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Eh, it was okay, short and silly. Some of the art is hit or miss, but I liked the easter eggs from the old series.
Hackerteen: Internet Blackout by Marcelo Marques (112 pages) read like an educational cartoon such as the ones with a measly ten minutes of fun plot and then twenty minutes of stuff you are supposed to learn.
STORY:
Yago was a boy too consumed with computers, so his parents, afraid he would go down the wrong path, sent him to an ethical computer-hacking academy. While there he met a group of mismatched computer hacking kids, who were flat as cardboard cutouts. Seriously, I only knew like two of the group of four/five kids' names.
After being converted to the ways of computer-hacking righteousness (to be honest, Yago never did anything wrong beforehand. His parents just freaked out instead of limiting his computer-use), Yago's family runs into money troubles. As his hacking skills improved, Yago receives suspicious calls for NOT ETHICAL *gasp* hacking.
I did not quite understand the hacking academy. What was the significance of the monks, and why did the school give out colored belts like a karate class?
CHARACTERS:
Could you even call the cast characters? Yago was supremely bland, actually, the whole cast was. Maybe Hackerteen was meant to be more story-driven as opposed to character-driven?
ART:
The artwork was a bit wonky but quirky. There are some nice artistic moments but mainly it is below average. Also, Yago's character design leaves a lot to be desired. As a twelve-year-old, he dressed like a normal kid, but at seventeen he looked like an anime character, a Speed Racer-reject to be exact.
OVERALL:
Eh, this book was not entertaining at all. It was just too dry like cornbread down your throat without a drink to wash it down. I did not have high expectations for this story, so at least I was not disappointed.
I could only recommend this to someone younger than ten years old. Not sure if anyone older, who was not a parent, would appreciate it.
STORY:
Yago was a boy too consumed with computers, so his parents, afraid he would go down the wrong path, sent him to an ethical computer-hacking academy. While there he met a group of mismatched computer hacking kids, who were flat as cardboard cutouts. Seriously, I only knew like two of the group of four/five kids' names.
After being converted to the ways of computer-hacking righteousness (to be honest, Yago never did anything wrong beforehand. His parents just freaked out instead of limiting his computer-use), Yago's family runs into money troubles. As his hacking skills improved, Yago receives suspicious calls for NOT ETHICAL *gasp* hacking.
I did not quite understand the hacking academy. What was the significance of the monks, and why did the school give out colored belts like a karate class?
CHARACTERS:
Could you even call the cast characters? Yago was supremely bland, actually, the whole cast was. Maybe Hackerteen was meant to be more story-driven as opposed to character-driven?
ART:
The artwork was a bit wonky but quirky. There are some nice artistic moments but mainly it is below average. Also, Yago's character design leaves a lot to be desired. As a twelve-year-old, he dressed like a normal kid, but at seventeen he looked like an anime character, a Speed Racer-reject to be exact.
OVERALL:
Eh, this book was not entertaining at all. It was just too dry like cornbread down your throat without a drink to wash it down. I did not have high expectations for this story, so at least I was not disappointed.
I could only recommend this to someone younger than ten years old. Not sure if anyone older, who was not a parent, would appreciate it.
Caveboy Dave by Aaron Reynolds and Phil McAndrew (239 pg) is a pleasant surprise rampant with gross-out and clever humor. Even though its audience is children, it does not treat them as if they are stupid. I had not expected much from this book, but it has earned a new fan. Dave is a loveable but, of course, misunderstood inventor, who comes from a long-line of cavemen inventors. During the caveman equivalent of a coming-of-age ceremony, he tries to find himself and not get killed. I enjoyed the cast of characters and actually laughed a few times. I will be reading the sequel!
Pleasant illustrations and fun characters! I want to read the next book in the series now.