BOTM for February is Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters

[Jemima]

As I mentioned in the nominations thread... a very close call this month, but Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters won by a whisker.

This is the thread for your comments and reviews. Please don't give plot spoilers out without wrapping them with the [spoiler] tag.

If anyone has any thoughts on good discussion questions, feel free to add them below.

And don't forget to add the book to the X of your A to Z Challenge once you're done!

[Lisa]

So first, I really enjoyed this book. I am a huge fan of folk/fairy tales and adventure stories. I was extra excited to see "Asian Percy Jackson" on the cover as I LOVE Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson is one of my favorite series. With that being said, I felt myself really comparing the two almost too much. They were VERY similar. I almost feel that this story was almost a "rip off" of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. It has been a while since I've read it, but that's all I could think of. Or maybe I'm just crazy?

[Rebecca]

I'm about 100 pages in, and it's an easy read, though I do lose patience with the type--yes, the Percy Jackson genre of "ordinary kid discovers he's really someone with special powers and has to save the world."

I'm reserving judgement until I finish, or trying to.

[Rebecca]

Having trouble finishing. I'm much more into the large non-fiction adult book I'm reading on the development of the atomic bomb. This probably isn't a good sign for Xander.

[Rebecca]

Okay, I passed the tipping point and enjoyed the book more than it was looking like at first. I do really like the 'superpower' Xander finally discovered (and I won't say any more about that).

Even though this is all told from Xander's perspective, I do feel like there was more of a balance of power among the characters than there often is in this sort of book. But in the end, while there were little things I thought were good (especially the use of non-Western mythology), and I did enjoy it, it felt like "one of those books"--by which I mean, the Percy Jackson style.

Though I'll give Dilloway credit--this felt better than the 2nd PJ book (which I recently read) with regard to character development as opposed to merely racing from one crisis/adventure to the next. I am, in fact, more likely to read the second in this series than I am to read the 3rd PJ book.

[Paula]

I agree with Rebecca about the pacing and the similarities to Percy Jackson. I still enjoyed reading it, but I'm not going to run to the store for the second book.
I liked that it featured a lesser known (here in the west) mythology, and I liked the characters. My kids are a bit too old for it now, but I might try to see if one of them wants to read it.

[C.J.]

Okay, I've finally finished the book. And I was asked to suggest some discussion questions (since I had recommended it as our BOTM). I'll post each question on a separate comment to help us keep the threads straight. Obviously, I picked this title because it started with "X." Not my usual criteria for choosing a book, but since Xander's story fits my usual preferences for genre, it was worth picking up. Imagine my surprise when the characters are living very close to where I do. So I have to ask...

Have you ever lived in the same city/region/neighborhood as a book you're reading? Does this affect your connection to the story in positive or negative ways?

[Rebecca]

Oh, I like that question! I don't live where Xander does, but my son is going to UCSD, so we've been in the neighborhood recently :) And since I live next door to San Francisco, there are a lot of books set here (though pretty much zero set in my town).

I have to admit that when a book is set someplace I know well, I'm much more critical about liberties taken with geography! So it can go either way--if the author does a good job of capturing the place, I'll react well, but if they put the train tracks on the wrong side of the estuary, I might get distracted by that and bothered to the point that I'm hard on the story.

As an aside, that's one reason I make up all my settings :)

[C.J.]

Xander's heritage is a Big Deal because of the legacy handed down through his father's side of the family. While I knew the story of Momotaro would influence the plot, Dilloway also included words/phrases, cultural references, traditional clothing, and creatures/monsters from Japanese myths and legends.

Do you ever choose books specifically for a "cultural exchange" sort of experience? And on a related note: Where's the balance between informative and entertaining?

[C.J.]

Contrasts between characters are always intriguing, especially when they shift our focus and encourage us to look more closely. I especially like the friendship between Xander and Peyton.

1) What initial contrast did Dilloway set up between the boys and their relationships with their dads?
2) How were Xander and Peyton different with each other than they were at home?
3) In what ways did their friendship change over the course of their adventure?

[C.J.]

C.J. wrote: "Xander's heritage is a Big Deal because of the legacy handed down through his father's side of the family....Where's the balance between informative and entertaining?"

I'll answer my own question here because I'm quite familiar with Japanese culture. At first, knowing all the informative tidbits was fun, but then they began bogging down the pacing. And since I know the Momotaro story and folk lore fairly well (and a smattering of Japanese to boot), it didn't take long before I was predicting events.

Which I suppose leads to another question:

When it comes to fairy tale- and folk lore-inspired stories, what kinds of twists keep them from being too predictable... while retaining the fun and familiar parts?

[SaraKat]

C.J. wrote: "Okay, I've finally finished the book. And I was asked to suggest some discussion questions (since I had recommended it as our BOTM). I'll post each question on a separate comment to help us keep th..."

I read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (great MG book, by the way) and loved it! It was so cool hearing the characters talk about parts of Texas that are very near us and being able to picture the area in my mind. I tend to like the idea of great stories happening in familiar places. I get excited when a character on TV mentions San Antonio. ;) I'm easily amused, I guess.

[SaraKat]

This was enjoyable. It wasn't a book I'd have been attracted to myself, but I did like it after all. It was the typical eleven-year-old-boy-discovers-he's-the-chosen-one-and-saves-the-day tale, but Xander and his pals are well-written and fun. There's lot to learn still about the backstory and the future of the series has lots to work with.

The story is rooted in Japanese folklore and there is some great discussion of living in two different cultures at once with the Japanese family and the non-Japanese world around them.

It was quite a page-turner and I didn't want to put it down for the entire last half. I was also very worried for a moment, but (view spoiler)[the dog didn't die after all. (hide spoiler)] :)

[Jemima]

I’m afraid I’m very picky about locations having mistakes. It totally throws out all my enjoyment of what might be a good story. I blog about this from time to time- after all most authors could just ask for guidance or a location detail on the internet (e.g. here)

Re reading for info v entertainment, I think informative books have to be engaging,interesting. Entertainment may be something else. But then I get entertained by things others find boring.