Monday, August 2, 2010

JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION

Tuesday, August 3rd marks the release of a book I've been super excited about since I had the pleasure of reading an early copy.  JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION by Matt Myklusch is absolutely one of the best books I've read in the last year....and I'm not just saying that because we share an agent.

Here's the official blurb from Matt's website:

Jack Blank doesn't know who he is or where he comes from.  He doesn't even know his real last name.  All Jack knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost.  Everything changes one morning when Jack receives two visitors.  The first is a deadly robot, straight out of one of Jack's favorite comic books, that tries its best to blow him up.  The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate- including Jack.

Jack soon discovers he has an amazing ability- one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they've ever face.

JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION is a pretty thick book but I gobbled it up in just two nights.  Most of that has to do with the exceptionally vivid world Matt's created.  The Imagine Nation is filled with colorful characters, politics, schools, and ideas.  It's a fully realized country where super powered people live and breathe.  Much like the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the Imagine Nation is so detailed that I could easily imagine it existing right off my own coast. It's a remarkable feat.

But beyond that, Matt creates a character in Jack that I rooted for all the way through.  His story is a pretty neat version of a hero's journey, but with a twist that keeps the story fresh.  It's never clear whether Jack is going to swoop in and save the day, or inadvertently destroy his new home.  Either way, Jack is relatable, fun, and pretty darn awesome.

The pacing is swift and never dull, the writing is detailed and sharp without ever bogging down in unnecessary description, and the conclusion was satisfying but with just enough threads left over for the other two books in the proposed trilogy.

Mixing superheroes and aliens and ninjas and robots, JACK BLANK AND THE IMAGINE NATION is a great read for kids and adults alike.  It'll leaving you checking the horizon, looking to find your own Imagine Nation.

Pick it up now!

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