What's summer without a fun, light, fantasy adventure? I made the first of James Dashner's "The 13th Reality" series my next pick for summer reading, anticipating a less dramatic or emotionally-engaging read than my previous two novels. I also expected nothing less than a creative, high-action plot from Dashner, author of one of my favorite dystopian adventures, The Maze Runner. This tale of adolescent bully-magnet Tick Higginbottom follows a formula that is very popular of late: youngster gets called upon to engage in some sort of hero mission involving a magic world. Many good novels have already used this storyline and knocked it out of the park, so I was a bit skeptical about Dashner's ability to make Tick's story fresh. For the most part, though, I think he does. Dashner added in some creative touches that I appreciated, including a goofy, eight-foot-tall sidekick named Mothball, a feisty Italian ally named Sofia, and the idea that quantum physics has some truth to it and can explain the existence of multiple versions of what we know to be reality. Tick's goal, along with Sofia and two other teenagers, is to save the reality we all know and exist in, Prime Reality, by thwarting evil Mistress Jane. It is difficult to dislike the characters in The Journal of Curious Letters; I definitely found myself cheering Tick and friends on through their journey of solving clues to discover their mission and trying to stop Mistress Jane. However, it was a bit predictable, and its failure to reflect most middle school students' real experiences with bullies and family may turn some readers away. (In one instance, Tick calls his tormentor "Frankenstein goat face." Can't really see that being the go-to insult used by my students!) Fun read, but I'll probably skip the rest of the series.
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