Monstrous Devices: THE TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK

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I'll admit that the last few chapters felt a bit rushed and happened way too fast, but I absolutely digged that ending. I loved that Alex took control and got familiar with the macabre. Love takes us on a whirlwind tour of Europe, filled with monstrous tin robots as well as the glamour of snow clad Europe, tea and cakes! I'm really looking forward to the next book, Shadow Arts, and to see what happens next! Alex also seems poorly fleshed out to me. He's fairly 2D, and I feel he's just meant for any young boy to transpose their own identity onto so they can buy into this adventure. All we have to go on is that he likes robots, and he gets bullied. (On that note, I am really over the trope of insanely vicious bullies who get away with it right under the noses of their teachers. Bullies are sneakier, anyone that violent and monstrous would hopefully get snagged and punished.)

This grandad and grandson adventure has all the hallmarks of a whopping kids' thriller.' The Big Issue, Kids' Books of the year But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn't take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly. Just as things are getting out of hand, Alex's grandfather arrives, whisking him away from his otherwise humdrum life and into a world of strange, macabre magic.I love to read stories of machinations, robots, artificial intelligence; you name it. Can’t get enough of it. But this book, while it certainly had many robots and machinations, took a very odd and unexpected twist towards religion. It thankfully did not offer absolutes to theological questions (nor did the book delve into theology aside from a few brief conversational instances) but it was very much out of the blue.

When Alex’s grandpa shows up suddenly and whisks him on an adventure, Alex is desperately trying to figure out why. He learns gradually about robots that have taken on human characteristics and one in particular that has enough power to control an entire population. His grandpa is reluctant with information, especially information involving Alex’s father, leaving Alex to figure out the clues himself. What fun! An evil villain, a host of scary robots, big and small, and a hero with commendably bad personal habits. Loved it!' - John Flanagan, New York Times bestselling author of the Ranger's Apprentice series This grandad and grandson adventure has all the hallmarks of a whopping kids’ thriller.' The Big Issue, Kids’ Books of the year If this all sounds rather cryptic, it is. Alex’s grandfather seems to know a lot about what’s really going on, but he consistently resists spilling the beans (leaving Alex – and the reader – more than a little frustrated). What exactly is this little tin robot and why does it seem to have some sort of magical power? Who are the weird people trying to get their hands on it, and what are the mechanical flying things they seem to control? The whole thing has something to do with religious mythology that may or may not be real (the weird people believe in it, but Alex’s grandfather poo-poos it, even as he risks his life – and Alex’s – to stop whatever might happen). While the grandfather didn't grow on me, I liked Alex's character. He embodied the innocence of a twelve year old thrust into a world of magic and secrets that he was struggling to understand. I think Alex's youth and him still trying to grasp the truth about his broken family makes the events of the story much better.Prague has a rich, beautiful, and fearful history at times. This is hinted at and could be employed fully to really explore why the Golem is there, what role the Charles Bridge plays, along with the other important (and perhaps magical) buildings and locations.

What fun! An evil villain, a host of scary robots, big and small, and a hero with commendably bad personal habits. Loved it!”— John Flanagan, New York Times bestselling author of the Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband series He did get on my nerves at times. I can see why the author would go "Oh, I'm going to let grandfather smoke a cigaret but then make him repeat two times Alex should never do that since it's bad for your health!" Not only regarding smoking, but different subjects. I couldn't help think that maybe.. you shouldn't make his grandfather do those things in the first place then? The whole "yeah, you shouldn't do this yourself, Alex"-thing got repetitive after a while and I didn't like it. [It might definitely not be an issue for younger readers, but it got to me, okay.] And so begins a high-octane adventure as Grandfather whisks Alex away first to Paris, then charging across Europe to Prague on a mission to find the evil power hunting Alex’s tin robot.When twelve-year-old Alex receives an old tin robot in the post, the note from his grandfather simply reads: 'This one is special'. But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn't take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly. I can definitely see children enjoying this fantastical story a lot - goosebumps and all! It helps how the events keep following one another so you barely have room for a breather and.. I think that's exactly what this age group needs in books? I might be wrong, but.. I can imagine some kids needing a book that grabs and holds their attention because event after event after event happens. Right from the prologue, Damien Love instils a sense of mystery in us readers, giving us the sense of an impending doom. You start thinking 'oh lovely, sweet' and it soon turns into 'oh damn, that was dark'! There wasn't a miss in the adventurous tone of the story and throughout, we journey along as our MC face challenges after challenges. This book has all the classic enjoyable tropes — young protagonist kept in the dark about unnatural circumstances and lore by an older/elderly figure, and the two go off on a wild adventure full of action, chase, asked and unanswered questions, and mysterious power.

This book is a fabulous choice for teachers! It serves as the springboard for numerous lesson ideas. A science unit in which students learn about the five simple machines then employ that knowledge by designing and constructing their own robots. Mathematical concepts obviously will be needed in conjunction with the construction as well as in determining the distance traveled by the novel's young protagonist, Alex, and his grandfather as they trek across Europe. That adventure easily lends itself to a unit on geography. History comes into play by studying the invention and different applications of robots over the years. (You could even debate the merits of automation of jobs.) Language arts lessons are seemingly endless; rewriting the ending, writing the story from one of the robots' points of view, changing the setting, etc. Vocabulary, spelling, you name it, this book is a gold mine! His grandfather was pretty obnoxious in general. He was constantly flippant and capable of solving any problem they came across easily, leaving little to no sense of actual danger. He was also incredibly cavalier with the life of his grandson. He sent a robot to him knowing full well it could put him in danger because he didn't want this other group to have it. What the flip Gramps?When twelve-year-old Alex receives an old tin robot in the post, the note from his grandfather simply reads: ‘This one is special’. But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn’t take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly.