In James Patterson’s
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, fifteen-year-old Daniel is earth’s resident alien hunter and an alien immigrant himself. After his parents are murdered, Daniel is left on his own to defend the planet from its evil galactic foes.
This action-adventure book is aimed at boys aged around ten to twelve, and Patterson wrote it in an effort to get youngsters like his son reading more.
It adequately accomplishes the objective. My son, who is twelve, says and I quote “I like it. It’s very twelve-year-old boyish. There’s guns and explosions and aliens." Would he recommend it to a friend? “Probably.”
For him this is a glowing recommendation. He’s only ever been fanatical about one book series, (
Rick Riordan’s Olympians books), so though his praise may sound lukewarm, it’s not a bad review.
My fifteen-year-old daughter started reading it when she ran out of books one day, but had the same complaint I did. All the characters sound like twelve-year-old boys, including the evil aliens who want to take over Earth. In fact Daniel at three (though he’s advanced for a toddler) sounds a lot like Daniel at fifteen. I thought the villains were clichés, but it didn’t seem to bother my son. I wasn’t the target audience, so I kept that in mind.
There’s plenty of gross out factor for the boys, including a trip through an alien’s ear canal and lots of generally slimy descriptions of off-world foes. Daniel also has some amazing powers that would be the envy of any kid.
The novel does an okay job, but I’m hoping the series improves a bit as it goes a long. I think Patterson’s
Maximum Ride Series is edgier and does a better job sounding realistic. The bad guys are much scarier in those books because they seem real.
I love that they have a
book trailer for the novel. Sometimes it's a hard campaign to get my son reading and the trailer could be a way for me to entice him into trying a book. Unfortunately my son said this video doesn't really do anything for him. He would have preferred they use the opening scene of the novel were Daniel's parents are killed. The pink elephant in this one put him off.
Boys nine to eleven would probably appreciate
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X the most. Overall I’d give it a thumbs sideways. It’s not classic young adult literature, but it’s not bad brain candy for young boys looking for a light read.
This review is sponsored by
MotherTalk.com.
Woohoo! to my friend Alice who just had her story "Hidden Treasures" published in Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors. 
Author Niobia Bryant has a blog post on the 2009 Essence Short Fiction Writing Contest. The rules say you can enter one story up to 2,500 words and the entry must be postmarked by September 30, 2008 and received by October 7, 2008. 
Agent Lori Perkins is seeking submissions for several anthologies:
Staring at the Sun by LaserGuided Creative Commons
Today BookEnds' blog has a nice mini dictionary of commonly used terms in publishing.
Tina Wexler 
The 2008 winner of Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Contest is Garrison Spik. Each year contestants attempt to write the worse opening line for an imaginary novel. Spik's winning entry is an homage to a New York love affair.
exclusive Twilight 16-month calendar - again, for a price. 
My daughter pre-ordered her book from Amazon and still has not received it. I'm hoping it comes in the mail today, but I'm disappointed that Amazon didn't make sure it arrived Saturday. In the future, it will probably be worth the extra money for her to buy it as Borders or Barnes and Noble the day it comes out (or at midnight the night before if it's a biggie like Twilight). 
