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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Well Done!, May 26, 2011
I really enjoyed this novel. Rodden has taken the toon world a created a wonderful story about their universe--it's completely original and something we don't think about much: what is life like for a toon? I found this novel to be extremely humorous and well written, and Rodden's explanations of toon life and abilities is fascinating. For instance, I've never thought about why toons can run off cliffs and not fall until they look down, but Rodden explains why this is so, and it's an ingenious explanation! I found this a lot as I read--Rodden is very thorough and it's obvious that he's spent a lot of time thinking about, and refining, explanations for the strange capabilities toons possess.
I loved the writing style Rodden uses. It's told from two different perspectives, one from Special Agent Mimic, from the human world, and one from Gemini, the human boy sent to Toonopolis for research purposes. It was enlightening to read about Mimic's plans and thoughts as he read up on the research being conducted, and I liked that it switched viewpoints so the reader can see inside both Gemini's and Special Agent Mimic's mind. I think this is a very interesting way to present a story, and I highly enjoyed it, especially the revelation about the Shadowy figure at the end of the novel--I never saw it coming!
The characters within the novel are hilarious, and I especially liked Jimbob the talking eggplant. As I was reading the novel I kept snorting with laughter, and my students, who were taking a test, were highly alarmed at the guffaws and snorts I kept making. I just couldn't control myself, it was highly funny, and for some reason I kept thinking about Animaniacs; that same sense of humor permeates this novel and makes it an awesome read.
I love that this novel is age appropriate, for MG and YA, but it can also make adults laugh, and so it transpires the age gaps and is, in my opinion, appropriate for all ages. Check it out; you won't be disappointed! Four stars!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How can you not love it?, September 2, 2011
This review is from: Toonopolis: Gemini (Toonopolis Files, #1) (Kindle Edition)
As much as I've thought about it, I'm still finding it difficult to see how I can possibly do justice to the imaginative, wonderful, glorious feat of writing that is Toonopolis. Jeremy Rodden has taken the best and worst of a range of things that were dear to us in our childhoods (but probably drove our parents crackers) and remain endearing to us now as - even though we are allegedly adults - we prove ourselves to be simply bigger kids.
Toonopolis is like putting on a time travelling fluffy dressing gown covered in fairies or footballs that transports you to every Saturday morning of your youth and adolescence and every snatched moment of your adulthood where you pretended you weren't watching Dungeons and Dragons, Donald Duck or Thundercats but were secretly loving every minute. It encapsulates the lack of logic that surrounds not only cartoons but also video games and how willing we are to suspend disbelief in our quest for entertainment but also shows how, when we are willing to do that, things can be much much more enjoyable.
As a `grown up' who readily admits to recently watching all 80 episodes of Batfink, wiling away hours on World of Warcraft and loving Studio Ghibli, there are some cringing moments in the book for me. Not, let me hasten to add, that I'm cringing at the author's work: absolutely NOT. Instead, I'm cringing at myself. Yep, I've spent that Saturday morning killing rats in a basement in a quest similar to one Gemini is offered. I've built up a party that - whilst it seemed logical at the time - had as much sense to it as Gemini's band of merry men (including talking Eggplant, mechanical dog and Miss Fire). And I've loved every minute.
Toonopolis is a bundle of fun but it does have some serious underlying messages to it too, including the importance of not leaping to conclusions without all the facts and the necessity of accepting yourself rather than constantly trying to fight against what or who you are. Additionally, it has an ending that raises many questions and leaves you wondering, thoughtful and wanting more. Thankfully this is only book one of the Toonopolis Files so we can share a cheer that there's more of this wonderful world to encounter.
How can you not love a book that is, in essence, an Alice in Wonderland for the modern era? Or in which distance is measured in PEZ candies? Or where the author paradoxically uses an impressive and varied vocabulary so deftly to tell a story that makes you feel young enough to have a spelling book again? This is a book for everyone who accepts that as logical as they may think they are, there's still a bit of the illogical rebellious Saturday morning slob in them. And really, it's a book for all those people who aren't like that because, by the end of it, they will be.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun book for the young and young at heart, June 6, 2011
Jeremy Rodden's debut fantasy novel is a fun little read, suitable for grades 5 through the bifocal set. Lighthearted, with plenty of little in jokes about comics and cartoons in general.
Our Hero, "Gemini" is a young teen boy, taken to wearing bright colors- which when he gets sent to a cartoon world, makes him fit in pretty well. Slightly reminiscent of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" here we never run into any of the better known comic characters (and the book actually has a good reason for that!), but still plenty of archetypes, who fans will have fun identifying.
Jeremy also has made a link between our world and Toonopolis, a very important link between creator and created, one which lends an air of danger and immediacy to Gemini's tour of this fantastic world.
You'll love some of the characters that populate Toonopolis, such as Jim-Bob the Talking Eggplant.
Jeremy also keeps it family friendly and mostly light, nothing too scary or dark here.
I am looking forward to more by this new author!
I rcvd a copy for review.
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