Monstrous Devices: THE TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK

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Let me start with the stupidest one first. I am aware it is kind of silly, but for some reason it drove me batty. Alex is bebopping all over the place with his cell phone, able to make calls and texts, but WITHOUT AN INTERNATIONAL PLAN. Also, his mom was able to text him, and he was texting her, but there wasn't the hassle of area codes. It was just like he knew how to make international calls no prob. Alex, 12 year old jetsetter. Things that should have been obstacles, even trifling ones, were just easily ignored or solved. I love to read stories of machinations, robots, artificial intelligence; you name it. Can’t get enough of it. But this book, while it certainly had many robots and machinations, took a very odd and unexpected twist towards religion. It thankfully did not offer absolutes to theological questions (nor did the book delve into theology aside from a few brief conversational instances) but it was very much out of the blue.

Mysterious and frightening...a well-crafted adventure that's filled with desperate chases, narrow escapes, fight scenes, and twists.' - Publishers Weekly, starred review All I'm telling you, Alex, is that this is the story. It's a story. Stories all come from somewhere, and sometimes they get bent out of shape over the years. But this is the story." - Alex's grandfather When Alex’s grandpa shows up suddenly and whisks him on an adventure, Alex is desperately trying to figure out why. He learns gradually about robots that have taken on human characteristics and one in particular that has enough power to control an entire population. His grandpa is reluctant with information, especially information involving Alex’s father, leaving Alex to figure out the clues himself. If this all sounds rather cryptic, it is. Alex’s grandfather seems to know a lot about what’s really going on, but he consistently resists spilling the beans (leaving Alex – and the reader – more than a little frustrated). What exactly is this little tin robot and why does it seem to have some sort of magical power? Who are the weird people trying to get their hands on it, and what are the mechanical flying things they seem to control? The whole thing has something to do with religious mythology that may or may not be real (the weird people believe in it, but Alex’s grandfather poo-poos it, even as he risks his life – and Alex’s – to stop whatever might happen).

When twelve-year-old Alex receives an old tin robot in the post, the note from his grandfather simply reads: ‘This one is special’. But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn’t take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly. What fun! An evil villain, a host of scary robots, big and small, and a hero with commendably bad personal habits. Loved it!' - John Flanagan, New York Times bestselling author of the Ranger's Apprentice series Alex also seems poorly fleshed out to me. He's fairly 2D, and I feel he's just meant for any young boy to transpose their own identity onto so they can buy into this adventure. All we have to go on is that he likes robots, and he gets bullied. (On that note, I am really over the trope of insanely vicious bullies who get away with it right under the noses of their teachers. Bullies are sneakier, anyone that violent and monstrous would hopefully get snagged and punished.) This book is a fabulous choice for teachers! It serves as the springboard for numerous lesson ideas. A science unit in which students learn about the five simple machines then employ that knowledge by designing and constructing their own robots. Mathematical concepts obviously will be needed in conjunction with the construction as well as in determining the distance traveled by the novel's young protagonist, Alex, and his grandfather as they trek across Europe. That adventure easily lends itself to a unit on geography. History comes into play by studying the invention and different applications of robots over the years. (You could even debate the merits of automation of jobs.) Language arts lessons are seemingly endless; rewriting the ending, writing the story from one of the robots' points of view, changing the setting, etc. Vocabulary, spelling, you name it, this book is a gold mine!

Once the quest is up and running in this well-crafted adventure, Love piles on desperate chases, unexpected cliffhangers and enough twists and turns to fuel a dozen other stories.He did get on my nerves at times. I can see why the author would go "Oh, I'm going to let grandfather smoke a cigaret but then make him repeat two times Alex should never do that since it's bad for your health!" Not only regarding smoking, but different subjects. I couldn't help think that maybe.. you shouldn't make his grandfather do those things in the first place then? The whole "yeah, you shouldn't do this yourself, Alex"-thing got repetitive after a while and I didn't like it. [It might definitely not be an issue for younger readers, but it got to me, okay.]

When twelve-year-old Alex receives an old tin robot in the post, the note from his grandfather simply reads: 'This one is special'.

Did we miss something on diversity?

This grandad and grandson adventure has all the hallmarks of a whopping kids’ thriller.' The Big Issue, Kids’ Books of the year This book has all the classic enjoyable tropes — young protagonist kept in the dark about unnatural circumstances and lore by an older/elderly figure, and the two go off on a wild adventure full of action, chase, asked and unanswered questions, and mysterious power.

An effortless, atmospheric evocation of place and history combine in an unforgettable, immersive reading experience.' Guardian Prague has a rich, beautiful, and fearful history at times. This is hinted at and could be employed fully to really explore why the Golem is there, what role the Charles Bridge plays, along with the other important (and perhaps magical) buildings and locations. And so begins a high-octane adventure as Grandfather whisks Alex away first to Paris, then charging across Europe to Prague on a mission to find the evil power hunting Alex’s tin robot. There is plenty to enjoy about this book. A boy and his grandfather, hurrying away on the train to Paris in winter. A toy robot which seems just a bit, well, different. Unusual events happening to Alex at school (and the bullying not playing too large a part in the overall book, thank goodness....) His grandfather was pretty obnoxious in general. He was constantly flippant and capable of solving any problem they came across easily, leaving little to no sense of actual danger. He was also incredibly cavalier with the life of his grandson. He sent a robot to him knowing full well it could put him in danger because he didn't want this other group to have it. What the flip Gramps?Right from the prologue, Damien Love instils a sense of mystery in us readers, giving us the sense of an impending doom. You start thinking 'oh lovely, sweet' and it soon turns into 'oh damn, that was dark'! There wasn't a miss in the adventurous tone of the story and throughout, we journey along as our MC face challenges after challenges. Alex' grandfather.. Now there's a character I'm torn about. On the one hand I love the guy for protecting Alex, but still wanting to teach him things. He's a unique guy with some funny quirks but..