Customer Reviews

"Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?"

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In 1992, Avi published, "Who was that Masked Man Anyway?" a book that is set in America at the time of the Second World War. Avi's story is both entertaining and instructive to read. The main themes in this book are the use of radio dialogue, how entertainment helps people escape from reality, and friendship.

The main characters in this book are a boy named Frankie, his friend Mario, his brother Tom, and his teacher Ms. Gomez. Frankie is obsessed with his radio programs and wants to "rid the world of all evil". Mario on the other hand, usually doesn't want to be a part of Frankie's adventures. Mario is a straight A student and isn't really the heroic type because his father died in the war. Frankie is the leader and Mario is the follower. Tom was a soldier who fought in the Pacific against Japan. After getting wounded in a battle, he came back to Frankie's house and is currently living there. Ms. Gomez is also an important character because she is trying to help Frankie do well in school. Frankie has a big problem: he is failing 6th grade. Three days after Tom comes back from fighting in the war, Frankie concocts a "fantastic" plan: to get Tom to marry his teacher so that he won't have to repeat 6th grade. Mario is eventually dragged into this mess and the two boys go on many adventures. In the end, Frankie is able to almost finish his plan. Ms. Gomez and Tom marry, but part that didn't work out was that he still had to do 6th grade again.

The use of radio dialogue in this book was a major part of the book. It made the book unlike any other. Using the dialogue, you were able to show action and adventurous journeys. An example would be in the beginning, Frankie was listening to "Captain Midnight," a popular radio show at the time.

"In a small, bombproof dugout the light of a candle flickers across the strained face of a general of the Allied army. Outside, the night is dark and cold. Suddenly, we hear--"
"Major Steel?"
"Sir everything is prepared."
"You've found the man?"
"I have."
"Bring him in"
"Yes Sir. You can come in now Captain."
"You have your instructions Captain?"
"Yes sir."
"If you fail tonight, it will be the end for all of us."
"Yes sir."
"Your ultimate goal is to exterminate a fiend, coward, and traitor. I mean the one known as... Ivan Carr."
"I understand."
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes sir."
"You are a brave man, Captain. Now Godspeed."
"Thank you, sir."
"And so, into the night roars a plane piloted by a lone man upon whose shoulders rest the fate of his country."
"Hours later--"

A reader can tell the setting, the character's emotions, and the way that the people talked from just reading dialogue. You could show basically anything by just writing skillful dialogue. I think that this book is a comic without graphics. In other words, writing is one of the most effective ways of showing things. You can also get a lot of entertainment from just listening. An example is so simple: stories! When you hear or read a good story, you can see the entire thing in front of you, and it is very entertaining. You can get so consumed by the story, that you feel like you are there. This feeling is satisfying and fulfilling. I never knew that dialogue could be used so effectively to convey action and show the personalities of the characters.

Entertainment is a temporary escape from reality. Like Frankie, many people buy video games, watch movies, and surf the Internet to take a break from the harassing truth of life. During WWII, life was very difficult, and thousands of people tuned to the radio. People today are very similar to people back in the 1940s. Today they buy video games and watch movies, to temporarily forget about the economy or war in Afghanistan. This is a very ineffective ploy if you ask me. There is nothing you can do to forget about what is really going on, except if you are able to stop it. Frankie though, wanted to be part of the challenges during his time. His creativity from the radio fueled a passion to become a spy for the Allied army. Electronics and other fun things will not help you end the harsh challenges that you encounter in life. Frankie made this mistake. A moral from this book is that there is no way to leave reality. Instead, try and do something about it.

My last theme the author develops is friendship. A good friend is somebody that is honest to you and won't make you do something that you don't want to do. In my opinion, Frankie is not a good friend at all. He forces Mario to accompany him on his adventures, gets Mario in trouble, and generally doesn't heed to Mario's wishes. By playing on Mario's emotions, Frankie manipulates him. If I were Mario, I would avoid Frankie. Although Frankie isn't a good friend, he is the ideal hero and Mario is the unwilling sidekick. An example for Frankie being the leader would be when Frankie leads Mario to spy on Ms. Gomez at the park. Mario, who wanted to make a hasty retreat, was forced to come along. This is why he is the unwilling sidekick. I think that Mario should've stood up for himself and said that he didn't want to come. Friendship is crucial in this book because the two boys are constantly with each other and the friendship makes up a good part of the book.

I recommend this book to anybody who likes a good laugh. It's witty, charming, and plainly funny. I hope you read this book.

... I was intrigued by the 1940's backdrop (I loved Number the Stars and Summer of my German Soldier--this was nothing like them at all). It is a comic romp following a pair of over-imaginate boys who listen to radio shows the way modern kids watch saturday morning cartoons. Avi even includes snippets from The Green Hornet and other popular radio shows of the time. A pretty school teacher and a war-injured big brother get mixed up in the boys attempts to aid the war effort in their own unorthodox way.

Incredible! Avi has outdone himself this time. Using old radio, old wars, and new minds to create a fun, adventurous novel. His funniest book ever. If you haven't read this book yet, you haven't seen Avi's best book next to "The Man Who Was Poe."

If I could cite this book's most important aspect, it would be its use of the radio show as a plot element. Not for the sake of the plot, mind you, but rather for the sake of exposing the reader to a form of entertainment from long before their birth. This book single-handedly exposed me to characters and stories such as The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, Silver Fox, and more when I was in elementary school--fascinating characters that have long since been either abandoned or diluted over time. The radio show is a vital, historical element of American culture, and Avi's book gives these young readers a chance to learn about it in an engaging, non-academic way. I cite this book as the inspiration for my fascination in superheroes, the entertainment industry, and more. If one book I read over 15 years ago can inspire me so heavily, imagine what it can do for your child.

This was a very creative story. It shows the great imagination of a kid, and the life situations he has to deal with. It takes place around World War II, and shows you how life went on for kids during this grueling time.

A young boy in WWII era small town America is obsessed with radio programs and radio heroes such as the Lone Ranger, Sky King, and Captain Midnight. Much to the detriment of his school work and family relations, he goes about calling himself Chet Barker and his friend Mario is his trusty sidekick. He narrates adventures for them to have, suspecting his family's boarder is an evil scientist and scheming to make him leave their house. His other plan involves getting his teacher to marry his brother who was wounded in the war.
Although a reader closer to our protagonist in both age and gender may have different feelings, I find Frankie an annoying, self-centered brat whose antics could very well have hurt himself and others. He did not deserve to have things turn out as well as they did for him.
I would have ranked this book only one star, except for the fact that it is written entirely in dialogue, as though it was a radio show itself, which I found an interesting writing style and a quite redeeming quality. It must have been incredibly difficult to convey the story without relying on descriptive paragraphs, phrases such as 'Tom said exasperatedly' or even the sound effects and recognizably different voices that make an audio drama work.

this book was really cool.i liked how it would cut to the radio shows.my favorite one was "Iceman".

Beside's Harry Potter and maybe Bridge to Teribithia my favorite book! No exasuration i've read this book 24 times! I love it! It's a mix of Super Hero adventers, comedy, and mischous boys! This book has put my normal life into a whole new style! A MUST READ!

The most confusing and boring book ever was the book called "Who Was That Masked Man Anyway?" because there were two detectives and you couldn't really know who was the real detective. It takes a long time to get to your mystery, like three chapters away. When you get to the third chapter there are now two mysteries and you couldn't define who was one character and who was the other one. I would rate this book a one star because it was a really confusing book. There were details in the book that didn't fit with the mystery. The book was boring because there weren't any details that stood out to me. It was a book that was really boring and not entertaining.

Boring and easy to figure out this was not one of Avi's best. If you're looking for a good book that will keep you on the end of your seat read: True Confessions of Miss Charlotte Doyle, the Man Who was Poe, or Wolfrider.