Book Review: Beyonders by Brandon Mull

It's another Marvelous Middle Grade Monday and I'm pleased to offer up a guest review from one of the toughest book critics you'll ever hear from: my 11-year-old son. A huge Brandon Mull fan, he insisted that we pre-order Beyonders as soon as he heard about it. Then he spent the 24 hours after it arrived, reading it from cover to cover.

I haven't had a chance to read this book yet, but based on his review, I think I'll be sneaking into his room after he goes to school to check it out for myself :-)

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Being eaten by a hippo is both a good start for a book and something funny that you would never want to happen to you.

I've read all of Brandon Mull’s books and this is one of his best. It starts off with Jason, a 13-year-old who works at the zoo, getting swallowed by a hippopotamus and traveling to an alternate dimension called Lyrian. He meets another Beyonder (what the Lyrians call people from Earth), a girl his age named Rachel. Together, they set off on a quest to find the word to unmake the evil wizard emperor, Maldor, and find a way home.

Let’s start with the cons. It is a bit TOO coincidental that two Beyonders end up in the same place, on the same day, and find each other at the same palace. And did he need to bring a girl in so that it would appeal to female readers as well? I don't think so. This is a great adventure that would appeal to most girls even if there wasn't a girl main character. Also, the last ten pages are too quick and what happens is extremely unlikely.

Now that I’ve finished with the bad stuff, I’ll tell you the good stuff. The writing was excellent, and the elements he mixed into it felt extremely cinematic. The way Jason is dragged into the quest is realistic, and he acts like an actual person. What I mean by this is that he doesn’t become a leader and take up the quest willingly and give his life for the other world. He just wants to go home. The story has plenty of action to keep readers entertained. Plus, the ending had an interesting twist to it, but I won’t give you any specifics. Some of the things that happen in the story might be too intense for young kids, but this is a really good book for older middle grade readers.

Rating: 7.8/10
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