Kid Konnection: The Magnificent 12: The Call & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I'm going to share with you a very exciting adventure book for middle graders!

Summary: Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life. 

And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys’ bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it’s up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen’s dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn’t want to be a hero. Will he answer the call? 

A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant’s hilarious new fantasy adventure series.-- Katherine Tegen Books

I am always on the lookout for good middle grade books that will appeal to young boys. Even though Booking Son isn't reading on his own quite yet, I know there will be a day in the somewhat near future where he want to read some fun adventure stories. So when I heard about THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL by Michael Grant, I decided to give it a shot.

I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of this genre (and it's not exactly geared towards a 41 year old mom), but I did actually enjoy this book. More importantly, I know that middle grade boys (and even slightly younger ones) are going to love THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL. I think Mr. Grant has a clear understanding of his audience. THE CALL is a fantasy/adventure story that is definitely entertaining with lots of exciting scenes and a few rather gross ones too. Plus it's really very funny -- I even found myself chuckling at the book's humor.

I don't want to make it sound like this book is only for boys because I'm sure there are quite a few young girls out there who will also enjoy the book. I'm just saying that Booking Daughter and other girly girls who prefer tween chick lit might not be drawn to the story. However, I do think if they gave it a chance, they might find it to be enjoyable. There is a female character, Jarrah, who is introduced towards the end of the book; and I think girls are going to really appreciate her character as well as her strengths in this story.

One thing I really appreciated about this novel was how the author decided to tell the story. The chapters went back and forth between the present (Mack's story) and the past (a really, really long time ago...). I enjoyed seeing how the novel unfolded and how the past and present stories ultimately came together. There was also a little bit of everything in THE CALL. There was action, adventure, fantasy, magic, and even humor -- it was most definitely a fun read.

There is no doubt that THE CALL is the first book in what I'm sure will be a popular series. The ending of the book is purposely left open-ended so that kids (and some moms) will be anxious to read the next book. I think the premise is a good one for the entire series, and I look forward to following Mack on his future adventures.

Thanks to Mammoth and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!



Giveaway alert: Thanks to Mammoth and the publisher, I have a copy of THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE CALL to share with one lucky reader. To enter, just fill out the form below. I will be accepting entries until October 15th at 11:59 p.m. ET, and I will notify the winner the following day. Open to US and Canada mailing addresses only. Good luck!