I remember having a lot of fun reading this book. It has some good science fiction ideas that are definitely not too overbearing for younger audiences, but maybe not in-depth enough for adults. It remains different from the norm even in this day and age. As someone who ran the kids department in a bookstore, everything almost always seems to be about fantasy and contemporary fiction (don't forget school reads too). So when I see a good scifi book I jump at it. If you have a young one wanting something a little different let them in on this one! ( )

Rating aside, I'm glad books like this exist. Books like this is what start the love of reading in young adults.

However, this book shouldn't be read by anyone over 18 (or likely 15 or 16). While the plot was a little complex, the dialog was overly simplistic. I like James Dashner books so I know he can write. Clearly though, this book was written for much younger audiences. ( )

This was a very entertaining book that I think that my 6th grade boys might like. Girls, I am reluctant to get them on this, but a few have inquired about it. ( )

This book is about a boy named Atticus (Tick) Higginbottom. He is sent mysterious letters from M.G. with clues for a special date. He decides to do it and he encounters many different challenges, including Tingle Wraiths a man named Frazier Gunn. Frazier Gunn tries to kill Tick and his dad while they are in Alaska trying to see where the letter came from (he learns who the letters are coming from) he gets saved by a girl who he has been emailing who gets the letters too named Sophia. On the day of the special date he gets winked to the Realitant Headquarters, and meets the other kids who received the letters and become Realitants second class. He goes to the Thirteenth Reality to get Mistress Jane’s Chi’karda wand, and when they are trying to escape the Fangen, Tick winks them all to the headquarters. They find out that the wand doesn’t have a Chi’karda drive and that Tick has some sort of power over Chi’karda.

I gave this book five stars because it was very descriptive. It is very exciting and fun to read. I can relate to the main character because he is my age and that is really cool. It makes you feel like you are actually in the movie. It shows lots of different points of views and I like that too. The book is cool and it is fun to learn more about Chi’karda which is very interesting. He is a very kind character who loves his family and I really like that. ( )

I’d give this novel 3.75 Chi’karda drives out of 5. (Read the book and you’ll know what a Chi’karda drive is)
This is a really cute story. It probably reads and feels more middle-grade than any middle-grade novel I’ve ever read (take that to mean what you’d like.) There’s nothing really dark or extreme, so it should really be safe for all ages.
I always get a little apprehensive when a book tries to balance the notions of Science and Magic in the same universe. I’ve never seen it really work, but Dasnher did enough to avoid having it stand out (negatively) in this book. I appreciated that.
The main character of this book, Atticus Higgenbottom, understandably goes by “tick.” He’s so smart, that his family calls him “Professor,” but not so smart or flawless that he becomes unlikable. As a matter of fact, he gets picked on and bullied at school.
One day Tick receives a mysterious letter in the mail. He opens and finds a strange set of instructions that he must decide whether or not to commit to them. If he destroys the letter, then all will be as before; no adventure, no danger, nothing new. But, if he keeps the instructions and follows them, he can expect danger to seek him out, and challenges to thwart him at every turn.
Tick decides to follow the instructions in the letter and to help the people that the letter mentions. He wants to be part of something bigger than himself, and he’s willing to potentially sacrifice himself in the process.
Along the way he meets several other kids that have also received letters. They meet up through message forums and email on the internet. My favorite character is Sofia, the Italian girl that Tick meets first. I love the way the narrator (audiobook version) portrays her and all her fraternal digs at the other guys in the story. She has a good sense of humor, and rounded out all the boy characters.
As the story progresses, the kids communicate with each other about the clues they receive, and help where they can. All this leads up to a final moment where tick and the other kids have to follow a certain set of instructions on a certain day, and in a certain place.
As you can tell by the title of the book, the story deals with multiple realities. It’s a wild ride, and I would recommend it to virtually anyone, but especially young readers. It’s very wholesome, as it were, and a good time.
P.S. It’s probably worth noting that a lot of stories for this age group kill off parents, or come up with some other strange approach to getting them out of the way so that the children can be empowered to be the true protagonists of the story. Rather than doing that, Dashner actually had Tick confide in his father, and get power and trust from the adult to move forward the way he wanted to. That was a nice touch. ( )