This Book Is Not Good For You April 22nd-23rd, 2010
Dear seventh graders,
I recently read the book This Book Is Not Good For You by Pseudonymous Botch. It is the third in the series called the Secret Series.
I would give this book a ten out of ten. Not only is it fun, but it is also hilarious! The author writes in a genius way! I loved reading the books and really enjoyed them. Here are some things about the third one.
The narrative voice in this story was the author, kind of. The narrator is sort of almost another character. It is funny how he narrates as well. I love it. It is like his own story is developing while he is writing this story. He has these fun, snippy, little comments that made me smile. There would be a star after a sentence and on the bottom of the page there would be a funny comment like, “I personally cannot tell the two girls apart, but I have identified them retroactively by examining the credits on the film they were making.” Some of those are quite enjoyable to read. The narrator/author writes as though all this were real as well. I very much enjoyed this about the book.
The main character of this book I would say is a girl “named” Cass. See the author didn’t really want to give away the real name of the characters for their, and our, safety. This girl is obsessed with being a “survivalist”. She would always carry a backpack around so she might be prepared for any emergency. Oh, by the way, she is in a secret society called the Terces Society. It helps to protect us all from the secret of immortality. That, and the Midnight Sun, a group of evil alchemists so that are bent on finding out this secret. Cass is also a determined person, and strives hard to accomplish her goals. She can also be a bit harsh, and sarcastic at times, but there are all sorts of people like that out there.
The theme of this book I would say is “Value your friends, and family”. In the book Cass’s “mom” is kidnapped. I won’t tell you why I put quotation marks around the word “mom” because that would spoil part of the second book. Sorry my lips are sealed, though in the words of Pseudonymous Botch, I can be bribed with chocolate. That is a joke, you need to read the first book I the series to get it. Anyway she misses her mom terribly and tries to rescue her. That also gets herself along with her friends, in some trouble, but Cass has some loyal friends who will always help her in her time of need. They are a great team, Cass, and her friends “Max-Ernest”, and “Yoji” who likes them to refer to him as “Yo-Yoji”. The author says that there names too, are made up, but I will just start referring to them by the names he gave us. Anyway she grows to understand how good of a parent, and friends she has. That is what I think the theme of this book is.
I wish that the book didn’t end with a sort of cliffhanger. To be honest, I wish there were more books in the series. This makes it hard to know what happened to the main character. I’m not going to try to give too much away, but she does something dangerous, and we don’t get to know what happened. It just leaves us there, wondering, hungering to know what comes later. But, alas, the series ends in a way that leaves you wanting more of it. It would be nice if they added another book in the series so that you might figure it out. Instead you just have to infer. This is not too fun sometimes. It can be easier to just let someone else tell you what happened, instead of leaving you to your own devices.
I was struck by the passage “I throw myself at your feet, my queen. I am just a lowly snake“, because it shows how funny the author‘s writing is. It is funny because it is a kid who is sort of taken over by an ancestor who was a samurai! It is kind of confusing, you have to read the book to fully get it. It is just one of those awkward things that make you laugh. The boy is so different, and it is really funny to imagine him like this. Not to mention, he was talking to the mom of Cass( who’s full name is Cassandra). They had already met too! It makes you want to laugh out loud, knowing what is going on and imagining this weird situation! Imagine a boy you are friends with (by the way the boy is Yoji), and he bows, speaks in Japanese, and says this to your mom!
I was surprised by a funny note left right before chapter seventeen. It talks about how the author is a liar, and how the Midnight Sun is not what he makes it out to be . It makes you want to laugh, because it is supposedly trying to get you to join this group. Of course this group doesn’t exist… Or does it? It is also funny because it says DO NO BE ALARMED. This group is supposed to be evil so naturally you want to be alarmed right? Anyway it was slipped in the book without the author knowing (at least it was supposed to be), and it really goes along with the book because in a chapter it talks about how they need younger members to join their group. This seems to be the purpose of them putting this note in there.
This book and the entire series are very fun to read. They are enjoyable and have good stories too. I would highly recommend this series. It is really great. Those are some things about the book I read.
From,
Marissa Koci period4-5
