Customer Reviews

The Accidental Hero (Jack Blank Adventure)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION is a pretty thick book but I gobbled it up in just two nights. Most of that has to do with the exceptionally vivid world. The Imagine Nation is filled with colorful characters, politics, schools, and ideas. It's a fully realized country where super powered people live and breathe. Much like the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the Imagine Nation is so detailed that I could easily imagine it existing right off my own coast. It's a remarkable feat.

But beyond that, Matt Myklusch creates a character in Jack that I rooted for all the way through. His story is a pretty neat version of a hero's journey, but with a twist that keeps the story fresh. It's never clear whether Jack is going to swoop in and save the day, or inadvertently destroy his new home. Either way, Jack is relatable, fun, and pretty darn awesome.

The pacing is swift and never dull, the writing is detailed and sharp without ever bogging down in unnecessary description, and the conclusion was satisfying but with just enough threads left over for the other two books in the trilogy.

Mixing superheroes and aliens and ninjas and robots, JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION is a great read for kids and adults alike. It'll leaving you checking the horizon, looking to find your own Imagine Nation.

Gold Star Award Winner!

Jack doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. All he knows is the life he's had at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, and his love of creating comic books.

One day he gets two visitors. The first is a deadly robot from one of his comics. The second is the fast-talking Jazen Knight, who says he's come to rescue Jack and take him back to his homeland, Imagine Nation, which turns out to be a hidden island where all of the fantastic and unbelievable things in the human world originate.

When Jack is discovered to be carrying a deadly robot virus, he soon realizes that he has superhuman powers, one of which is an immunity to the virus. When Revile, a deadly alien, attacks the city and Jack becomes the only one who can stop him, he must discover his origins and learn to control his powers in order to save his newfound home.

Can Jack master himself before it's too late?

JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION is a great, action-packed fantasy adventure from start to finish. The characters are well-developed; the plot moves along quickly and keeps the reader's attention. Those who like fantasy, adventure, science fiction, robots, and/or superheroes will really enjoy reading this book - and the planned sequels.

Reviewed by: Kira M

Jack Blank is such a brilliantly written book, with an amazing setting, wonderful characters and a lot of powerful messages written within it's pages. It's a place where all the super heros & real life heros I grew up with and even never before heard of heros, live. It makes the extraordinary seem ordinary.

Twelve year old Jack Blank has been living in a horrible orphanage, where he's constantly picked up on the bully Rex, and finds excitement in reading his comic books. Jack Blank has no idea where he came from, where his family is, and what his real last name is. On the morning a killer robot from one of Jack's comics becomes a reality and tries to kill him, Jazen Knight, an emissary from a secret country called Imagine Nation, has come for Jack. Jack soon finds himself in a place that is right out of his imagination. The way to get there is by believing.

Imagination Nation is in constant motion and travels between the countries of our world, though the members from this nation are from all over the world, make believe, real and from out of this world. I was really surprised that I loved Imagine Nation as much as I did. One of my favorite places in Imagine Nation is in Cognito. A city where people can go to, to "disappear", not even the streets have names. Imagine Nation is made of all sorts of living creatures from normal people to ninjas, kung fu masters, aliens, sorcerers, androids, regular people and more. It almost felt like it has a more updated Star Wars feel to it, complete with it's own Yoda in the form of one of my favorite characters, Stendeval, who's wisdom and encouragement help Jack find out who he is.

I really admired Jack's character. His life hasn't been easy and it gets tougher as soon as he arrives to Imagine Nation. He's been infected by a virus from a feared enemy, the Rustov, as known as Robie-Zombies, who all but destroyed many lives 12 years ago, in an invasion. Jack has few people who believe he's not a threat, Jenzen Knight and the wisest leader on Imagine Nation, Stendeval are two of them. I loved their characters. They convey such powerful messages not only to Jack, but to the reader.

Here's some of my favorite messages:

* "Be the change you want to see in the world" (pg 169)
* "Change begins with the individual" (pg 179)
* "... always remember that the path you choose to follow is your own." (pg 181)
* "Knowledge is power." (pg 209)
* "...we always have a choice. It's only the brave who choose not to surrend where there's no reason left to hope." (pg. 297)
* "The best way to predict your future is to create it." (pg 318)
* "Never underestimate the power you have over what happens today. Never forget the power today has over tomorrow." (pg 467)

Jack Blank is out to prove he's not a threat, and it will take Jenzen, Blue, Stendeval, and Jack's new friends to help him in his quest. Jack alone must believe in who he is and what his powers can do. Jack has a power that has not only kept his infection at bay, but it can destroy the Rustov. When the evil Rustov robot comes back to kill Jack and reveals who he is, Jack will be faced with a decision that can ultimately change his future forever.

I know this book is written for grade and middle school aged kids, but I really enjoyed Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation. I was reminded of how much fun it is to imagine. I can't wait for son my to read this when he's a little older. Matt Myklusch writing it truly what kept me glued to the book. Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation is an awesome, action packed, must have book, with some great plot twists. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Young boy grows up in miserable orphanage*, picked on by grown-ups and kids alike. Things mysteriously go wrong when he's around, but he's saved and taken to a wonderful, magical place where everybody knows of him and he's offered a spot in an elite school. Also, things are awesome.

Sound familiar? And please - don't say Harry Potter. Try something novel, like any of the thousands of books with a premise just like this.

Sounds tired and predictable? Well... not so much. Sure, this is the premise that has launched a thousand authors' careers, but that's because it works. What kid doesn't sometimes wish somebody would whisk THEM away from the drudgery of daily life? What kid doesn't hope THEY have a magical heritage, just waiting to be found? (If there is such a kid, I hope we never meet. It'd be weird.)

Okay, so it's an old story, and the sub-premise (that there's a secret moving island that all our hopes and dreams and superheros are nurtured on) is a bit silly. So what? It's still an engrossing and engaging book, with a couple of surprising plot twists near the end. And certainly having the kid whisked away to where everybody knows his name in a BAD way, that's new.

This isn't a series likely to break any new ground, but the first book was pretty fun.

*State of being an orphan. Also, via metonymy, a place where orphans live. Technically Jack is a foundling, but that doesn't preclude the first sense of orphanage.

I enjoyed this adventure. It's a good fantasy/sci-fi story and is a carefully crafted adventure that will allow you the opportunity to visit some incredibly creative places.

However, I think the plot and characterization suffer from trying to put too much into one story. It kind of ends up being a mishmash of ideas, along with quickly-thrown-at-you plot points that, in the end, seriously take away from the chance to really get to know the characters or even care for them.

For example, the author is trying to get so much of the packed plot out that he ends up doing a lot more telling than showing. A character's back story is related briefly, such as Skerren's, and he actually has an incredibly deep back story, but literally it's thrown at you as if the author himself doesn't really care for you to get to know these characters.

And there is one character, I call him the wise old Yoda dude, who does nothing but say a "million" times, "I once met so and so and they said . . . "insert wise quote here." Literally, count them - especially near the end. I actually thought this character was great, but just wish his endless quotes would have been edited down. "Learn to cut endless quotes you must," would be my sage Yoda advice for the whole book. :)

Overall, I found myself enjoying the experience of the setting a bit more than the actual story. It's still a fun, solid read. Just don't think too hard about the plot or intend to care about the characters much.

And there were some interesting and super cool concepts, such as the digital paper or the fun visit with Virtua into the world of the Internet. The story is loaded with new and amazing ideas, and with so much to do and explore in each section of the city, the author really makes you wish you could visit the Imagine Nation for real!

I do hope to see more from this author!

This was a fun read. I was looking very forward to reading this novel. The premise really grabbed my interest and I was excited to finally get a copy of the book to read not only for myself, but for the Cybils.

The atmosphere and setting of the book was so awesome. The whole concept of these superheroes really grabbed me from the start. I loved the machines, mechas, superheroes, villains, the city, etc. I found it so creative and great use of the imagination(even the title is quite clever).

The book is a longer read for middle grade, but many students crave these longer books. I actually just talked with a student at parent teacher conferences and I had this book on my table and a conversation started about trying to find good books that are long reads. He was off to find this book.

My only complaint I have with this book is that I wanted more action. There are so many cool characters and situations that could have contained some additional fighting scenes. The final scene at the end was great. I wanted more. However, being the first book and knowing book two is coming out next summer I understand that with any series the author has to create the relationships and dynamics to have the story further develop. I understand why there was not more action, but I want more action. Book two will hopefully have more action and fighting with these characters.

Overall, I strongly recommend this read. It contains everything for a great story adn who does not love superheroes, robots, and mechas? Give this author a chance and I cannot wait to see where he takes the story in the next chapter. I know he will have time to further work on his writing craft as I follow him on Twitter(after reading the book) and read that he is done working for MTV to be a full time writer. I wish him the best of luck.

Jack Blank includes dashes of The Terminator, Mystery Men, and August Rush in a kids book version of course. It is wrapped around a great story that included surprises and plot twists I did not see coming! It's a fun imaginative read and I would recommend it for a boy or a girl who has an imagination and is interested in comic book style action stories.

Don't let the thickness of the book give you pause, it is a quick read and for some strange reason seems to be double spaced (or 1 and ½ spaced) which makes it quite literally twice as thick as it should be.

This book that is a solid investment of your time and money and will reward you with dividends of several entertaining hours devouring it's contents.

I'll be the first to admit, this isn't my type of genre. A friend recommended this book to me and sold it loosely as "Harry Potter for Superheroes." Having not read any of the HP books or seen any of the movies, I started reading and I'm glad I did. Jack Blank is a great read and thoroughly entertaining.

What amazes me the most about the author's writing is that he makes everything so easy to picture. You're never left wondering what you just read.

Jack Blank is a good read whether you're a kid or an adult. Kids will be sucked into the idea of the Imagine Nation and adults will see the subtle references to more political/social issues in society.

Best of all, when you're done, you're left hoping there will be a follow up book, which, as a reader, is all you can really ask for.

I'm certainly not a "young reader" but I have to admit that I do enjoy the genre and Jack Blank just reminded me why. Picked up this book and couldn't put it down. The details perfectly and quickly helped me create my own images of every place and character, while each twist & turn in the plot kept me engaged to the last page (and kept me wanting more - can't wait for book 2!). This is definitely one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished.

I picked this one up for my kid as a summer reading gift. I decided to glance through the first few pages, and 90 minutes later I was 6 chapters in, not wanting to stop reading. 3 days later I'm finished. I don't remember when I've ever read a book that fast.

The book doesn't hesitate on action and adventure - the characters are fun and believeable enough to keep you wondering what will happen to them next. What's cool for older readers is the underlying political commentary on power and fear that we can relate to in our own Nation. It's not heavy handed and flows in and out of the story in a very creative way.

My son is finally allowed to have the book as of today and I'm pretty sure he'll love it. Can't wait to hear when the next one in the series comes out, and even better when they make a MOVIE!!!