The Gift

June 1, 2011

Gr 7-9-In the second installment (2010) of James Patterson and Ned Rust's dystopia fantasy series, Whit and Wisty are on the run from New Order goons who want to capture them and exploit their magical gifts. The siblings use their burgeoning magic to escape one hopeless situation after another as they try to find their captured parents and lead the resistance movement against a maniacal magical dictator. As in Witch and Wizard (2009, both Little, Brown), both plot and dialogue are bogged down by cliche. Patterson tries so hard to include plot devices that he thinks will appeal to teens that he loses sight of the tale's overarching direction. As a result, the story tends toward melodrama which is reflected in the audio production. Narration is performed by three voice actors who do a good job of portraying the teen roles, but occasionally overact. There is similar dramatic musical accompaniment between sections and during heightened tension, and it begins to sound hackneyed long before the end of the book. Although there are elements that will appeal to the target audience, both the writing and recording of Patterson's Maximum Ride series are done with more finesse.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT

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