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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Debut Novel, Looking Forward to The Sequel, June 30, 2009
Though the book is written with the young adult audience in mind, this is a good, quick, read, for anyone that enjoys fantasy, adventure, and imagination. The author takes you into an imaginative world and allows you, the reader to become a part of it. At one point in the book I found myself rooting for the characters to stay in the imaginary world longer. In addition, the world that Vosburg has created is no flat, one dimensional, world. Indeed, this world is full of fantastic, imaginary, gadgets, with more being created as the story progresses. Another thing that I appreciated about this book is the level of diversity in it. I grew up reading books where (unless I browsed the 'special interest' section) everyone looked alike. This book is the complete opposite. Indeed, you will find different races, both males and females in positions of authority, etc. This cannot be understated, and I am impressed that the author has grasped in his first novel what many after 20 have still not managed to grasp.
Some areas of improvement:
1)As previously mentioned, there are some formatting errors that should be edited. While not the worst I have seen, it does tend to detract from getting lost in the story.
2)The book has the same grammatical error in many places. Improper use of 'I vs. me'. For example, location 1444/45, "Denise invited KC and I over to the library to meet somewhere". The sentence should read, "Denise invited KC and me over to the library to meet somewhere". The author is young (14)and I have a feeling that as his education grows, so will his grammer skills, but I think that pointing this out will help in his future efforts.
3) I often found the transitions in the book a bit choppy, non-existant, or rushed. A smoother transition will not leave the reader shaking their head like they were just passed up by a car going 150mph in a 40mph zone. Again, I think this will also improve as the author continues to grow in his skill of writing.
Overall, I found this book very enjoyable and a great first effort. Young adult fiction, written by a young adult is a fantastic precedence to set - I hope more young authors follow suit. I am looking forward to the follow-up to Double Life in the near future.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spy Kids Vosburg Style!, July 8, 2009
Seventh grader, Josiah Jones frequently found himself imagining a world more interesting and exciting than his boring real world life as a loner at school. In his imagination, he was a spy, a secret agent for the even more secret agency - the Blue Agency - protector of all that is good and right in the world. Visiting this special place in his mind was a way to escape the mundane existence of everyday life until the day Josiah found a pair of sunglasses. But these were no ordinary sunglasses. After putting them on, Josiah finds himself pulled from his body and right back in but in a different world - his imaginary world - except now its for real. No longer was he the loner Josiah Jones but the famous Agent 12 tasked with destroying the evil Red Agency. Unfortunately, Josiah hasn't the slightest idea how to actually be a secret agent even in this imaginary world. How will he save the world?
Dawson Vosburg's Double Life is targeted for juvenile fiction readers. It is a creative mix of imagination, action, and escapism. Reading this novel reminded me of a cross between the movie Spy Kids and my own children's video games. The action and scenes keep going and going just like a video game where the story movies along quickly from one sequence to the next. The style and story is appealing for the target reading audience as it is exactly the type of story my kids would like. Therefore, I've rated it 4 of 5 stars with this audience in mind.
I especially enjoyed the twist in the story where Josiah learns that he may not be the only person from the real world sharing his imaginary land. This provides the opportunity for him to connect with others in the real life and learn perhaps he isn't as alone as he may have once thought.
To complete a novel is quite an undertaking in and of itself, to do so with such creativity at such a young age should be commended. Congratulations Dawson!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story from a Young Author, June 8, 2009
This book was a pretty good read. I think many pre-teens will enjoy it.
There were a few 'inconsistencies', for want of a better word.
One such issue: The main character was supposedly home schooled all his life and is going to a public school for the first time. As his homeroom teacher starts the class by going over the rules, he acts as though he has heard them every year, knows what she is going to say, and is bored by it. I would think that a home-schooled kid going to school for the first time in his life would pay at least a little bit of attention to something he has never heard before.
The book was well written for a 14 year old.
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