Summary: Jack and friends find a radio releasing a distress signal, but they can’t quite make out what it’s saying. To figure it out, they have to break into the old amusement park and get to the highest point to get a signal. However, King Wretch is sabotaging Jack, and he’s not going to make it easy for Jack to fulfill his mission.
Review: This book was good, but I definitely liked it less than the others. It was fine, nothing majorly bad about it, but it was forgettable. The King Wretch and Funland will (well, they have already) quickly leave my memory because the plot was just… meh.
I did, however, love seeing the friendship continue to develop between the four protagonists. That’s a fun part of the series, and I like seeing all of their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses come through in the story. Specifically, I appreciated Jack’s fears of being left alone by his friends abandoning him. I loved how his friends then reassured him. It was really cute.
One thing I really wish there was more of in this story was the friendly monsters. They had been such a big part of the last book, and then they became a total nonentity in this one. I mean, they were there for the Olympics and the big fight, but they had no real legitimate plot or development in this book, which I was admittedly disappointed by.
This book ended interestingly, though. I’m intrigued by the setup of the rest of the series. Allegedly, other humans are alive. I’m interested in seeing how, where, and what comes of this.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Recommended reader: Anyone who likes:
- Fantasy
- Monsters
- Stories about friendship
- Internal conflicts
- Elements of dystopia
- Funny stories
Reviews of Previous Books:
Discussion Questions:
- How does the radio change the group’s morale? How does it motivate them in the story? What theme may the author be including through the use of the radio?
- What is Jack’s main mission in this story? Why does he want to achieve this mission — what is his motivation? How does he go about trying to achieve his mission? In the end, is he successful? Why or why not?
- What does the King Wretch do to Jack? Why is it doing this? Do you believe the King Wretch is evil and deserved its fate? Why or why not?
Specifics of the book:
- Genre: Fantasy
- Lexile Level: 610L
- Accelerated Reader Level: 4.3 (4)
- Content Level: 4th
- Pages: 257
- Controversial Issues: None
Young Adult Lit Reviews 