 | AUTHOR: Darby Karchut SERIES: none PUBLISHER: Spencer Hill Press PUBLICATION DATE: March 12, 2013 ISBN: 9781937053321 PAGES: 200 SOURCE: publisher's ARC GENRE: fantasy, action-adventure GIVE IT TO: middle school boys |
ROMANTIC HEAT: Pretty chilly. There is no romance or kissing. A couple of hints at potential romances are misunderstood by the young characters and never acted upon.
REVIEW: Though I am definitely not the target audience for Finn Finnegan (alas, it has no romance), I know that my middle school students--particularly the boys--will eat this book up. Finn has plenty of action, fighting, and mythical beasties, all of which will appeal to the massive Lightning Thief crowd. I laughed out loud often when Finnegan and Gideon butt heads. I love the inclusion of Gideon's and Finn's journal entries, which comically demonstrate how alike master and apprentice really are. I often read excerpts aloud during book talks, and the journal entries would make some excellent read-alouds.
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you prefer books with at least some romance, this may not be your book. But if you want lots of fight scenes, physical training, legendary beasties, and well-placed humor, I wholeheartedly recommend Finn Finnegan.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: I will absolutely be getting this book! It will be an easy "sell" in book talks and would make a fun addition to booktalks circa St. Patrick's Day. I may even invest in 2-3 copies.
READALIKES:The Lightning Thief (Riordan); The Magnificent 12 series (Grant), Janitors (Whitesides)
RATING BREAKDOWN:
- Overall: 4/5
- Creativity: 4/5
- Characters: 5/5
- Engrossing: 3/5
- Writing: 4/5
- Appeal to teens: 5/5
- Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5
CONTENT:
- Language: mild; a few a**
- Sexuality: none
- Violence: mild-medium; lots of sword- and knife-fighting scenes with monsters
- Drugs/Alcohol: none
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