Showing posts with label James Patterson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Patterson. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

[Review]—'Shattered' by James Patterson & James O. Born


It's hard to believe that James Patterson's enthralling "Michael Bennett" series has expanded to 14 books. The last 15 years have flown by, and it only seems like yesterday that I started reading Step on a Crack. Here I am, nearly 41 years old, reviewing the series' most recent volume, Shattered, co-written by James O. Born (his fifth in the series).

Monday, June 6, 2022

[Review] - Death of the Black Widow by James Patterson & J.D. Barker


When I hear the name Black Widow, I automatically think of Scarlett Johansson's Marvel character and not the newest novel from bestselling author James Patterson. No, Mr. Patterson hasn't stepped into the MCU world. Instead, he teamed up with J.D. Barker to coauthor the crime-thriller Death of the Black Widow (Grand Central Publishing; paperback; 560 pages).   

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

[Review] - Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson & Dolly Parton


Recently, I read the newest James Patterson novel - Run, Rose, Run. The New York Times Bestselling Author teamed up with the Country music legend Dolly Parton, who recorded a companion album, Rose's Story. (Note - Sorry, folks, the album isn't included with the book. You have to purchase it separately. Or you can do what I did, listen to the album on Dolly's YouTube Channel.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

[Review] - The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts


"Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? The Shadow knows!" 

My knowledge of The Shadow franchise is limited. I recall watching the campy 1994 feature film adaptation starring Alec Baldwin, which I didn't like at all. And that's it. Yeah, I said my knowledge about The Shadow is limited, right? Now, I'm not completely clueless. I am well aware The Shadow began as a series of pulp magazines in the 1930s written by Walter B. Gibson under the pen name Maxwell Grant. Before the vigilante character appeared in literary form, he was the narrator of the radio program Detective Story Hour. Later, the character appeared in comic books, comic strips, movies, serials, and video games.

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

[Review] - Middle School: Field Trip Fiasco by James Patterson & Martin Chatterton


New in bookstores this week from Jimmy Patterson Books (Little, Brown, and Company) is Middle School: Field Trip Fiasco by James Patterson and Martin Chatterton. It's the 13th installment in Mr. Patterson's popular Middle School series for middle graders.

The Middle School series centers on Rafe Khatchadorian, a kid with a wild imagination. In this installment, the Advancement of Writers and Contemporary American Artists (IAWCAA) has picked Rafe to attend an educational art trip with other students from around the country. It's a week-long "Camp Culture" in California, and at the end of this event is an art exhibit. Sounds exciting, right?

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Review - Middle School: Master of Disaster

Available on AMAZON and WALMART!

When dd FedEx start delivering packages on Sunday?

I was surprised when I received the book Middle School: Master of Disaster by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts a day before its release. And, no, it's not an ARC! I had pre-ordered the book on Walmart.com last month while I was ordering a few other things.

Middle School: Master of Disaster is the 12th book in James Patterson's popular children's book series Middle School. However, this isn't your typical Middle School story starring Rafe Khatchadorian. Instead, we (and I'm referring to the readers) are getting short stories featuring characters from almost every James Patterson's children's book series, such as Max Einstein, Jamie Grimm, Jacky Ha-Ha , PottyMouth and Stoopid, The Kidds, and Rafe Khatchadorian.

Monday, September 10, 2018

Review - Unbelievably Boring Bart

Jimmy Patterson; 260 pages; $13.99; Amazon

It's been difficult for me to keep up with all the new releases, especially those written (or co-written) by James Patterson, as he practically has two or three new titles a month. Last week, I stumbled upon Unbelievably Boring Bart written Mr. Patterson & Duane Swierczynski at my local Walmart store. I didn't even know the book even existed. From my understanding, the book was released last week.

Published by Jimmy Patterson Books, Unbelievably Boring Bart centers around Bartholomew "Bart" Bean, a middle schooler who believes he's the most boring person in the universe. A few months ago, his dad, Bill, made him move from their home in Philadelphia to the hot weather of Rancho Verdugo, California. His dad is the gym teacher at his new school, which makes gym class extra difficult for Bart, as sports and exercise just doesn't intrigue him. Instead, Bart would rather be on his laptop (a hand-me-down from his mother, just before she left his father) working on the coding for his greatest invention - a video game app called Hecklr. It's similar to Pokemon Go, but with spider-like aliens.

Similar to his old school, Bart is bullied by several students. His only real friend is CyberGirl03 who he had met on the SlapTalk messaging app. CyberGirl03 is actually a girl named Aaliyah who lives in a nearby apartment building. Bart always sees her on the third-floor balcony in the afternoons, but he has never met her. She doesn't attend his school because she takes her school courses on the internet.

After sending CyberGirl03 his game to test out, he decides to make a few adjustments, which means he has to spend several late nights working on the new coding while his father is asleep. Later, somehow his game gets leaked to the public! First his classmates are all downloading and playing the game, and then the entire town begins playing it.

Now, the creator of Hecklr is the most popular person in the town, but poor Bart must keep his identity a secret.

Final Thoughts

Monday, April 10, 2017

Spring Reads: Never Never by James Patterson


Little Brown & Company; 400 pages; Amazon

Yes, keeping up with each new James Patterson release can be a little difficult with at least two books, as well as the Bookshots ebooks, being released every month. The author's thriller Never Never, co-written with Candice Fox, was released in January, and it introduced a brand new character, Detective Harriet "Harry" Blue - well sorta, since technically the character was first introduced in the "Black & Blue" Bookshots novella.

In the novel, Harry Blue is a detective for the Sex Crimes Department in Sydney, Australia. She is shell-shocked when she learns that her brother, Sam, has been arrested for the Georgia River Three murders.

Despite wanting to do anything she can to prove her brother's innocence, her boss orders not to get involved with the case and gives her a new assignment out of the city. She's assigned a simple missing-person case, but there is one catch - she has to work with a new partner, Edward Whittaker, who is more or less there to babysit her while the Feds are investigating her bother.

Final Thoughts: Honestly, it took me over a month to read Never Never, which is probably the longest it has ever taken me to read a James Patterson novel. The problem for me is that I couldn't connect with the main character, aka Harry Blue. Her, along with most the other characters, felt very flat and one-dimensional with absolutely no character development; just a wooden by-the-book character similar to the ones on television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Winter Reads: House of Robots: Robot Revolution


Jimmy Patterson; 331 pages; $13.99; Amazon

Even if you're a diehard fan of the bestselling author James Patterson, keeping up with his dozens of releases every year can be a bit difficult. Besides from his famous crime thrillers and his new Bookshots novellas, Mr. Patterson also writes (or co-writes) books for middle school readers.

Now available from Jimmy Patterson Books (a division of Little, Brown and Company) is House of Robots: Robot Revolution by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, along with illustrations by Juliana Neufeld.

House of Robots centers on Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez, a young boy who lives in a house full of robots! Yep, I said robots. His mother, Dr. Elizabeth Hayes, is an engineer and she has created many robots and gadgets for their home. His father, Noah Rodriguez, creates graphic novels (comic books). Sammy has a younger sister named Maddie, who has SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency d), which makes it hard for her to be around germs, so she is mostly isolated to her bedroom.

The last member of the Rodriguez family is E, a robotic brother who goes to school with Sammy. Dr. Hayes created E for Maddie, who can attend school without ever leaving her bedroom by using E's sight, hearing, and communication skills to interact with her classmates and teacher.

The Rodriguez's household is turned upside in down in "Robot Revolution" when Dr. Hayes begins working on a top secret new project and neglects all the routine maintenance for her robots. All the robots, including the new electric SUV, start malfunctioning; causing a bit of chaos in Sammy's life.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

31 Days of Halloween: Cradle and All by James Patterson


Jimmy Patterson; 336; $18.99; Amazon
If a book is a bestseller, then eventually it will get a reprint, and some of those titles will also get a brand new cover art. Well, that was what was I thinking when I saw the cover to Cradle and All by James Patterson on Barnes & Nobles a few months ago. The original Cradle and All was published in 2000, and it was actually a rewritten novel called Virgin that was published in 1980. This year's release of Cradle and All with the baby stroller on the cover is in fact another rewritten version of Virgin, but this time Mr. Patterson has written the story for young adults under his children book label "Jimmy Patterson."

Cradle and All centers on a pregnant seventeen-year-old, Kathleen Beavier, in Boston who claims she's a virgin. During her pregnancy, the world is turned upside down with droughts, epidemics, floods, and epidemics.

The young girl's claim gets the attention of the Catholic Church, leading Cardinal Rooney to ask Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun who is now a private detective, to investigate the situation. Also sent in to help out in the case is Father Justin O'Carroll, who has had past relationship with Anne.

On the other side of the world, Father Nicholas Rosetti travels from Rome to Ireland in search of Colleen Deirdre Galaher, a sixteen-year-old pregnant virgin.

Are Kathleen and Colleen telling the truth? If so, is one of them carrying in The Second Coming? Or is one of the carrying Satan's child?

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Spring Reads: Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson


Jimmy Patterson Books; 384; $13.99; Amazon
With many schools taking a hiatus for summer vacation, kids now have plenty of time to crack open a book. One of the most popular middle-grade and YA author is James Patterson.

Yes, I said that right - James Patterson, the New York Times Bestselling author of the crime thriller series Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club, and many other titles. Mr. Patterson has written (and co-written) several different series for younger readers, such as the Maximum Ride books, the Middle School novels, the I Funny novels, the Treasure Hunters novels, the House of Robots Novels, and the Daniel X novels.

Now available from Jimmy Patterson Books (part of Little Brown and Company), is Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (co-writers of the Middle School and I Funny books).

Jack Ha-Ha is written in point-of-view of Jacky, an actress who is about to receive an Oscar, but before she heads off to the Academy Awards, she writes down a story for her daughters, Tina & Grace, to read. The story is set in 1990 and centers around Jacky Hart when she just a kid. Her mother was in Marine Corps and was sent to Iraq, leaving her father, a lifeguard, to take care of Jacky and her six sisters.

Why is she called Jacky Ha-Ha?

Monday, November 9, 2015

Fall Reads: Alert


 

Alert
by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Pub. Date: August 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0316407038
Pages: 400
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Keeping up with every new novel by the bestselling author James Patterson can be a bit exhausting with fifteen to twenty titles being released each year. While most people have either read or heard of the popular Alex Cross novels as well as a young adult (Maximum Ride) and children (Middle School; Treasure Hunters) book series, some might not be aware of his other mystery series - Michael Bennett, which focuses on a NYPD Detective and widow father of 10 adopted children.

The 8th installment of the series, Alert (co-written by Michael Ledwidge), once again centers on Detective Michael Bennett who must team up with his old pal, FBI's Emily Parker, to solve two high-tech attacks in New York City. Of course nothing is never what it seems, so the more they investigate, the more complicated it gets. As the body count rises, they realizes the killers (whom call themselves Mr. Joyce and Mr. Beckett) have bigger and deadlier things in store for the city.

There is a small subplot involving Michael's elderly priest grandfather, Seamus, whom gets lost while on his way to babysit Michael's children. It seems he's starting to show signs of dementia, which just adds to the already high stress that Michael already has in his life.


Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Summer Reads: Maximum Ride Forever


 


Maximum Ride Forever
Maximum Ride, book 9
by James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: 400
ISBN: 978-0316207508
Pages: 400
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

The bestselling crime novel author, James Patterson, dazzled young reader with Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (the reboot of his previous adult books -  When the Wind Blows and The Lake House) in 2005. This was followed by a series of sequels, which the later installments received mixed to negative feedback from fans and critics, especially with how the final installment Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure ended in 2012.

Mr. Patterson or Little, Brown & Company must have listened to the fans as new "final" sequel (the ninth book in the series) was released last month, titled Maximum Ride Forever!

A the end of Nevermore, the world was destroyed, leaving only mutants to rule the world. Maximum Ride Forever centers on the aftermath of the apocalypse, which Max and her flock have survived, but sadly Dr. Martinez and Ella didn't make it. Believing it is safe to leave their island, the flock heads to the mainlands to search for survivors, but are attached by a new group of mutants - Cryenas, which leads to the death of one of their own.

Eventually the flock splits up - Max heads to Russia;  Iggy and Gasman go to Pennsylvania; and Fang heads to California. The flock must take on a new enemy  - the Remedy and his Horseman creation, whom wants to finish destroying what is left of the world.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Summer Reads: Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel


Angel
Maximum Ride, book seven
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: February 14, 2011
ISBN: 978-0316036207
Pages: 291
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Yeah, by now you're probably seeing that I'm catching up on my writings by posting all these reviews on the Maximum Ride series. 

Well, anyway, book seven (Angel) picks up a week after Fang decided to leave the flock, leaving our dear poor Max a total mess as he was in love with him. She has a difficult time picking up the pieces, especially when Dylan sorta has a crush on her as he did attempt to kiss her. Jeb and Dr. Gunther-Hagen tell Max that she is lead a new generation of mutants, the Gen 77.

Fang is doing just fine on his own. He has recruited his own team (flock) of mutants - Ratchet, Star, Kate, Starfish and Maya (Max II)

While Max & her flock head for Gen 77 headquarters, they quickly learn that the Gen 77 kids were created to kill off mankind as they are part of the Doomsday Group. Max and the other try to defend themselves, but the Gen 77 are just too strong for them.

Max has no other choice, but seek the help of Fang & his flock to stop the Doomsday Group before a disaster strikes.

Summer Reads: Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel



Fang
Maximum Ride, Book 6
by James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: March 10, 2010
ISBN: 978-0316036191
Pages: 336
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

As you can see this is my second Maximum Ride review that I've posted today, which is in my attempt to catch up on a few posts on here. I've been disappointed with the last few novels as Mr. Patterson decided to force the global warming/environmental issue down the reader's throats. I mean I have nothing against the author's personal beliefs, but the plots of the last two novels suffered because of it.

Book 6, finds the Max and her flock still part of the Coalition to Stop the Madness, but this time their  on a missionary assignment in Chad, where the meet Dr. Hans and his bird/human creation, Dylan. Dr. Hans plans on using the flock as template to make the human race envolve. Of course Max won't have anything to do with his plans, forcing her to take the flock to their old hideout, the E house. There the flock try to have a normal life by home schooling and celebrating her upcoming birthday, but the Erasers are once again on their trail.

Max and Fangs's realtionship moves forward, but it puts a dampier on the flock, whom agree that Max should leave them. Angel takes over as the new leader of the flock, while Max and Fang leave for Las Vegas. The flock is all unware that the Dr. Hans is watching their every move and he plans on experimenting on them.

Summer Reads: Max: A Maximum Ride Novel



Max
Maximum Ride, book 5
by James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: March 16, 2009
ISBN: 978-0316002899
Pages: 320
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

After being extermely disappointed with the book 4 in the Maximum Ride series (The Final Warning), as did other fans and critics, I delayed reading the fifth installment, Max, until last week. 2009 was actually not the best year for me as my grandmother died that December and she was a huge James Patterson fan, which is another reason why it took me so long to read this.

Book 5 finds Max and her flock participating in air shows to help spread the message about Coalition to Stop the Madness, an environmental awareness group. While performing in Los Angeles, the flock is attacked by an assassin, whom self-destructs before they can learn of his identity. Later in Mexico City the flock is one again attacked, but this time it's against 60 bionic human ninjas (M-Geeks)!

After Max is injured, she agrees (more like forced) that her flock should attend the school for the gifted; hoping that they'll now be safe. Just as they get settled in, Max receives word that her mother, Dr. Martinez, has been kidnapped; all of which leads Max on a sub expedition off the coast of Hawaii in search for her.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Reread Review: Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever


Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
Maximum Ride, book 2
by James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: May 23, 2006
ISBN: 978-0316067966
Pages: 412
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

After reading Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment in the spring of 2006, I eagerly purchased the sequel School's Out Forever when it released on May 23, 2006. With the ninth installment, Maximum Ride Forever, scheduled to be released in two weeks, I'm rereading the franchise; well, technically I've never read the last three books, so they'll be new reads for me.

Still on the run from "The School," Max and her flock (Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel) take flight to Washington, D.C., to try to find out some answers of why they were created, but of course there's danger around every corner, especially with the werewolf-like Erasers hot on their tracks. After Fang is injured, the group take refuge at an FBI safe house. In exchange for the safety, Agent Anne Walker is allowed to monitor them from a safe distance.

The flock tries to live a normal life by attending a private school, while also trying to avoid the Erasers that are near by, but danger is never too far behind them The flock must escape to
Florida, where they encounter even a bigger threat, including an evil clone!