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The Mad Scientists of New Jersey
Eddie Edison is the last of the Mad Scientists of New Jersey. After his father is abducted, Eddie is left foundering with no knowledge of his birthright. But when a mysterious stranger takes him under his wing, Eddie learns that not only is he the only hope of retrieving his father, but that he is the only person left to stand against the evil genius who brought about extinction of the Mad Scientists.
208 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
About the author
Chris Sorensen
66 books163 followersChris Sorensen spends many days and nights locked away inside his own nightmare room. He is the narrator of over 200 audiobooks (including the award-winning The Missing series by Margaret Peterson Haddix) and the recipient of three AudioFile Earphone Awards. Over the past fifteen years, the Butte Theater and Thin Air Theatre Company in Cripple Creek, Colorado have produced dozens of his plays including Dr. Jekyll’s Medicine Show, Werewolves of Poverty Gulch and The Vampire of Cripple Creek. He is the author of the middle grade book The Mad Scientists of New Jersey and has written numerous screenplay including Suckerville, Bee Tornado and The Roswell Project.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 5, 2017
A Little Uneven, But Still Lots of Fun
This book has what it takes - a band of three unlikely heroes, plenty of gizmos, a touch of time travel, a monologuing villain, an abducted Dad, and a mechanical frog.
We start with a mysterious and open ended prologue that sets up Dad's disappearance. Then we segue to the Dad's lonely son, Eddie. Eddie picks up two sidekicks, including a lumpy kid who's made of sterner stuff than expected, and a girl brimming with moxie and attitude. While fishing they reel in a weird gizmo, and with that we're off to the races.
Eddie has to figure out the gizmo. He has to decide whom to trust. He and his pals have to figure out what's going on while staying out of harm's way, which gets increasingly hard to do. As the peril builds, some questions get answered and new ones arise. Plausibility goes out the window, but when did that ever matter in a good mad scientist book?
As I say, this book is loaded with the good stuff. The only cons are that the tone keeps changing, (some parts are carefully crafted and nicely atmospheric, while some are more slapdash), we have pointless bullies, (which aren't necessary to the story), and we have a lot of that I'd-answer-your-question-but-not-right-now stuff that can break up the flow of a book if there's too much of it. But these are quibbles. The kids are appealing and stalwart, the gizmos are cool, and the plot is easy enough to follow if you're willing to be just a little bit patient. And there's a mechanical frog. Oh, and a monstrous Terminator sort of thing. And a lot of mentions of pizza. A nice find.
This book has what it takes - a band of three unlikely heroes, plenty of gizmos, a touch of time travel, a monologuing villain, an abducted Dad, and a mechanical frog.
We start with a mysterious and open ended prologue that sets up Dad's disappearance. Then we segue to the Dad's lonely son, Eddie. Eddie picks up two sidekicks, including a lumpy kid who's made of sterner stuff than expected, and a girl brimming with moxie and attitude. While fishing they reel in a weird gizmo, and with that we're off to the races.
Eddie has to figure out the gizmo. He has to decide whom to trust. He and his pals have to figure out what's going on while staying out of harm's way, which gets increasingly hard to do. As the peril builds, some questions get answered and new ones arise. Plausibility goes out the window, but when did that ever matter in a good mad scientist book?
As I say, this book is loaded with the good stuff. The only cons are that the tone keeps changing, (some parts are carefully crafted and nicely atmospheric, while some are more slapdash), we have pointless bullies, (which aren't necessary to the story), and we have a lot of that I'd-answer-your-question-but-not-right-now stuff that can break up the flow of a book if there's too much of it. But these are quibbles. The kids are appealing and stalwart, the gizmos are cool, and the plot is easy enough to follow if you're willing to be just a little bit patient. And there's a mechanical frog. Oh, and a monstrous Terminator sort of thing. And a lot of mentions of pizza. A nice find.
March 17, 2017
The Mad Scientists of New Jersey was a great book about Eddie Edison and his wild adventures. Eddie is having a normal day with his friend Pudge when the new kid, Roxie, asks to go on their boat with them in exchange for a “killer science project idea.” The boys agree, so the trio is off to the boat. On the boat, Eddie catches a metal object, which is more than it appears. Suddenly the group is thrust into a fight that only Eddie's inventive mind can hopefully help them win. Can Eddie and his friends win this fight? Find out in this great book.
Opinion:
The Mad Scientists of New Jersey was a great book full of imagination and fantasy! Chris Sorensen made sure to make this book one that anyone would love to read! I really liked the thought that was put into all the characters. One of my favorite characters was the crazy old inventive guy: Mesmer. Mesmer really gave the story some oomph when it needed it.
This book has themes of fantasy, imagination, and cunning. If you like books with lots of inventing and imagination, then this book is for you! I would recommend it for ages 11 and up just because of some harder words.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age: 14
Opinion:
The Mad Scientists of New Jersey was a great book full of imagination and fantasy! Chris Sorensen made sure to make this book one that anyone would love to read! I really liked the thought that was put into all the characters. One of my favorite characters was the crazy old inventive guy: Mesmer. Mesmer really gave the story some oomph when it needed it.
This book has themes of fantasy, imagination, and cunning. If you like books with lots of inventing and imagination, then this book is for you! I would recommend it for ages 11 and up just because of some harder words.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age: 14
May 8, 2017
Wonderfully inventive! I've always loved "mad scientist" stories and this one has gadgets galore along with some engaging characters and an excellent story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews