Denis MarkellReseñas

Wowza.

(2.5 / 5)

Twelve-year-old Ted Gerson meets his namesake, his great-uncle Ted, for the first time shortly before the man’s death. At that meeting, his great-uncle asks about his penchant for escape-the-room video games, and then makes him promise to never stop looking for answers. This cryptic message is followed by Ted being given all of the contents of the great-uncle’s apartment after his death. But then Ted discovers that the newest escape-the-room game on his computer is set up just like his great-uncle’s apartment and that the clues in the game are in the apartment in real life!

I really wanted to love this book for more than one reason. First, my daughter is the one who recommended it to me, which is always a special situation. Second, I’m an escape room player (real life games more than computer ones though), worked as a game master and game builder for a while, and still make escape room-type games for my job now. You might say they’re a big part of my life. But it’s probably because of that second reason that this book wasn’t so great for me. The main story about Ted’s great-uncle, whose history Ted got to know through the hunt, was interesting. The sub-plot with the mysterious person who is on Ted’s trail and clearly lying about being a reporter named Clark Kent wasn’t bad, though the reveal and conclusion were underwhelming. The three main characters—Ted, his best friend Caleb, and new girl Isabel—left a bit to be desired, but that didn’t really bother me much.

However, one of my pet peeves involving games that are included in TV shows, movies, or books was a huge part of this book. The way some of the escape room elements were solved just made no sense. There is NO way someone, especially a kid, could have figured out some of these puzzles. Some of them were just huge logic leaps that can absolutely ruin a game for players. Throughout the story, a new online escape room game will present itself to Ted, and it will be exactly what he needs to progress in his mystery. While this is, of course, a stretch, I can accept it as a fantastical element to the story (though, spoiler alert, it is never explained how this happens or who is behind it). However, the first of these games that Ted plays, he plays for 5 hours, then gets stuck, then goes to the apartment and walks through the same steps in a very short amount of time. Yes, he had already done the solving when he’d played the computer game, but 5 hours? To solve what took maybe 10 minutes to get through in real life, and some of that time was spent trying to give the others a chance to feel like they were solving it? I don’t buy it. Then, later in the story, somehow a book that is part of Uncle Ted’s mystery ends up being a clue to the home alarm system of someone completely unrelated (literally and figuratively) to Uncle Ted. How does that make any sense?

It’s certainly difficult to translate something like escape room puzzles to a novel, though several authors have tried. Sometimes it works okay (the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series is an example of it working okay, though it’s fairly light on the puzzles), but sometimes it doesn’t. In this book, it doesn’t. And unfortunately, for me at least, the rest of the book wasn’t enough to make up for that. For people who aren’t quite as into escape rooms as I am and just like a good puzzle-light mystery in the middle grade category, you just might find this a good read. If you’re a major escape room enthusiast, I don’t recommend it.

Decent read -- I liked the strong sense of place (Brooklyn), the diverse characters, and the ghost story. Unfortunately, I didn't really love the main character or his immediate family, so it was hard to stay engaged. Kids might like it better.

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This book makes me want to visit Brooklyn. That said, I've never been so if the author wasn't geographically accurate, I'd never know. I'm shoving this into the hands of all the ghost hunting kids in my world the minute I get a real copy. It's scary and suspenseful all the while being age-appropriate. I think grade school kids will love this book.

This book is a perfect book for preschools around Halloween. it touches on a song that they already know and has a spin-of monsters on it. in addition it teachers the kids that monsters aren't scary. The illustration, match perfectly with the theme being dark spooky, and cartoon.

I'm posting four stars for Denis Markell's second YA book from the perspective of the twelve-year-old within me. It was just the kind of fast-paced, clever adventure novel that I would have absolutely gone crazy over as a kid. I especially appreciate the elements of community and portrayals of realistic adolescent friendships that Markell conjures in the story, and how paper-and-pen gaming has long been and remains a tonic for the sometimes rough and lonely phases of growing up with geeky tendencies – no matter what stripe of geek that might be. It's also a fine introduction to the essence of role-playing games and will surely serve as a temptation to get readers into the hobby if they are not already totally on board.

Though the book might fall short from an adult perspective, I am fully aware that we are not its target audience. Even so, however, the warmth and enthusiasm that Markell infuses within the story is not only evident, but gratifyingly tangible.

6 y/o review: it reminds me of my and my mommy and daddy playing before bed! I like the little kid monster the best!

Parents were kind of clueless and the one friend knew sooo much and became their good friend a bit too quickly to be believable.

This is a wonderful and clever book about a 12-year-old boy named Ted who is a gamer with his friend Caleb. During summer vacation his great-uncle Ted dies, leaving him a “treasure” in his apartment, which could also double as a junk shop. Ted, in an effort to find this treasure, volunteers to clean out the apartment with his pal Caleb. They are joined by his dad’s new boss’ daughter, Isabel, in a task that soon turns into a real life video game! There are mysterious clues to follow, bad men lurking in the corners and lots of references to historical events that make this a great read for young people who love to read, as it is a more complex book for this category.

A Gamer's Delight...

This book was such great fun! It's a children's book but anyone that enjoys solving puzzles or playing video games will enjoy it. It's about a 12-year old boy named Ted who loves to play escape room games. When his Uncle dies, he leaves him everything in his apartment but unbeknownst to Ted he has also set the apartment up like a real-life escape room game. Ted and his friends, Caleb and Isabel, have to solve the puzzles to find the real treasure. What they think is just a fun game to find some junk though, turns out to be a dangerous race to find real treasure and they aren't the only players in the game! 
 
I love scavenger hunts and solving puzzles so I really got a kick out of this book but I think my 10 year old son or any kids that love games would enjoy it even more. When it releases I'd definitely like to get the audio version for us to listen to in the car. It's perfect family fun for a summer road trip!
 
*I received this book from NetGalley & Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 
 

4.5 stars
Age range: 8 to 12 years old

Ted is a twelve years old boy who loves to play escape-the-room games in his computer. And he is really good at them. When his great uncle dies leaving a treasure for him to find, Ted will need all his skills to solve this real life challenge.

This book was such an enjoyable reading! It has lots of action, a trio of adorable friends, mysterious characters, treasure hunting, computer games, and literary quotes. It also approaches the topic of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought during WWII in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Infantry Regiment, as well as the internment of Japanese American in camps during that period. The plot is dynamic and consistent. The writing is very engaging, and I found myself widely smiling in many occasions. It also made me want to read some classic literary works mentioned in it, to learn more about this specific historic events, and, why no, try some escape-the-room computer games. (No. I have never played them).

The cover art by Octavi Navarro is wonderful, and I also liked the pages layout, which mirrors a computer game. If it looks so good in an e-book I guess the printed edition has to be just awesome.
There is a hint at the end of the book that suggest this might be the first one in a series. Am I right? I hope so!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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