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.
