A review by bb42
The Capture by Kathryn Lasky

3.0

I read this because my middle son has become totally obsessed with the series. Partly I wanted to be supportive of his enthusiasm, and partly to be able to share in the excitement.

I can definitely see why he likes it so much. Exciting story line, likeable characters, sinse of danger and high adventure. But unlike other "great" books for younger readers (wrinkle in time, harry potter, heck, even Tom Sawyer or Treasure Island) there is just no depth here to make it feel like an enriching experience. As an adult reader, I was sometimes able to get into the excitement of the story (only after about 1/2 way through when the drama really starts to ratchet up) but I found the characters paper thin, the themes hackneyed. And it was sort of a labor of love to finish it -- especially with other books queued up waiting for me)

It's probably no worse than a summer blockbuster beach novel for adults -- but it doesn't have much richness or depth, or even very good writing.