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62nd out of 182 books
—
33 voters
The Call (The Magnificent 12 #1)
by
Michael Grant (Goodreads Author)
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grim...more
And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grim...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
August 24th 2010
by Katherine Tegen Books
(first published August 1st 2010)
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I love when middle grade books aren't patronizing. I love when children are not beat over the head with the fact that they are not adults and cannot possibly comprehend big words. I love it when authors do not talk down/write down in their books for children. The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant is such a book. It is genuinely funny, even from my adult ivory tower I chuckled quite a bit. What sold me on this book was the comparison to Monty Python.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
If you're looking for a book with humour, impossible adventures, crack-up characters, a splash of magic and really, really evil force -- you've found it. Not only does the conversations crack you up (and the impossibility of if all), it's an easy read, fun, fast moving, and interesting. It's written for tweens, but don't be fooled. It's funny. It's worth reading.
After reading Michael Grant's Gone, I looked to see what else he'd written. Humour? Action? A hollow Uluru (I knew it)? A kid with dent...more
After reading Michael Grant's Gone, I looked to see what else he'd written. Humour? Action? A hollow Uluru (I knew it)? A kid with dent...more
Review by Nancy, intended for young readers:
David “Mack” MacAvoy (the main character in Michael Grant’s series, The Magnificent 12) didn’t want to do it when he first got the call. What call is that? The call to save the world, of course. That’s because 12-year-old Mack has a list of phobias a mile high, and a case of the “mediums” — medium grades, medium looks, and medium parents.
He’s approached by Grimluck, a 3000-year-old wizard… sorcerer… morphing… guy to track down eleven other 12-year-olds...more
David “Mack” MacAvoy (the main character in Michael Grant’s series, The Magnificent 12) didn’t want to do it when he first got the call. What call is that? The call to save the world, of course. That’s because 12-year-old Mack has a list of phobias a mile high, and a case of the “mediums” — medium grades, medium looks, and medium parents.
He’s approached by Grimluck, a 3000-year-old wizard… sorcerer… morphing… guy to track down eleven other 12-year-olds...more
Humor, action-adventure, and fantasy run wild in this wacky, hilarious romp set both at school in the here and now and in the countryside of near prehistoric times.
David MacAvoy, known henceforth as Mack, is twelve years old, medium in all ways, ignored by his parents, and the target of a vicious beyond his years bully named Stefan. This is the kind of guy who uses the toilet as a weapon.
Now as the toilet flushes in the background, you need to meet Grimluk, twelve year old from three thousand ye...more
David MacAvoy, known henceforth as Mack, is twelve years old, medium in all ways, ignored by his parents, and the target of a vicious beyond his years bully named Stefan. This is the kind of guy who uses the toilet as a weapon.
Now as the toilet flushes in the background, you need to meet Grimluk, twelve year old from three thousand ye...more
While it seems he is trying too hard at times, the author achieves a moderate level of humor. I found some of the texts of his Golem doppelganger (who happens to made of clay if you didn’t know) to by quite funny – especially this one:
“Dear Mack,
It seems a stomach alone is not enough. You can’t just put food in, all the time. Anyway, mine became too full and I needed a way to get the food out of my body. Dad’s power drill was very useful, much better than a spoon.
Your friend,
Golem”
I also found t...more
“Dear Mack,
It seems a stomach alone is not enough. You can’t just put food in, all the time. Anyway, mine became too full and I needed a way to get the food out of my body. Dad’s power drill was very useful, much better than a spoon.
Your friend,
Golem”
I also found t...more
This is the first book in a series of I don't know how many books. I only picked it up because I got it free for my Nook app and figured I'd give it a try. After the first scene with the bullies, I was hooked. We have a very unlikely hero, David "Mack" McAvoy who is just average - average looking, average abilities, but he is good at one thing, getting away from bullies. Mack's biggest problem is his phobias. I admit, I liked Mack from the beginning and found him and his sidekick, Stefan, the mo...more
Mack is an ordinary boy who ends up befriending one of the many bullies, Stefan, at his school. This is a good thing, because a weird, moldy man named Grimluk shows up to tell Mack that he is one of 12 children(Magnifica) who is able to defend the world from the evil Pale Queen, who has her sites set on destroying human kind and has been imprisoned for the last three thousand years. We find out this story in flashback chapters involving Grimluk's initial involvement with the Magnifica's fight ag...more
David "Mack" MacAvoy on 12-vuotias koulupoika, joka on kaikin puolin keskiverto tapaus, mitä nyt kärsii useammasta kuin yhdestä fobiasta. Kesken koulukiusaajien myllytyksen hän saa kuulla olevansa tärkeä linkki muinaisessa hyvän ja pahan välisessä taistelussa.
Kalpeaksi Kuningattareksi nimitetty velhotar on nimittäin heräämässä ikiaikaisesta unestaan (itse asiassa vain 3000 vuoden unesta, mutta hänen voittajansa, Mahtavaksi 12:sta kutsuttu joukko, eivät aikanaan osanneet kuvitella isompaa lukua)...more
Kalpeaksi Kuningattareksi nimitetty velhotar on nimittäin heräämässä ikiaikaisesta unestaan (itse asiassa vain 3000 vuoden unesta, mutta hänen voittajansa, Mahtavaksi 12:sta kutsuttu joukko, eivät aikanaan osanneet kuvitella isompaa lukua)...more
The Call is the first part in Michael Grant's The Magnificent 12 series and fills our 'ordinary' world with monsters, an evil princess, 12 year-old heroes, wizards and a very friendly but often quite daft Golem. Besides the entertaining storyline, the book is also incredibly humorous throughout. For example take this quote from the start of the second chapter:
"Grimluk was twelve years old. Like most twelve year-olds he had a job, a child, two wives and a cow. No. No, wait, that's not true. He ha...more
"Grimluk was twelve years old. Like most twelve year-olds he had a job, a child, two wives and a cow. No. No, wait, that's not true. He ha...more
We got a copy of this book into the school library this week and it caused a little bit of a controversy in the sticker department. A co-worker wanted it labeled as humor and I wanted it to be labeled as adventure. I hadn't read many reviews of it, as not to cloud my Cybils judgment prior to reading, but from the obvious facts it was an adventure first. My co-worker, having flipped through it, was adamant that we market it as humor. Having now completed it, I humbly concede to her opinion.
This b...more
This b...more
This is a brilliantly written, laugh out, adventure that is sure to be a must have for many middle school age readers. Mack's voice is one of wit, and laugh out loud sarcasm, as he comes to terms with being a leader of the Magnificent 12. The only problem is, he's got to find the other 11. If that wasn't bad enough, this true to life character knows how to work his away around the bullies who target him at school, but if he thought his life was weird, it's not until he saves the life of Stefan,...more
4.5 stars
This is a brilliantly written, laugh out, adventure that is sure to be a must have for many middle school age readers. Mack's voice is one of wit, and laugh out loud sarcasm, as he comes to terms with being a leader of the Magnificent 12. The only problem is, he's got to find the other 11. If that wasn't bad enough, this true to life character knows how to work his away around the bullies who target him at school, but if he thought his life was weird, it's not until he saves the life of...more
This is a brilliantly written, laugh out, adventure that is sure to be a must have for many middle school age readers. Mack's voice is one of wit, and laugh out loud sarcasm, as he comes to terms with being a leader of the Magnificent 12. The only problem is, he's got to find the other 11. If that wasn't bad enough, this true to life character knows how to work his away around the bullies who target him at school, but if he thought his life was weird, it's not until he saves the life of...more
Quick read and has some promise
From my persepctive:
This book\series has some promise.
Fun quick read, but maybe a little rough around some of the edges.
I think some parts of the story could have been filled out a little more and not so sparce or jumpy on details.
I do have to say I could not get over some of the "long ago" back story things.
The whole people didn't know numbers over ten definately made me roll my eyes, and I thought the people were protrayed TOO backwards and "stupid".
Maybe n...more
From my persepctive:
This book\series has some promise.
Fun quick read, but maybe a little rough around some of the edges.
I think some parts of the story could have been filled out a little more and not so sparce or jumpy on details.
I do have to say I could not get over some of the "long ago" back story things.
The whole people didn't know numbers over ten definately made me roll my eyes, and I thought the people were protrayed TOO backwards and "stupid".
Maybe n...more
David MacAvoy—Mack for short—is an unlikely hero. He’s 12, picked on by bullies, and he has a phobia of nearly everything. Unexpectedly he finds himself under the protection of the school’s biggest bully and getting messages from strange old men who can stop time. Then he learns that he’s one of a group of 12 kids who are the only ones who can save the world from an evil queen who’s been imprisoned for thousands of years. It’s too much for Mack to believe, until many unbelievable things start t...more
4.5 stars
This is a brilliantly written, laugh out, adventure that is sure to be a must have for many middle school age readers. Mack's voice is one of wit, and laugh out loud sarcasm, as he comes to terms with being a leader of the Magnificent 12. The only problem is, he's got to find the other 11. If that wasn't bad enough, this true to life character knows how to work his away around the bullies who target him at school, but if he thought his life was weird, it's not until he saves the life of...more
This is a brilliantly written, laugh out, adventure that is sure to be a must have for many middle school age readers. Mack's voice is one of wit, and laugh out loud sarcasm, as he comes to terms with being a leader of the Magnificent 12. The only problem is, he's got to find the other 11. If that wasn't bad enough, this true to life character knows how to work his away around the bullies who target him at school, but if he thought his life was weird, it's not until he saves the life of...more
This is a great book for kids who like fantasy/adventure mixed with some laugh-out-loud humor. In this book we have an unlikely hero, 12-year old Mack, who suffers from "a severe case of mediumness." Except for his phobias--he has so many of them that he even has a phobia of phobias. But one day, Mack is called upon by a funny-looking old man who appears in his middle-school bathroom to join The Magnificent 12, whose mission is to save the world from the evil force of the "Pale Queen." The book...more
Rounding up from 2 and a half stars.
Disability tag for two elderly and debilitated characters, both portrayed as grotesque and horrible, even though only one is a bad guy.
Gender-politics tag because the major villains are female, and while there are some neutral-to-positive female characters, this is a great example of the puerocracy/paedocracy at work: 12 year old boy has to defeat the evil females and also decide how much to embrace the good females.
Warning for animal harm (against poisonous s...more
Disability tag for two elderly and debilitated characters, both portrayed as grotesque and horrible, even though only one is a bad guy.
Gender-politics tag because the major villains are female, and while there are some neutral-to-positive female characters, this is a great example of the puerocracy/paedocracy at work: 12 year old boy has to defeat the evil females and also decide how much to embrace the good females.
Warning for animal harm (against poisonous s...more
David had no desire to become a hero. He was actually afraid of a lot of things. To name a few things he was afraid of, he had arachnophobia, pyrophobia, thalassophobia and claustrophobia along with many other very scary phobias. So when a creepy old man freezes time and talks to him, he isn't really sure what to do. Later on this same old man tells him he has to go on a journey to save the world from The Pale Queen. David, called Mack, really doesn't want to go, but present danger sets him of o...more
Mack is the unlikely hero. He has a phobia for everything and therefore being a hero was never on his to-do list. At the age of twelve he is called by magic to save the world from the Pale Queen who has been locked away for 3,000 years. The old ones thought that was forever but the 3,000 years are almost up and they must unite the 12 who possess the enlightened puissance to save the world.There are forces, mainly a very angry daughter named Princess Ereskigal, who support the Pale Queen and want...more
Excellent kids books, especially boys and reluctant readers. David (Mack) McAvoy is your basic average kids - although he DOES have an awful lot of phobias - whose biggest real problem is dealing with the many varieties of bullies at his school. (There are so many bullies they have to specialize: a bully for nerds, a bully for jocks, etc.) But then the weird stuff starts to happen. An incredibly old man shows up, freezes time, and tells Mack he is one of the 12 Magnifica that must save the world...more
Mack is just an ordinary kid untill he gets a suprise visit. Time is frozen and he is visited by this old dude that tells him is is going to save the world. Mack thought he was the last kid on earth to save the world. The old guy also said he was part of the magnificent 12. He was told he had to go find the other 12 before the pale queen was unchained. That was a lot to handle in a day.
He joins up with a bully at his school that he has befriended, Stefan, and they go to Australia to find the s...more
He joins up with a bully at his school that he has befriended, Stefan, and they go to Australia to find the s...more
A fun read which should appeal to boys in the 8-12 range.
David "Mack" MacAvoy is a 12-year-old boy with a lot of problems. He is targeted by Stefan, the school's uber bully ("there was one bully to rule them all, one bully to find them, one bully to bring them all and in the darkness pound them" in a great Lord of the Rings riff). He suffers a variety of phobias. And he is destined to gather a group of kids, the Magnificent 12, to battle the dread Pale Queen who was imprisoned in the underworld...more
David "Mack" MacAvoy is a 12-year-old boy with a lot of problems. He is targeted by Stefan, the school's uber bully ("there was one bully to rule them all, one bully to find them, one bully to bring them all and in the darkness pound them" in a great Lord of the Rings riff). He suffers a variety of phobias. And he is destined to gather a group of kids, the Magnificent 12, to battle the dread Pale Queen who was imprisoned in the underworld...more
Mack MacAvoy is an ordinary 12-year-old kid, with a long list of phobias from dentophobia (fear of dentists) to phobophobia (fear of phobias). The one thing that he's not afraid of is trouble. When he saves the life of Stefan, one of the school bullies (there's one for every social group), Mack's life takes an unexpected turn.
Grimluk is another 12-year-old from a very, very, very long time ago. He is known as one of the Magnifica. He and eleven others must defeat the Pale Queen before she destro...more
Grimluk is another 12-year-old from a very, very, very long time ago. He is known as one of the Magnifica. He and eleven others must defeat the Pale Queen before she destro...more
Once again I wish Goodreads allowed .5 stars...this is a solid 3.5 for me. I'm pretty sure this is a YA type book. I'm not completely sure because it was a freebie on my Nook, but it reads like one. Definately not as good as "Harry Potter", but probably more like a "Magic Treehouse" type book. I think my kids will really like this book when they are 12-ish.
As for me, I actually enjoyed it enough. There are some pretty funny parts and there is a part of me that wants to read the next one to cont...more
As for me, I actually enjoyed it enough. There are some pretty funny parts and there is a part of me that wants to read the next one to cont...more
The only thing about Mack McAvoy that's not completely average is the LONG list of phobias he has... so many that he even has a phobia of phobias. The only thing he doesn't seem to be afraid of are the school bullies, and in a bizarre twist, he actually saves the life of Stefan, who is 15 in the 8th grade and the worst bully of all. For this, Stefan says to all that Mack is "Under My Wing." Add to this a nasty looking old man called Grimluk who can stop time while talking to the two boys, and te...more
Phobias, not fears. Mack has phobias. He’s scared of all sorts of stuff. Okay, he’s terrified of all sorts of stuff. Sure, we all have a fear or two but Mack has more than a few. The crazy thing, he’s not scared of stuff he should be, like the bullies in his school. Mack’s lack of fear for things that really should be scary for him puts him in a situation to be an unlikely hero for a particular bully. When weird mud boy shows up at his house and old dude shows up in the toilet (okay, it’s actual...more
Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/08/t...
At twelve years old, Mack is a pretty ordinary kid leading a pretty ordinary life. He does an average job at school, he has a few friends, a pair of decent (if constantly distracted) parents, and manages to avoid sticking out in almost every way. Except there is something decidedly un-ordinary about Mack, even though he doesn’t quite know it. You see, Mack has a list of phobias – from sharks (galeophobia) to a fea...more
At twelve years old, Mack is a pretty ordinary kid leading a pretty ordinary life. He does an average job at school, he has a few friends, a pair of decent (if constantly distracted) parents, and manages to avoid sticking out in almost every way. Except there is something decidedly un-ordinary about Mack, even though he doesn’t quite know it. You see, Mack has a list of phobias – from sharks (galeophobia) to a fea...more
Oct 12, 2010
Robert Kent
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-grade-ninja-reviews
let’s talk about this book, starting with the opening lines:
David MacAvory—whose friends called him Mack—was not an unlikely hero. He was an impossible hero.
First, there was the fact that he was only twelve years old. And then there was the fact that he was not especially big, strong, kind, or good-looking.
Plus he was scared. Scared of what? Quite a list of things… (what follows is a list of things David is afraid of—MG Ninja)
…So this was not a twelve-year-old you’d expect to become one of the g...more
David MacAvory—whose friends called him Mack—was not an unlikely hero. He was an impossible hero.
First, there was the fact that he was only twelve years old. And then there was the fact that he was not especially big, strong, kind, or good-looking.
Plus he was scared. Scared of what? Quite a list of things… (what follows is a list of things David is afraid of—MG Ninja)
…So this was not a twelve-year-old you’d expect to become one of the g...more
Disclaimer: I won this book from the publisher through a GoodReads giveaway.
The Call is the first book in a series about Mack and the Magnificent Twelve. Mack is twelve years old, and the first of the Magnificent Twelve.
While I wouldn't call this book one of my favorites, it has an entertainingly breezy style. The book is full of references to pop culture and the here and now: cell phones, iPhones, Yoda, Wal-Mart, Iron Man... The list goes on, and at first, it was a bit disconcerting. That said...more
The Call is the first book in a series about Mack and the Magnificent Twelve. Mack is twelve years old, and the first of the Magnificent Twelve.
While I wouldn't call this book one of my favorites, it has an entertainingly breezy style. The book is full of references to pop culture and the here and now: cell phones, iPhones, Yoda, Wal-Mart, Iron Man... The list goes on, and at first, it was a bit disconcerting. That said...more
I was very excited to get this book because not only was it free, it was by Michael Grant whose Gone books are a real favourite of mine. This is definitely a middle grade (9-12) book, however, and although I do like the occasional MG book that has good YA appeal this one was definitely well suited to the younger, and especially male, readership.
The main character, Mack, is a great hero, especially for kids as even though he has many flaws – including 21 phobias – he shows great courage by standi...more
The main character, Mack, is a great hero, especially for kids as even though he has many flaws – including 21 phobias – he shows great courage by standi...more
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I was born in a manger and grew up in a log cabin where I read law books by firelight. . . Oh, wait, that wasn't me, that was someones else.
I had a hard childhood. Hard for my parents. Not that bad for me. I was an Army brat, moved around a lot. Then I didn't settle down. I just kept moving. Why? What inner turmoil drove me? Mmmm, I gotta say none. I just have a short attention span. Easily bored...more
More about Michael Grant...
I had a hard childhood. Hard for my parents. Not that bad for me. I was an Army brat, moved around a lot. Then I didn't settle down. I just kept moving. Why? What inner turmoil drove me? Mmmm, I gotta say none. I just have a short attention span. Easily bored...more
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“You don't look so much like a great hero,' Jarrah said. 'I'm pretty sure I'm not,' Mack said wearily. 'My throat is hoarse from screaming in terror. I don't think heroes have that problem.”
—
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Sep 12, 2010 01:12pm