Kindle recommendations have come as something of a blessing and curse to me in the past. I was looking for a challenge, hoping for one really, that was also quick and easy to read so I could get through it at a good pace. I've also said before that I don't mind reading books targeted for younger audiences, because they can be just as good as anything else so long as it doesn't talk down to its audience and respects there intelligence. This book...well, it wants to be more but doesn't exactly manage. Let's take a look.
Peter prides himself as being one of the smartest people in his hometown, despite only being twelve years old. This tends to earn him ridicule from classmates but all he wants to do is put together his puzzles and games in peace. One day, he comes across the mysterious Mr. Winchester who has a proposition for Peter: he and a few chosen friends must pass a test by the weather god Zoltan to keep him occupied enough not to destroy the world on a whim. Peter and his friends take one the challenge but can their wits match that of an ancient and tricky being?
So, this book really wants us to think that Peter is a genius. They constantly talk about how smart he is, they talk about the complex inner workings of his mind (which mainly consists of counting down the seconds are in a minute and how many minutes it takes to get out of class and things like that) and Peter himself goes on and on about how he's always right and how he can solve any kind of puzzle or figure any situation out. Well, wrong. Wrong. Just wrong. This kid is not smart! If anything he's just annoying! By thinking he's oh so smart and that he's always right, he jumps to conclusions that anyone could see through, he throws huge tantrums when he can't figure things out, and he's socially incompetent to the point of outright silliness! (and this is coming from someone who has a legit social disorder)
Okay, so Peter is annoying, that's bad. The other characters aren't that annoying...but there's not much there for them. You know exactly what type of person they are, what their role is, and what their place is going to be in the story. The quirky comic relief, the love interest, and the distant older brother who just doesn't understand his younger brother. Mr. Winchester is just a stereotypical mentor character. We never even see Zoltan, who isn't so much of an antagonist or villain as opposed to plot device. There's just nothing all that special about them. I just couldn't really get invested with them.
The plot of this story also kinda suffered. We spend way too long in this "practice" part of the story, which takes a kind of plot cul-de-sac involving a misunderstand that goes absolutely nowhere, a "liar revealed" cliche that I absolutely hate causing someone to leave just so they can serve as a deus ex machina at the end. This is where being a younger reader book causes the story to suffer. Even little kids have seen this kind of stuff a hundred times. It takes a safe route that guarantees conflict (albeit forced conflict) and doesn't try anything new.
Now, I'm not saying the entire thing was awful. The heart of the story is in the puzzles and the solutions that the characters work to find, which is where the best stuff is. The solutions are clever, everyone gets their moment to shine, and the situations are creative. This leads to the second half of the book being much more tolerable than the first. The plot is finally moving, we get to see the puzzles that we were promised, and while it plays out predictably we still get to see everything come together as planned.
Final Verdict
With a predictable plot and pretentious protagonist are big factors weighing this thing down, it's still a quick, easy read with interesting brain teasers. While younger readers might find it okay, anyone older than thirteen wanting to pick this up might want to save their cash and check it out at your local library.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller
Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242
Next Time: Murder on the....not Orient Express
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