feel like it's a bit unrealistic, as this 11 year old boy travels and meets all these adults without one of them wanting to take advantage of him. Seems a bit too good to be true, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it.
I had a good time reading this. Many times I feel like it's too hard to give a book a rating because I'm torn between how well the book was written and how much I enjoyed it. Normally I try to find an even balance, and they correlate with each other, and many times directly effect (did i use the right effect/affect?) each other, but this time I feel like my feelings and brain just couldn't find a common ground. It wasn't badly written, but I do feel like there are some technical issues with this book that I really just don't know how I feel about. But at the same time, it was such a heartwarming story, with characters that I grew to care about, characters that weren't like normal middle-grade one-dimensional characters, but characters with depth and maturity (that probably should've belonged in a YA or adult book if I'm being honest). It was honestly one of the best stories that I've read in a while, and I couldn't bear to give it anything less than a five star, but I also feel like that is untruthful. I think you should read this book. Even if you won't like it, it'll still be worth it.
This book really does feel like listening to a child speaking to you. The way Alex tells the story through this eyes really makes you see his innocence. You can clearly tell that there are problems in his life, but he always tries to understand them and he does by comparing them to things he likes and stuff. I think it is a really cute book that every adult should read if they want to remember how childhood was.