All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost—an orphanage in the swampland...
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Aug 26, 2011
Krista
rated it: 
I bought this for my kid while we were on a road trip; we stopped in Oxford, MS and while my husband tromped in the footsteps of Faulkner, my kid and I spent a couple of hours at Square Books. This book was recommended by the staff there as something a kid who loves Harry Potter and Percy Jackson would enjoy.
So I bought it and handed it to Cameron; one of the first books I've given him without a pre-read. I guess I was tired.
He read it before we pulled into Nashville th More...
So I bought it and handed it to Cameron; one of the first books I've given him without a pre-read. I guess I was tired.
He read it before we pulled into Nashville th More...
Mar 31, 2011
Raenice
rated it: 
Author: Matt Myklusch
Genre: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Release Date: August, 2010
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5
Description: All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage that sinks further into the swampland of New Jersey with each passing year. His aptitude tests predict that he will spend a long, unhappy career as a toilet brush cleaner. His only chance at escape comes through the comic bo More...
Genre: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Release Date: August, 2010
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5
Description: All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage that sinks further into the swampland of New Jersey with each passing year. His aptitude tests predict that he will spend a long, unhappy career as a toilet brush cleaner. His only chance at escape comes through the comic bo More...
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Dec 01, 2010
Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids
rated it:
Jack Blank is such a brilliantly written book, with an amazing setting, wonderful characters and a lot of powerful messages written within it's pages. It's a place where all the super heros & real life heros I grew up with and even never before heard of heros, live. It makes the extraordinary seem ordinary.
Twelve year old Jack Blank has been living in a horrible orphanage, where he's constantly picked up on the bully Rex, and finds excitement in reading his comic books. Jack Blank has More...
Twelve year old Jack Blank has been living in a horrible orphanage, where he's constantly picked up on the bully Rex, and finds excitement in reading his comic books. Jack Blank has More...
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Nov 14, 2010
Diane
rated it:
Jacob was raised in an oppressive orphanage, abandoned there as an infant. His only source of escape is his hidden stash of comic books. When he turns 12, something fantastic happens -- he's attacked by a robot, is able to cause a power plant to blow it up, and is rescued by an android. Turns out, he's really not a normal human, but has some mysterious powers. The android and a blue man transport him to the Imagine Nation where he will be back where he belongs.
This is part Percy More...
This is part Percy More...
Sep 30, 2010
Connie
rated it: 
Young boy grows up in miserable orphanage, picked on by grown-ups and kids alike. Things mysteriously go wrong when he's around, but he's saved and taken to a wonderful, magical place where everybody knows of him and he's offered a spot in an elite school. Also, things are awesome.
Sound familiar? And please - don't say Harry Potter. Try something novel, like any of the thousands of books with a premise just like this.
Sounds tired and predictable? Well... not so much. Sure More...
Sound familiar? And please - don't say Harry Potter. Try something novel, like any of the thousands of books with a premise just like this.
Sounds tired and predictable? Well... not so much. Sure More...
Sep 20, 2010
Seanean
rated it:
http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/2010/0...
For the last eleven years, Jack has been raised at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost ("Crushing the spirit of childhood since 1898"). He was found on the doorstep with the name "Jack" on the cradle and no last name. So now Jack is Jack Blank, victim of bullies and evil teachers everywhere.
.
But Jack isn't a wimp and he's not one to let the daily grind of extra chores get him More...
For the last eleven years, Jack has been raised at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost ("Crushing the spirit of childhood since 1898"). He was found on the doorstep with the name "Jack" on the cradle and no last name. So now Jack is Jack Blank, victim of bullies and evil teachers everywhere.
.
But Jack isn't a wimp and he's not one to let the daily grind of extra chores get him More...
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Aug 14, 2010
P.M.
rated it:
Jack (last name Blank because no one knows who he is) lives in an orphanage in New Jersey where he is tormented by Rex the Bully and disliked by the staff. He is surprised when a stranger named Jazen Knight arrives and whisks him off to the land of Imagine Nation. Jack has always been fascinated by a secret collection of comic books and is now in a place where the comic books are real. Jack hopes to find out who he is but what he finds is a nightmare. The island is under attack by Revile, the pa
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Mar 09, 2011
Reading Vacation's Mom
rated it:
REVIEW
Jack Blank is an out-of-this-world story! With vivid descriptions and a wild plot, this book had me turning pages like crazy. Lots of surprises kept my attention right to the last page. Myklusch’s ideas are fascinating!
I don’t read so many books with boys as the main character, but I’m glad I decided to give Jack a chance. He was very imaginative himself and he was strong against the Rustov. After such a sad childhood, I am glad that he made some friends.
If you are looking for advent More...
Jack Blank is an out-of-this-world story! With vivid descriptions and a wild plot, this book had me turning pages like crazy. Lots of surprises kept my attention right to the last page. Myklusch’s ideas are fascinating!
I don’t read so many books with boys as the main character, but I’m glad I decided to give Jack a chance. He was very imaginative himself and he was strong against the Rustov. After such a sad childhood, I am glad that he made some friends.
If you are looking for advent More...
Jun 26, 2010
Claire
rated it: 
The book opens with Jack Blank(because no one knows his last name) in a grim orphanage run by people who openly hate the kids and the place. Left behind on a field trip because weird things happen when Jack is around, Jack is attacked by a comix villain come to life. Jack vanquishes the villain and runs back to the orphanage to find that there is a man waiting to claim him and take him home. Jack is shocked and very willing to leave the horrible orphanage.
On the way to his new home Jack f More...
On the way to his new home Jack f More...
Dec 05, 2011
Will
rated it:
ISBN 9781416995623
$6.99
Will Devaney
This book is about a kid named Jack Blank. Jack has a very dreary life and had spends his life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. But one day everything changes when a character from his comic book comes to life and tries to kill him. After this everything about his past and his future starts to unfold as he goes through many trials that will test him to his limits.
This book was a very exit More...
$6.99
Will Devaney
This book is about a kid named Jack Blank. Jack has a very dreary life and had spends his life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. But one day everything changes when a character from his comic book comes to life and tries to kill him. After this everything about his past and his future starts to unfold as he goes through many trials that will test him to his limits.
This book was a very exit More...
Apr 07, 2011
Toni
rated it:
Jack Blank is whisked away from his tortured life in an orphanage and taken to the Imagine Nation, a floating, secret island nation that is packed with superheroes, aliens, and advanced technology. Jack does not have many friends there either, it turns out. Jack’s superpowers slowly reveal themselves and Jack eventually learns more about himself and his role in the island’s history. The battles and tests that Jack endures have just the right amount of action and intrigue to keep the reader inv
More...
Jan 19, 2012
Adam
rated it:
This book is about the mysterious Jack who grew up in a dreadful orphanage without a name so he was called Jack Blank.One day he is rescued by a mysterious man named Jazen and he is whisked off onto a mysterious hidden continent called the imagine nation where anything is possible. He learns of his new super power, the ability to control machines right after he learns he is infected with a deadly alien virus that will turn him into an enemy robot. No one has lasted two minutes with the virus but
More...
Feb 11, 2011
Nick
rated it:
Jack Blank lives at a terrible orphanage where he is mistreated then finds out that he is a part of another magical world. Pretty standard kid's fantasy stuff. The book was entertaining, but it was not written very well, and was very rushed. It seems like the author wanted to be humorous at first, but quickly gave up on it. That said, the Imagine Nation is kinda cool, and is something that kids in particular would probably enjoy. The book is also heavy on the idea of freedom vs. security, a
More...
Nov 22, 2011
Jacqueline
rated it: 
Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation-Book Review
Reviewer- Jacqueline
Sometimes, some books are just so horrible you feel like you just fell down a deep, deep, dark, scary but boring hole. Now ladies and gentlemen, here’s something I’d like to share with you, about a book called Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation by Matt Myklush. Maybe you’ve read this book before, or maybe you haven’t. Whether you’re a Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation fan or not, I thought that More...
Reviewer- Jacqueline
Sometimes, some books are just so horrible you feel like you just fell down a deep, deep, dark, scary but boring hole. Now ladies and gentlemen, here’s something I’d like to share with you, about a book called Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation by Matt Myklush. Maybe you’ve read this book before, or maybe you haven’t. Whether you’re a Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation fan or not, I thought that More...
Aug 09, 2010
Joe
rated it:
Interesting concept for a young adult fantasy novel. I realize that there will be at least another book, but I hope Myklusch steps up his game for the second book. The first book was promising in it's concept, but did not deliver all the goods. What kept the story going was how fully realized of a world that the Imagine Nation was with each part of the city and it's denizens. I suspected who the bad guy was way before the final reveal, but realize that younger readers will be suprised to find
More...
Jan 03, 2012
Dorine
rated it:
Today's book review is The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch. It is and upper middle grade novel published by Aladdin and ends at 470 pages. It looks like it was previously published under the name, Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation. But, it has just been re released by Aladdin.
The Story- Young Jack Blank doesn't know who he is. All he knows is that he was abandoned as a baby and now lives at (I love this name) St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten and Lost. Jack c More...
The Story- Young Jack Blank doesn't know who he is. All he knows is that he was abandoned as a baby and now lives at (I love this name) St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten and Lost. Jack c More...
Aug 02, 2011
Kate
rated it:
From the first pages, I fell in love with Jack Blank And The Imagine Nation. The tale is comprised of young Jack. A child who knows next to nothing about this family or about what the future holds for him. His only joy in life currently lies in the hands of a hidden stash of forbidden comic books. In these books, he is able to imagine that life is not confined to the drab walls of St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. A place that delights in dashing Jack's hopes a
More...
Sep 28, 2010
Katieb (MundieMoms)
rated it:
Jack Blank is such a brilliantly written book, with an amazing setting, wonderful characters and a lot of powerful messages written within it's pages. It's a place where all the super heros & real life heros I grew up with and even never before heard of heros, live. It makes the extraordinary seem ordinary.
Twelve year old Jack Blank has been living in a horrible orphanage, where he's constantly picked up on the bully Rex, and finds excitement in reading his comic books. Jack Blank ha More...
Twelve year old Jack Blank has been living in a horrible orphanage, where he's constantly picked up on the bully Rex, and finds excitement in reading his comic books. Jack Blank ha More...
Apr 27, 2010
Roxane
rated it:
This was a nice traditional science-fantasy middle grade novel - young orphaned boy who can't seem to fit in, discovers he's got superpowers and gets swept away into a fantastical world in which some of his favorite comic characters turn out to be real - with a nice twist in the end that's definitely got me wanting to read its sequel.
Despite the traditional tropes common in most fantasy, coming of age novels, I think this book would make a wonderful read for younger readers not quit More...
Despite the traditional tropes common in most fantasy, coming of age novels, I think this book would make a wonderful read for younger readers not quit More...
Nov 05, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com
Jack doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. All he knows is the life he's had at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, and his love of creating comic books.
One day he gets two visitors. The first is a deadly robot from one of his comics. The second is the fast-talking Jazen Knight, who says he's come to rescue Jack and take him back to his homeland, Imagine Nation, which turns out to be a hidden More...
Jack doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. All he knows is the life he's had at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, and his love of creating comic books.
One day he gets two visitors. The first is a deadly robot from one of his comics. The second is the fast-talking Jazen Knight, who says he's come to rescue Jack and take him back to his homeland, Imagine Nation, which turns out to be a hidden More...
Oct 28, 2011
Randy
rated it:
When I first picked up this book I was a little skeptical because some of the names and ideas in the book are cliched and juvenile to the extreme. For starters, the land that Jack journeys to is called "The Imagine Nation" which immediately made me want to barf, but the longer I read, the more I enjoyed the story and the characters. I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity and depth that crept up on me as I continued reading. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.
Oct 05, 2010
A.
rated it:
Loved this book from the moment I saw it's unique title. It was a thrilling adventure when Jack discovers what every kid dreams of he has super powers! Not only that but there is a incredible magical island that is suspended over the ocean that's constantly moving. This island is home to many super heros and other imaginative characters including robots. I really like the fantasticalness of the whole idea. Along with the neat gadgets and the funny characters he meets.
Aug 10, 2010
T
rated it:
I'm certainly not a "young reader" but I have to admit that I do enjoy the genre and Jack Blank just reminded me why. Picked up this book and couldn't put it down. The details perfectly and quickly helped me create my own images of every place and character, while each twist & turn in the plot kept me engaged to the last page (and kept me wanting more - can't wait for book 2!). This is definitely one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished.
Oct 30, 2011
Jacqui
rated it:
The first 1/3 of this book was a bit predictable. Lone boy, has great potential + secret past. Gets rescued from horrible orphanage to go to magical place where super amazing things happen. Harry Potter part 10... I almost put it down but with no other books to read I was forced to persevere - And I'm glad I did because things got intriguing after a while and then very exciting and I couldn't put it down till the end. So, good comeback Jack Blank!
Aug 10, 2010
Jerome
rated it:
I didn't plan on reading this one initially but after skimming through the first chapter I was hooked. Nice quick read gievn the number of pages. Should be really enjoyable for the teen/fantasy set, but as an adult I was impressed at the author's creation of a world in which the character's live. Given the depth of that world it's pretty clear he's setting this up for more books down the road. Can't wait.
Aug 12, 2010
Jasmine
rated it:
I typically gravitate toward autobiographies and non-fiction novels, but Jack Blank reminds me of all of the reasons Fiction is so fun. This book really picked up for me once Jack reached the Imagine Nation, but from beginning to end, the book is full of rich detail and language that keeps you engaged and fascinated by all Jack discovers. I couldnt put it down! Looking forward to the next installment!
Feb 02, 2012
Joy
rated it:
"...the future is not written. It lies in the choices you make. Our future is ours to decide. Always."
Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation or also known as The Accidental Hero, is a heartwarming and inspiring tale of courage, faith, believing in yourself and many more. This MG book really surprised me.
Wow! I was so inspired by all the encouraging and motivational ideas and messages. It challenges you to stretch your imagination and dream big. You carve out your ow More...
Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation or also known as The Accidental Hero, is a heartwarming and inspiring tale of courage, faith, believing in yourself and many more. This MG book really surprised me.
Wow! I was so inspired by all the encouraging and motivational ideas and messages. It challenges you to stretch your imagination and dream big. You carve out your ow More...
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 23, 2011
Beth
rated it:
Super-heroes and villains, along with super-style action, makes this a great pick for the guys, although I think girls will enjoy it as well. Could have used a little more editing here and there to improve sentences, but overall a fun sci-fi adventure for kids. As in the Harry Potter books, readers will find themes about orphans, fitting in, friendship, and courage.
Jul 09, 2011
Rebekah
rated it:
One of the most fun books I've ever read. It has a little bit of everything, and a likable authentic hero in Jack. Middle graders (and their parents) will moan and cheer with his escapades in the Imagine Nation, a place populated by superheroes, ninjas, the undead, warriors, spies, and killer robots, among others. I won't give anything away, but the novel is solid writing, fun, and an easy summer read.
Mar 06, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
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