The Adventures of Dod

The Adventures of Dod by Thomas R. Williams

(Summary taken from the back cover of the book) "Years ago, a father went missing. Recently, a grandfather died. Now, fourteen-year-old Cole finds himself inexplicably transported to the world of Green, a place where he must use his special abilities and unique friendships to solve mysteries and, ultimately, try to stop an evil villain named The Dread."

First let me explain how I came about this book. The elementary school my children used to attend received a few boxes of this book, intended for each student in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. A few people in my book group work at the school and the principal asked if our book group would review it before they handed them out to the children. Interesting. So, of course, we decided we better review it.

I'm torn with this one. Usually I know exactly what I want to say. I just finished all 507 pages and I don't know. I'll start with this.....it was okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. Do I want my 4th grader to read it? I don't know. The first few pages are quite violent, and there are some violent scenes in it following that (poisonings, sword fights, scary creatures, characters dying), but the whole story is not that violent. My problem with this book is that I kind of don't get it. I know it's part of a series, but there are so many unanswered questions, so many things that just don't make sense to me. There are a ton of characters and places and I couldn't keep any of it straight. Things are not explained very well in the book. For example, Cole, the main character, ends up in this other world. He's never been there before, but yet he "remembers" some things. Huh? He has memories of some events and places and people that he's never been to or met. How? Why does he know some things but not others?  How does he know anything at all? Maybe I shouldn't try so hard and just enjoy the read, but I can't. It really bothers me. I don't understand how he can just take some one's place and no one notices. Also, what are coosings and pots?  There are a lot of made up words that just are not fully explained or clarified. Another thing that bothered me was that the first chapter ties into the book, but it's not easily apparent. When I finished I went back and read it again and it still took me a minute to figure out how it played in.
The story itself is okay. It's interesting and could be really good, I think. There are twists and turns and surprises. There's suspense, drama, action, and a little flirting. It's just that there is so much to it that isn't fully explained, and it's so long that it takes away from the plot. My 4th and 3rd graders kept asking me if they could read it and they could, I think. My 4th grader has read all the Harry Potters and Fablehavens, and together we've read all the Percy Jacksons, so I think, in that sense, it would be okay for them to read. I just don't know if they could keep it all straight, since I couldn't. If I hadn't been reviewing it I don't know if I would have finished. I think they may lose interest because it's so confusing. I do think it is better for 4th grade boys....girls may not like it as much. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to put it all together, but it shouldn't be that hard. It's too bad because I think it could be really good. I wish he had left out a lot of the extras that ended up taking away from the storyline. Or, I wish he had just clarified and defined things a little better. An index in the back with character names and a map would have helped a lot!

I did really like the morals and lessons in the book, though. Dod doesn't pick fights, he just fights the ones he needs to. He sticks up for and respects women. He makes good decisions based on memories of his family members teaching him those things. He shows respect for elders and most authority figures and he is humble in his accomplishments. I like those things a lot and liked that part of the storyline.

Rating: PG (almost PG-13) Violence, death, but no language or "physical intimacy"

Recommendation: I guess I'll stick with 4th grade and up. If your child has read books like "Harry Potter" or "Fablehaven" then he or she should be fine reading this, if they can keep up with the characters and places.