Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson
December 2010 by WorldMaker Media
From the Publisher:
Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.
Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!
Review:
You would think that shooting fire out of your finger would be pretty awesome for a kid. Priscilla thought so too until she realized she put everyone around her at risk. Priscilla tries to keep her secret kept to herself, but soon, she is lighting things on fire all around her. Even hugging or kissing a boy has it's dangers. (don't ask her about the "sex video") When Priscilla's parents learn of her strange ability, years of secrets and lies begin to crumble. Her mother has always been an absent parent, but to Priscilla's surprise, there are very good reasons why her mom missed her birthday celebrations. It seems that Priscilla isn't the only one with special abilities. When her family is kidnapped, Priscilla must fight a government operation to genetically produce killers. Even though she has special skills, can Priscilla fight off armed guards with their own abilities?
This book was quite the page turner. Even though the book is relatively long for a middle grade book, each page is dived up into several paragraphs making it a breeze to read. Priscilla is funny, witty, sarcastic, and full of charm. She tells us about farting on her brother and even a game called Snot Wars. After she learns of her powers, she begins to think that she may be an alien. There are several scenes of inner dialogue of her hashing out the odds that she is from space. Very funny! Her humor and inner worries about how she came into her powers are what make this book special.
There is a lot of mystery and adventure (even a bit of violence) to keep the story interesting for a male reader. The end is very climatic and exciting, and we are easily set up for book two. Overall, very cute and a great pick for a middle grader!
4 Stars
My review copy is up for grabs to one lucky winner!
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Must fill out the form below to be officially entered
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