Priscilla the Great Review

Monday, January 24, 2011


Title: Priscilla the Great
Author: Sybil Nelson
Publisher: Worldmaker Media
Published: December 15, 2010
Genre: Upper MG, Sci-Fi
Pages: 276
Source: Author

Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.

Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!
Priscilla is pretty much your average tweenage girl. She has crushes, she has a best friend, she experiences bullying and all the stress the middle school entails. Priscilla, however, has something else going for (or against) her, depending how you look at it. Priscilla has incredible superpowers that leave her vulnerable in ways that her classmates could never imagine, but also give her amazing power and potential, making her a veritable fire hazard in school. Can Priscilla master her powers with the help of her best friend in time, or will she fall prey to a heinous plan to turn children into monsters?

It should be made known that I don’t read too much Middle Grade literature because it tends to be a bit too flat or unemotional for me. However, when the author, Sybil Nelson, approached me to try Priscilla the Great, I was intrigued by the premise containing superpowers. You all know I’m obsessed with superpowers. So, I decided to give it a go. Priscilla the Great is a fun, engaging tale of a young teenage girl grappling with the realities of life while throwing fire-starting, mind-reading and more into the mix. Written in a simple but descriptive prose, the book flows well, and kept me rooting for Priscilla throughout.

The book starts with a bang, showing us Priscilla in a precarious situation, then backtracks to show what led Priscilla to her current situation. I loved the beginning of the story. When books launch full-speed into the action, I’m immediately caught from page one. However, I was a bit disappointed by the amount of backstory that was crammed right into the first part of the story after the initial plot-opener. To be honest, the book came to a screeching halt for me. Luckily, Priscilla the Great picked up speed again and built up to a fun and exciting page-turner, in part because of the great characters. Both Priscilla and her best friend, Tai, a genius, were laugh-out-loud funny and perfectly balanced with the plot.

Despite the rocky first bit of Priscilla the Great, I was quite impressed by the story as a whole (despite my cover love totally not being satisfied by the cover). It’s a bit like a cross between Percy Jackson and superhero comic – definitely entertaining. I give it a 4 out 5 overall, and I’d recommend it to fans of upper MG and lower YA reads, especially those who enjoy a good science fiction story.

I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

24 comments:

  1. Great review Melissa. I don't read mg often either, but this one looks cute!
    -Danna

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  2. thanks for the review...I think my 4rth grader would love this..shes big into the fairy tale, fantasy and sci-fi stuff...:)

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  3. I love superpowers too, but don't read much MG either. I'm glad this book turned out to be a winner for you :)

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  4. I don't read much MG fiction either, but I've been making an effort in order to incite my little cousins who are in middle school. When they tell me about all the "stress" they are under, it always makes me laugh a little.

    Fun review. The cover is not my fav either, but superheros always carry a certain draw.

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  5. I don't do much MG either but will keep this in mind!
    Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

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  6. I'm not a middle grade reader but this sounds really fun.

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  7. This sounds like fun! I read the synopsis and the line that get to me was "Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera". I think that's REALLY funny!

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  8. It sounds like this book has such fun, quirky characters! I love that the older brother is obsessed with Christina Aguilera--I'm hooked by that alone! :)

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  9. The sound of this book is pretty funny, but I'm not sure if I'm up for it. upper MG and lower YA reads....mmmm..thanx for the recommendation and the great review.

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  10. I don't read MG but the book sounds really good, especially since you compared it to Percy Jackson. Great review!

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  11. I don't really read a lot of middle grade for the exact same reason, but this does sound like a cute story. I'm a fan of superpowers as well and add that in with characters that make me laugh and that's a promising combination. Really nice review Melissa:)

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  12. If a book is fun I can forgive it even being lower YA - THANKS!!

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  13. I found this such a cute and adventurous story I have recommended it next year book battle at my school. I am also hoping that Nelson will be writing more in this series.

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  14. Not much of an MG reader, but a secret organization that wants to make children into killers is intriguing!

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  15. This sounds like a cute read! Hm... superpowers and lol'ing. I don't read much MG, but I might check this one out. Thanks for the review. :)

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  16. Oh yes the finger fire book, I have seen this one before :) Lol, yes that is the only thing I remember

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  17. Sounds interesting. :) I like the idea of fire starting. :) And sounds like a pretty good read. Thanks for the review!

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  18. I don't typically read much MG but I did read the first two books in the Percy Jackson series and LOVED them! My sister's boyfriend's boys are readers of MG and are always looking for new reads! I will be mentioning this one to them! Great review!

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  19. Ooh, I don't read a lot of MG either but I'm immediately interested at the mention of superpowers, too!

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  20. Lol, I love how fun the description is! Haven't read middle grade literature in a while, but maybe I could get my cousin to read it?

    Great review.

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  21. Great review, Mellisa! I don't much read MG, but it's always good to find out about titles I might not have heard of for the purposes of gifts for young relatives! :)

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  22. As a children's librarian, I probably don't read as much middle-grade fiction as I should. I mostly read YA - or the other end of the spectrum, picture books. Is that weird or what?

    This book sounds so interesting... have you read Hidden Talents by David Lubar? I wonder if it's similar to that.

    I see you are reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox right now. I loved that book!

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  23. O cool! I never would have thought that from the cover. Great review!

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  24. I'm not a huge MG fan either but I do read some upon request. Glad you liked this one!

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