The Story:
In this book we find Ash, May, and Brock in the Kanto region looking forward to earning some Frontier Symbols. Tagging along is May's little brother, Max.
As the story opens we find all four watching a flock of Altaria and Swablu flying over the mountains. They gape in wonder at the beauty of the scene until they notice that something is seriously wrong. Not only are the flying Pokemon confused and flying in circles, but all of their Poke balls and devices have stopped working.
The chaos is finally stopped when an old friend, Ranger Solana, appears. Thankfully she has the equipment and the knowledge to help the Pokemon. But what she doesn't have is an answer as to why everyone else's equipment refused to work.
Turns out that solar flares, magnetic flux, and a hurt Deoxys is at the root of the problem. A Deoxys that, of course, Team Rocket would like to claim.
Without totally outlining the story for you, let me just say that this adventure doesn't focus on Ash as much as it does Max. It's him and Meowth that the Deoxys communicates with. And Max and Meowth that prove pivotal to solving this mystery.
In addition, the storyline bifurcates in this book along two lines, and readers will follow the action of two characters --Ash and Max-- instead of the normal one. Now this is a common device in adult books and even many television shows, so it might not be as much of a stumbling block as I'm suggesting it might be. Adults though, might just want to check in with kids to make sure they aren't getting bogged down or confused.
As the story opens we find all four watching a flock of Altaria and Swablu flying over the mountains. They gape in wonder at the beauty of the scene until they notice that something is seriously wrong. Not only are the flying Pokemon confused and flying in circles, but all of their Poke balls and devices have stopped working.
The chaos is finally stopped when an old friend, Ranger Solana, appears. Thankfully she has the equipment and the knowledge to help the Pokemon. But what she doesn't have is an answer as to why everyone else's equipment refused to work.
Turns out that solar flares, magnetic flux, and a hurt Deoxys is at the root of the problem. A Deoxys that, of course, Team Rocket would like to claim.
Without totally outlining the story for you, let me just say that this adventure doesn't focus on Ash as much as it does Max. It's him and Meowth that the Deoxys communicates with. And Max and Meowth that prove pivotal to solving this mystery.
Thoughts:
I thought the plotting and the 'science' concepts in Deoxys in Danger were more sophisticated than in the previous books in the Battle Frontier series. Part of the storyline, for example, involves solar flares and the resulting magnetic flux that could be experienced on earth. I'm not totally convinced that younger readers, particularly those youngsters reading above grade-level, are going to understand what is meant.In addition, the storyline bifurcates in this book along two lines, and readers will follow the action of two characters --Ash and Max-- instead of the normal one. Now this is a common device in adult books and even many television shows, so it might not be as much of a stumbling block as I'm suggesting it might be. Adults though, might just want to check in with kids to make sure they aren't getting bogged down or confused.
Finally, there's a part of the story where Deoxys takes over Meowth's body so that he can use it to speak to Max. Most kids won't be creeped out by this, but there might be a few that this will bother. Use your discretion.
THE SKINNY:::
Deoxys in Danger is my least favorite book of the four in this series. The plotting doesn't seem as tight as in the other three books, and Ms. West has used some literary techniques that I'm not sure won't cause some younger readers to balk when they run across them.
As a whole though, I highly recommend the series as Pokemon and Ash are a great motivational team whose adventures will keep kids turning pages. My own son has never taken more than 2 reading sessions to finish a book.
In addition, Tracy West's writing is vastly superior to many other authors I've seen in the early chapter book genre. This just the weakest book in an otherwise good series.
As a whole though, I highly recommend the series as Pokemon and Ash are a great motivational team whose adventures will keep kids turning pages. My own son has never taken more than 2 reading sessions to finish a book.
In addition, Tracy West's writing is vastly superior to many other authors I've seen in the early chapter book genre. This just the weakest book in an otherwise good series.
Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs
Battle Frontier:
DEOXYS IN DANGER
by Tracey West
Word Count: 6753
Page Count: 48
Accelerated Reading level: 3.3 / points: 1.0
AR quiz: 120064
Lexile: 440L
See our reviews of:
Celebi Rescue #2
Grovyle Trouble #3
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