Customer Reviews

The Marvelous Effect (Marvelous World)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Any book that gets the kids reading is a great book to me. But 'The Marvelous Effect' was a fun read for me, too. I had heard the comparisons to Harry Potter, but found the story to be original and interesting. The main characters are kids, and there are good and bad guys, but that's where the similarities end. The basic concept is that two young boys (Louis Proof and his friend, Brandon) and Louis's little cousin, Lacey, have this great adventure against the bad guys from another dimension. I found the characters adorable but not icky where the boys wouldn't want to read the book. They are a little street at times, which I think makes the books kool for the kidz! 4 out of 4 liked it, aged 11, 12 and 13.

This is a beautifully written book that will instantly engage even a reluctant reader. It's fun, it's deep, it's alive with a lively plot and creative setting. I use it for an urban book club. Most of my kids have never read a book over 100 pages, yet they finished this book ahead of schedule. It's a very smart book with great vocabulary and themes that are rich for discussuion. This author has written a book that kids can see, hear and feel.

This is a great read for kids. It's not over simplified, yet it has an ease to it that anyone can enjoy. The story centers around a pre-teen named Louis Proof who, refreshingly, enjoys pre-teen things, like music, racing games and hanging with his friends. All of that is threatened upon the arrival of a sinister being from another dimension who wants to bring chaos to Mr. Proof's. One day Louis falls ill, and when he awakens he is no longer a little boy, but a superhero. It becomes Louis' duty to stop this foe. Ofcourse he gets alot of help from his loving family, friends, some benevolent superbeings, as well as a glowing blue weapon called an "Alonis". What Louis learns along the Journey might be more important then the inevitable head to head battle.

This book treats our kids as very adept young people, as is often overlooked in our society. They aren't super smart semi-adults with huge vocabularys, and they are not half-wits who constantly need things explained to death. The dialogue seems very true to form in young urban areas. The story doesn't really throw alot of twists at you, and some of the specifics might escape a more diligent reader, however it is loads of pure fun. This looks like a good start to a Great series.

Honestly I'd give it 4.5 stars (There is a room for improvement) but i don't believe in rounding down. lol

Wow! What a story!

Louis Proof is a teenager in East Orange, New Jersey. When the book opens, Louis one of the most popular students in his class. He is helpful, kind, and smart. He accepts an invitation to go to a wonderful amusement park where all of your wildest dreams come true. After things go a little wrong there, Louis leaves and mysteriously collapses and falls into a coma.

When Louis awakens, it is three months later and everything is different. Many adults are being replaced with replicas of themselves -- and they are a child's dream. They let their kids do anything they want. Slowly, Louis realizes that he is the earth's only chance. Earth is being taken over by Galonious, a very funny but evil person. He takes away a person's inhibitions and promises freedom. Some people steal and vandalize while others commit murder.

I spent some time speaking with my fifth-graders about this concept and I believe that they found it as scary as I did. The story doesn't come to a conclusion, as there are supposed to be sequels. The hero is also African-American, which is a first, and there are many references to popular culture which makes the story fun.

Enjoy reading THE MARVELOUS EFFECT!

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

I purchased this book after hearing the author talking about it on TV. My pre-teen loves this book. I have purchased books in the past but this is the first she started reading and can't stop talking about it. This was one of my best purchases and at a great price.

Being an adult who still reads what are called "chilrens novels", I was pleasently suprised that kid in me has been re-awakened in Marvelous fashion. Troy CLE has infused Hip-Hop, True teachings, and a world of fantasy into the "Marvelous World" of East Orange New Jersey...I would say more but the Crims would get me. Then as young Brandon would say, it would be "on". I highly recommend this to anyone who has children of their own, or better yet, to anyone who has a child's heart... Bottom line, "it's marvelous darling". Peace.

I love this book. I think it is very original, creative, and funny. It is about a boy who is stricken with a strange illness and when he wakes up. The world is a lot different than he remembered. He goes on a quest to find out why it is all happening. Although this book has an African-American protagonist and characters, it is for kids of all different races.

I advise future reviewers to please read the book before you compare it to any books out there. I am not about to give away all of the story. Read it for yourself. You will enjoy it.

Reading this book engulfed me into the world. I have read many fantasy book but to take everyday life like this and change it was new. You always hear about the made up name town and then the usually type of creature that are in every other book.but this book takes things that happen to everyone,anime, controlled car racing and friend and then not over powering every last thing in the book, it makes this book number one in my reading list.

This is my son's favorite book. I have no idea how many times he has read. He loved the book and wish the author wrote more than just two.

Troy CLE's "The Marvelous Effect," book one in his Marvelous World series, is a fun science fiction/fantasy book about a good kid, Louis Proof. He's from the inner city, and is African-American; he does his homework, he loves his siblings and cousins, and he loves his parents. He's smart, overweight, enjoys video games, hip-hop, and basketball. Yet his life is about to change forever, and in a completely unexpected fashion.

The book starts when Louis and his best friend Brandon go to a mysterious junkyard. There, he finds a hidden amusement park with all sorts of fun and interesting things to do, including racing radio-controlled cars against other kids (yet another of Louis's passions). But something about all this makes him wonder; how is this possible? And why all the secrecy?

Soon after, Louis falls into a coma, and no one can wake him for three months. He has adventures while in the coma he can't remember (referred to in "Book 1 1/2, Olivion's Favorites") and he knows something is radically wrong. He now is well-muscled, if no taller, and he's thin -- something he's never wanted to be. Plus, now he has powers that can be described either as scientific or magical, depending on your point of view -- he can do things that normal humans can't, such as walk on water or run long distances without tiring. Further, now the Earth has odd things called Crims that cause trouble for Louis and his family, yet never used to exist; what are they doing there? And there's someone called Galonious Imperial Evil who only wants to "free" others from their boring, mundane lives -- but in so doing, he also releases all their inhibitions, and people who come into contact with him often lose any morality they previously had, not to mention their ethics and conscience of wrong-doing. The reason for all this has to do with a mysterious figure called the Olivion, and Louis really doesn't know anything about the Olivion, so he's truly confused by all this for a great deal of time.

I don't want to spoil the fun for you, so I'll stop my review there -- but I will tell you this _is_ a fun book that both kids and adults will enjoy. CLE doesn't talk down to his readers; these kids are smart, savvy, interesting and funny, and they know when something is badly wrong. I found this aspect -- that of giving kids more credit than most authors usually do in knowing their own minds -- highly appealing and refreshing, and believe anyone who gives this book a chance will do the same.

This isn't a perfect book, but it's a very fun, lively, and interesting book. I enjoyed reading it immensely, and am glad I gave it a chance. (I previously read and reviewed "Olivion's Favorites" and didn't completely understand it; it is not a stand-alone novel in the traditional sense, but relies instead heavily upon this book.) Louis Proof is a kid I firmly enjoyed reading about and getting to know, and I hope he'll have many more adventures to come.

A strong four-star effort. Highly recommended for kids and adults who love fantasy, science fiction, coming of age stories, or tales about African-American kids that don't marginalize or diminish them in any way, shape or form.

Barb Caffrey