All About Middle Grade Review: The Colossus Rises

The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders, 1) by Peter Lerrangis, February 5, 2013. 348 pages. Published by HarperCollins. Source: borrowed from library.

One BoyJack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In a few months, he’s going to die.

One MissionJack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him.

One ProblemThe loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.

Seven WondersBecause they’re hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

First Sentence:
On the morning I was scheduled to die, a large barefoot man with a bushy red beard waddled past my house.

Well, The Colossus Rises very nearly found itself on my DNF pile. It was not that the writing was bad nor that the plot was uninteresting. It was just incredibly slow. It felt like it took an incredibly long time for anything of substance to actually happen.

To be honest, I was expecting more from this book than what I got. I expected it to be a fast read like Percy Jackson, not so slow. This book suffered from a case of things going on and yet nothing happening. Even so, I was intrigued enough to continue on, so...

What worked-
The whole rare gene/superhuman powers that could kill them. That was perhaps the reason I kept reading that and the link to the Seven Wonders. I wanted to know the why's behind the gene and why these two groups were racing to obtain the missing pieces. That was why I kept reading.

The other reason was the characters. They were weird yet interesting. While I would have liked to know more about their backstories. I do hope that in future books their history will be further explored. Like that of Jack's mom. I just know there's more to the story than the nothing that was said.

What Didn't-
The pacing! I felt that the overall story could have been more streamlined. It took entirely too long for anything important to actually happen. At times, what was happening felt more like filler rather than a true plot. And that really irritated me.

Certain aspects of the book felt like it was trying too hard to be the next blockbuster MG book. There were just things that made me feel like it was trying to capitalize on books similar to it. You know, those big action MG books that everyone knows about. Though there were things that did set it apart from the others.

Final Verdict: The Colossus Rises- Incredibly slow pacing. While not the best (nor worst) boo I've read, I am intrigued enough to give this series another chance.

The Colossus Rises earns

This book was borrowed from the library. All thoughts are my own.