Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

Because I’m an author of action-adventure and mystery books for boys, James Patterson’s publisher asked if I’d be interested in reviewing his new book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

I’ve been a fan of some of Patterson’s work, but that was mostly because of the films that were made from his books. Remember, I’m still a bit of a reluctant reader. I also support his efforts to get kids reading through his new web site, http://www.readkiddoread.com/

I could talk about the fact that Daniel is an alien, and his parents were aliens too. After they are killed, Daniel takes up where they left off, with a list that his parents left behind.
But you’ll have no trouble finding reviews of this new book from other sources. Amazon alone has nearly 100 of them. I’d rather tell you about the book from the perspective of the reluctant boy reader.

My primary impression is that this would have been exactly the kind of book I wish I could have found as a boy. It has short chapters. Some are less than two pages, and the sentences tend to be short with a lot of dialog.

The book would be good for young readers as a gateway to reading. It‘s geared, in my opinion, to the same age of reader that I target; boys 8 and up.

If you have a tween boy in your family, or circle of family or friends, who likes science fiction stories about aliens, and heroes with super powers, you might try The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.

Max Elliot Anderson

7 comments:

Dixie Belle said...

Thanks for stopping by the Damsels blog. I will add your blog to our blog list and keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Happy new year to you. I hugely enjoy your blog, especially with 3 boys of my own and found you in homeeducator. I wonder, did you see the article in the London Times today - http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2009/01/the-books-which.html? It lists some suggested books to encourage boys to read. I haven't heard of many of them - have you? Would you recommend them?
Thank you and have a good day
Jamie

max said...

Hi Jamie,

I hadn't seen the article, but just looked at it now. I've heard of a few of the books listed. Since I haven't read any of them, I can't comment.

Great to hear from you,

Max Elliot Anderson
NEWSPAPER CAPER, NORTH WOODS POACHERS, MOUNTAIN CABIN MYSTERY, BIG RIG RUSTLERS, SECRET OF ABBOTT'S CAVE, & LEGEND OF THE WHITE WOLF are compared by readers and reviewers to Tom Sawyer, The Hardy Boys, Huck Finn, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, Scooby-Doo, Lemony Snicket, and adventure author Jack London.

Anonymous said...

Hi Max
Thanks for replying so fast! My boys already read yours :)

Unknown said...

Congrats on being asked for your review by editor. Well said, Max. Keep up good work.
Walt, CWA www.chicagowrites.org
wmcauth07@yahoo.com

Ben said...

I hope I can find this! It sounds good.

Ben, age 8

Mary Ann said...

And for those boys out there that are obsessed with their iPhones, the graphic novel version of Daniel X is now available as an eBook for the iPhone, via the Iceberg Reader on the iTunes store. You can find it here:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305402305&mt=8