14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reads like a Disney Channel TV show. Good, silly fun, May 20, 2009
This review is from: On the Run (Elijah Project, The) (Paperback)
Zach, Piper, and Elijah are on their way to school when a little girl and her dog are hit by a car. Press arrive on the scene shortly and manage to record six-year-old Elijah perform a miracle. The boy lifted the dead dog into his lap and whispered in its ear and the dog woke up, healthy as could be.
When the reporters close in on her brother, Piper knows this isn't a good thing. She grabs him and runs off for the school. But not fast enough. A group of bad guys saw the footage from their hotel room and give chase. They've been after this Elijah boy for a while. Now, the Dawkins family is on the run again.
This was a fun, short read. I read it to my seven-year-old in an afternoon. As always, Myers creates fun characters with great dialogue. This looks to be a really fun series for younger readers, though for the adult, it reads like a Disney Channel TV show. Good, silly fun. Recommended.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Goof-Ball Express, September 6, 2009
This review is from: On the Run (Elijah Project, The) (Paperback)
I think I got the wrong first impression of Bill Myers. I first discovered his books in my local library, and started in on THE FORBIDDEN DOORS series, which was definitely a more serious offering from Myers. Since then, I've read some of his other books (the Wally McDoogle series, and the Imager books), and I just haven't been super-impressed. Those books are a little more focused on comedy -- just being goofy. Which has its place in the world of fiction, and I will not deny it. I've never been the biggest fan of comedy, and that's probably why I wasn't super excited over his newest series, THE ELIJAH PROJECT. I started reading ON THE RUN, and I have to admit: it took me a while to get through even though it's pretty short.
The story focuses in on three kids: Zach, the oldest, Piper, the middle-child, and Elijah, the youngest with the strange gifts. After their parents are kidnapped, it's up to the three kids to stay just one step ahead of the thugs after them and to protect Elijah from The Organization that is after his gifts. The kids go through one adventure after the next trying to just escape.
The writing isn't bad. It keeps up with typical Myers fare. But it's the comedy / goofiness that I couldn't stand. I think if Myers had taken a much more serious turn at these books, they would have been downright amazing. He's got a great plot idea, and some good stuff going, but it just gets bogged down in typical baddies: the big oaf whose so stupid he doesn't know what he's doing, and the skinny smart guy with the gun. And the dorky friend who creates inventions named things like "The Nuclear Dental Flosser" and "The Helio-Hopper." And then there's the super-good-looking guy that Piper falls in love with, and who is so modest he doesn't understand the effect he has on girls. Everything was just a little too out of the Disney goof playbook.
I know Myers is capable of creating great stuff, and maybe someone would love reading a more goofy adventure story like ON THE RUN and its sequels, but this just didn't work for me. I was hoping it would be more of a straight up thriller adventure. But it just wasn't.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, July 27, 2009
A Kid's Review
This review is from: On the Run (Elijah Project, The) (Paperback)
This here was a great book. I read it online off a website and it was amazing. I couldn't wait until I could get the number 2 book. It's very interesting how a six-year-old could make miracles. And then how Zach and Piper had to run away from the other people in a green van. (I think it was green). And how Cody and William helped them out. I loved the book.
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