Sheela ChariReseñas

My library has this in the children's section, but I think it's more of a teen book. Karthik is a rising 9th grader with a lot of responsibilities and a big crush on a girl he keeps running into at the ice cream shop. I liked how Karthik connected to Leonard Berstein, but the plot was very slow-moving and so I didn't finish this. I have approximately 100 books I want to read this winter and this didn't grab me, but I may come back to it later. It's summer vibes books for sure.

Mars goes to, well, Mars! Full disclaimer, I didn't read book 1. But I could pick up the story pretty well. Mars is searching for his friend Aurora and connects with Julia and Orion on the way to the colony. He's worried about his friends left behind and his mom. When the group crass lands near the colony they find themselves in the middle of a struggle between the Martians (really separatist colonists) and the kids in the colony.

Mars Patel is a loyal friend and is completely obsessed with a famous scientist. Mars is so loyal that he puts his friends before his own well-being over and over again. I have mixed feelings about this science fiction adventure story. I loved getting to know the characters when the story began, but then the story started to feel too thin and hard to follow because there wasn't enough description. It felt rushed and incomplete.

I loved this mystery. It hooked me from the beginning with the plot, and then as I got to know the characters I was way more interested in them than the treasure hunt. Great for fans of When You Reach Me or All the Greys on Greene Street.

In full disclosure, I had not read the first book of the series when I received this from early reviewers. It took some time to catch up on the characters and relationships but as a credit to the author, enough background was provided throughout the text to make sense of it and get excited about the developments. Perhaps the somewhat slower start was the reason that I could get into this books as it was not overwhelming to start.

Lots of science, space, and action. It is more than enough, once it gets going, to keep a younger reader engaged and active. While the transitions might suffer for the pacing of the plot, it can be forgiven and covered by the playfulness of the dialogue and the charismatic characters. The book is definitely part of a larger story arc so there set-ups and lack of payoffs but that is well constructed on the part of Chari to keep readers coming back for more.½

A middle school novel with musical overtones. The main character is a delivery boy for his father's grocery syore. He uses a bicycle and has many regular customers he has relationships with. On one delivery he meets a graduate student at Boston University who has written a play on the young life of Leonard Bernstein. When she sees Karthik he has the perfect features to act in her premiere. There are many other issues for the family and Karthik personally. A nice book with good values.

Knowing that this book is based of a serial podcast makes all the difference -- because it definitely reads that way. Adventure to adventure to adventure, mystery to mystery -- it felt weirdly episodic. The story is decent, but it felt like a world full of theatrical backdrops where characters should be. Too many mysteries for me.

There are some aspects of this middle grade SciFi that I love but it is lacking in some background to make the story gripping. The action begins right away. Mars is on a flight to Mars (I really wish the author had picked another name) and the flight is not going smoothly. He is going to Mars to find his missing friend, Aurora (I would have liked to know more about their Earth relationship). The colonizers are not helpful in Mars' quest. Some of the relationships could have been better developed (on the spaceship in particular). It would have improved the story. I enjoyed the character development of Oliver Pruitt. I believe we have a few Olivers here on Earth now. The book is action-packed and thought-provoking.

Mars travels to Mars. There he faces rebels, exploding space station and a volcanic eruption. He finds out why Oliver Pruitt is so interested in him.

You do need to read the prior book to appreciate what is going on.

I got this book through the Early Review program and I read it without having read the first book in the series first. Despite that, I really enjoyed the story. It has an interesting premise and a quick pace. I think kids would really enjoy this, particularly kids who have dreams of space.

This book series is based on a podcast, but I haven't listened to the podcast. Yet.

I will definitely be purchasing this series for the 4th and 5th graders in my school library.

*** This book is from the LibraryThing Early Review program, but all opinions are my own. ***

The book starts with Mars on his way to Mars, and it gets stranger every chapter. What seems kludgy in the beginning becomes normal as you go on and you start to accept that the people reading this are probably as weird as the ones taking part in the story. The various solutions are just as unexpected as the various catastrophes they fix. The good-guy/bad-guy question gets more confused, especially after we finally meet Oliver Pruit. But I must admit that the action is fast enough to keep the most attention-challenged kid reading to the end…which, all on its own, makes the book worthwhile.

And, even though I think this book a better story than the first, the only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that the time spans during the action sequences are insanely short: e.g. a volcano on Mars is exploding and in the 10 minutes they've got to save the colony they rewire the giant wind turbans to blow the deadly gas fumes away from the domes. Even a 10-year old should see that that's not a reasonable time span for saving the world.½

We are huge Mars Patel podcast fans.y nine year old scooped up this book as soon as it arrived. He finished all 304 pages in a few hours staying up late into the night.

The book is action packed with plot twist. The characters continue to develop and change from book one. My son really loves how technology is incorporated.

We are looking forward to the next book soon!

First of a planned three-book series, based on the podcast, set in the Pacific northwest.

Mars' friend Aurora disappears - and he can't get adults to care. Then his friend Jonas disappears as well, but parents and teachers keep telling Mars not to worry about it. So, Mars and his friends Caddie, Toothpick, and JP investigate. Periodically, they seem to be getting clues - and then threats - from tech billionaire Oliver Pruitt's podcast, and it becomes clear that Aurora and Jonas aren't the only kids missing; there are kids missing all over the world. Could they all be at Pruitt Prep? Ad astra!

See also: The Mysterious Benedict Society; The 39 Clues; Sal & Gabi Break the Universe

Quotes

[Toothpick] never understood why people who were supposedly interested in teaching didn't want to get it right themselves. (25)

"Look, you're not here because you're bad kids. You're here because you're smart kids but you haven't figured out how to stay out of trouble." (Mr. Q, 34)

Ever wonder what makes you who you are? ...I believe what makes you YOU is your response when you're tested. When the odds are stacked against you, are you brave? Generous? A good friend? (OP podcast, 225)

This book was not for me. I thought the plot sounded interesting, but it smoldered and winked out. Two new kids in Dobbs Ferry are neighbors: one from a loving Indian family, and one running from the 'hood, missing his brother. With graffiti and a search for smuggled diamonds in the background and a gang seeking retribution, the plotlines were either contrived, convoluted or both. While I got the connection between the two kids, which seemed sensible, the rest of the relationships in the book were weird, strained, or preposterous. My advice is to skip this one.

Usually I get my niece (11) to read middle grade books I win and give me her take, since she is the target demographic, but she wasn't really interested in this one (just from a glance through, so that's not really a strong basis for an opinion), so I read it myself. I thought it was fun and adventurous, but a little light on character development but strong at storytelling. I would recommend it for fans of the Maze Runner series.

DNF- It seemed like an entertaining book but there were too many swear words for me to continue reading. One reason I like reading MG fiction is for well-written books without swearing and sex so that's an automatic no for me.

Interesting read, this is definetly a great book for middle-grade (8-12) kids looking for an adventure and mystery. This will be a great series that children will enjoy. The story is interesting and the format of the book, which includes images, text messages, execpts from the podcast, and many more interesting ways of enhancing the story! Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Spell-binding? Depends on how many books you’ve read. But, for the target audience, undoubtedly spell-binding. This is a mysterious read, with engaging characters and story line! Formatting is unusual, but it is based on a podcast. It’s a weird, interesting journey into the impossible. “To the stars”.

Science fiction meets mystery and a group of kids, who consider themselves nerds, to go head-to-head with a billionaire in an interesting tale.

Mars is one of a group of six friends, who are each a little different in their own way, but stick together like glue. When two of the members disappear, Mars notices that there are some interesting coincidences between what is happening and what the speaker in his favorite podcast says. In hopes to find out what happened to the two friends, Mars and the others head out and into adventure.

When I saw that this is the book version of a very exciting podcast, I was...well, very excited. The idea of a group of 'smart' kids taking on a madman billionaire isn't only exciting, but something I haven't seen done in awhile. It's a great surmise. But works as a podcast does not automatically make the same tale a great read. However, this one isn't horrible either...just not as good as expected.

I do enjoy how this leaps from regular 'book' mode to texting to letters to podcast excerpts and back again. It definitely adds a bit more fun and was a great way to hit some plot points quick and effective. The characters also are terrific with their interactions and friendship. This is a lively bunch, who come across as pretty average kids. It's fun to read and fun to meet them. And when they head into adventure, it's a treat to watch them take on every obstacle. And I'm sure the podcast does this even better. But it is exciting to read too.

My problems with this were that it was missing some connection, depth, and simple cutting. First off, there were moments the plot and what was happening felt like a bouncy rubber ball. Assumptions were made, I'm not really sure how they got there, a character's comments would come in from nowhere, and well, it was sometimes a bit chaotic and disconnected. Also, the characters were just there. Their dialogue didn't definitely give personality, but even the missing kids were totally backgroundless. I wasn't sure why I should care that they went missing. Just because they belonged to a group wasn't enough. And while Mars gained depth, the others were pretty much left just as shallow. Also, I never understood what made most of these kids especially smart or genius or why in the world they were friends in the first place. And last but not least, the pacing felt stretched and unfocused at times. There's a lot happening, but some of that had nothing to do with the main plot. It was side noise that added fill, and the entire book (at over 300 pages) could have been condensed.

Now, that I feel like a sour-apple, I still want to say that this isn't really bad either. There is a lot going on, and the characters are packed with energy...and they have a pretty evil guy to go against with high stakes as well. I'm just betting this is better as a podcast than a book.

I received an ARC and now, am dying to hear the podcast.

This was an amazing middle grade mystery story that I would recommend to people of all ages (not just those in the suggested age range). It was fun and inventive and I love the podcast! I look forward to reading Sheela's next book

I received a free advanced copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend this middle grade sci fi mystery. It’s based on an award winning podcast, but you can still enjoy and follow the story even if you haven’t listened to the podcast. “Mars Patel” follows the main character Mars and his group of friends as they try to figure out why two of their best friends and several other kids around the world have gone missing. Mars thinks that Oliver Pruitt (who’s a Elon Musk type character) is giving out clues about where the students went during his popular podcast. Pruitt also runs an elite boarding school that Mars and his friends are trying to be accepted to. There’s also a good representation of diversity among the characters. It’s a good mystery for kids who want suspense and action but don’t like “scary” books. The book ends with a major cliffhanger so I’m sure this will be a series.

The first in a series, so many questions are left unanswered. Mars is a Middle School student. When two of his friends go missing Mars begins to investigate. His friends Caddie, JP, and Toothpick help him. Mars and his friends are outsiders within school. Caddie is able to sense peoples thoughts. JP uses they/them pronouns. Toothpick is brilliant. The story is well written. Something strange is going on and who can be trusted is never clear.

Early Reviewers

This was a good middle grade fiction mystery. We follow a group of friends who are trying to figure out who they are as well as some mysterious things happening around them.

I thought the characters were fun and I liked that they all had their own personalities. I think young readers will have fun on this adventure and enjoy figuring out the mystery.

This is the first book in a three-book novelization of a serial podcast. Look for my video review at https://youtu.be/rwUG1FpB5DY

Thanks to Librarything Early and Candlewick Press for this ARC n exchange for an honest review.
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is about Mars Patel and his five best friends, Aurora, Jonas, Caddie, Toothpick, and JP. Aurora and Jonas go missing and no one cares, so Mars starts his own search. This causes him to get into all sorts of trouble. He gets caught in the middle of one of the biggest mysteries of his time. His search leads to his hero, Oliver Pruitt. And the end of the synopsis really is true: nothing is as it seems—and anyone could be deceiving them.

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel was a good book. The premise was intriguing to me when I read the synopsis, and I was happy when I won the book. It takes a few chapters to get going, but once it did I couldn’t put it down. I ended up reading this book in one day because it was so good. The story was captivating, and the writing wasn’t anything of dreams, but all the author really had to go on was sounds. The mystery was so twisty-turny and confusing that I had to get to the end and find out everything.

But that brought me to the cliffhanger. Now, I don’t have anything against cliffhangers on chapters or books other than mysteries, but this was a mystery and the fact that season 2 of the podcast was a few clicks away on my phone probably ruined the second book. And while there were some differences from the podcast, it didn’t really stray that much, and there were a lot of the same quotes. The characters acted above their age, but that’s not exactly the author’s fault. I might sound harsh, but this is definitely a book I’d recommend.

All in all, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a really good mystery for middle grade readers.