The 8th Continent Hardcover – September 16, 2014

This was as advertised

Great service.

The 8th Continent has broad appeal in the age of its readers and their interests, but if your kids love science, technology, and biology, you have to give them this book. There are lots of teachable moments throughout, from little quizzes forced upon the main characters — 10-year-old Evie and her 11-year-old brother, Rick — to discussions you can have with young readers about ecology, zoology, and even morality and family dynamics. There’s also plenty of action and excitement with some tense chapters that will keep you turning the pages, and I often laughed out loud. So adults will enjoy reading this adventure with their kids, too.

The book starts with a cool premise: convert all the plastic - both large pieces and shreds - in the Great Pacific Garbage patch into organic matter and build an island. It's all downhill from there, though: bad science, bad writing, no character development. My son and I stuck with it until we got to a throw-away line where 11 year-old Vesuvia Piffle, our antagonist, says, "Daddy pays me fifty thousand US dollars a month *not* to drown my new puppy in the kitchen sink. It's awesome! And the joke's on Daddy, because I don't even *want* to do that again. After the first time, what's the point?" The School Library Journal review is spot on.

Despite problems and hurdles galore, this book felt so joyful! Full of humor, fantastic one-liners and asides, a nice dynamic between the brother and sister, and engaging parents--not to mention one of the best evil villains ever! (I mean she's a blonde 11yo who loves pink and plastic and is the secret CEO of CondoCorp--what's not to love/hate?) The Eighth Continent is a very happy book and sure to be a happy place.

I loved everything it was so intense! You should definitely check this book out! (And its a long one too!)

The Lane family is at it again! Evie and Rick along with their scientist father trespass on to Winterpole protected land to save an endangered bird. Unfortunately, this is illegal. They are caught and Dad is put under house arrest. Evie is worried about how this will look at school and Rick is worried about what Mom will do when she finds out. In a basement laboratory, the kids stumble on plans for a formula called the Eden compound which turns garbage into living matter. The kids set out to find this formula in order to turn the Garbage Patch into an 8th continent where Winterpole cannot rule and animals can have sanctuary. But first they must break into Winterpole, get past their nemesis Vesuvia Piffle (who also wants the formula for her own evil plans), find the doctor who has the other half of the formula, and not get caught by mom. It's a race to see whether the Eden formula will be used for good or for evil.As I was reading this book, I felt like I was watching a Nickelodeon cartoon show with its fast pace ridiculousness. It took a while for me to get into the story because of the many strange "sciency" descriptions and the many catch phrases that I had to read twice because I didn't quite get them the first time. Such as:"Rick screamed like his server was down for maintenance." Huh?"Rick flapped his arms like a grumpy eagle.""Walking felt like he had stepped in a steak-sized wad of masticated chewing gum."And although the story had a good premise of turning garbage into paradise it seemed ridiculous that these kids could do anything in the world to keep the plot moving along even though they were little kids. The main characters were not terribly interesting. Evie is considered stupid, impetuous, and more worried about how she will fit in at school than anything. Rick is super smart, is not proud of his dad who gets in trouble with Winterpole a lot, and doesn't want to go along with saving the earth. Dad can't seem to do anything right except invent new things. He leaves the kids to solve the world's problems. And mom is constantly saying UN-AC-CEPTABLE to everything.But my biggest concern is Vesuvia Piffle who won't own anything unless it is made out of pink plastic. She is the daughter of the CEO of a major corporation and she is a bully. She is unbelievably violent for a kids novel. She once set a girl on fire for wearing the same dress and her father pays her $50,000 a month not to drown any more puppies. She attempts to murder Rick and Evie at least twice and she screams like a raving lunatic.I found the characters and the plot to be shallow and the descriptions to be overworked, making it difficult to get through the story in one sitting. Children who grew up on a steady diet of Nikelodeon will enjoy this highly commercial story, but for those looking for a serious read, I would give it a pass.

I got to read Matt London's delightful book, The 8th Continent and Yes it is perfect for 8 to 12 years old but I enjoyed it as a younger me would have. It was full of those moments in a great story that you can't wait to read the next page to see what happens next and now I look forward to the next book to come. Great book for a young excited mind!