Blog Tour & Book Review: The Trap (The Magnificent Twelve BK #2)

By: Michael Grant

Published by: Harper Collins Children's Books

To Be Released on: August 23rd, 2011

Source: ARC from the publisher to review, also reviewed on Mundie Kids

4.5 stars- I Really Enjoyed It

Purchase From: Indie Bound| Amazon| Barnes & Noble

THE TRAP is another fast-paced episode in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant’s hilarious fantasy adventure series. Mack MacAvoy already answered The Call. Now he must assemble the Magnificent Twelve and avoid The Trap if he’s to save the world from the wicked Pale Queen. But time is short—the Pale Queen’s banishment ends in 35 days and she will be free to destroy the world! Can Mack assemble the Twelve and avoid The Trap?

A fast paced, action packed adventure with some unforgettable characters, The Trap is a wonderful sequel to The Magnificent Twelve. Michael Grant has created a series that whisk's readers into a fabulous world mixed with a rich mythology, intriguing mythological characters and creates a story line that's both fun and engaging.

This time Mack and his friends travel from China to Germany in their continued quest to find the rest of The Magnificent Twelve and defeat the Pale Queen. Along the way they meet or should I say get attacked by some rather interesting characters. One of my favorite new characters is Xiao, who's also featured on the front of the book. I loved being introduced to Xiao and her dragon family. I was really surprised with how much Mack has grown as a character. While he still deals with all his phobias, he's also learned to think things through more. Mack also provides a lot of the comical relief in the story with his tongue in cheek comments. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. Stefan's character keeps getting better and better.

I like that the world of The Magnificent Twelve continues to become much more creative. New characters are introduced, and like the first book, The Trap has a great back story that parallel's with Mack's adventures via the story's bad guy. I like the way Michael Grant introduces Nine Iron, and allowed me to see why he's bad, and why he's after Mack. The Trap is a fabulous addition to a series I highly recommend picking for MG readers. There's a lot more humor in it, the characters have become much more in-depth, and the action is non-stop.

________________________________

Be sure to go here to learn more about The Trap.

About The Tour:

THE MAGNIFICENT 12: THE TRAP (on-sale August 23, 2011) is another fast-paced episode in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant’s hilarious fantasy adventure series. Mack MacAvoy already answered The Call. Now he must assemble the Magnificent Twelve and avoid The Trap if he’s to save the world from the wicked Pale Queen. But time is short—the Pale Queen’s banishment ends in 35 days and she will be free to destroy the world! Can Mack assemble the Twelve and avoid The Trap?

To join the adventure, read along as Michael Grant introduces characters new and old from the world of The Magnificent 12 and gives sneak peeks at their adventures in THE TRAP. Each post will also reveal a clue about a worldly location the Magnificent Twelve visit in THE TRAP. Follow Michael Grant and the characters to each blog until you’ve discovered all eight locations. At the final stop on the blog tour, enter all eight locations to win a signed copy of both MAGNIFICENT 12 books!

Join The Magnificent 12 online community: Play free games, create an avatar, enter sweepstakes, and earn points at www.themag12.com!

Ready to get your Mag 12 on? Here’s your second character and clue:

Post #2: Mack MacAvoy

Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy is a normal-looking kid living a normal life in the almost normal city of Sedona, Arizona. To put it bluntly, Mack has a serious case of mediumitis. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be called upon to save the world from a terrible evil, but that’s exactly what happened. In THE TRAP, Mack has to assemble the rest of the Magnificent Twelve and quick (Mack only found one more of the Twelve, Jarrah Major, in the first book, and as Grimluk said, “time is shooort!!!”)! It will be a difficult voyage with threats, terror (not good for a kid with so many phobias he’s developed a phobia of phobias!), and death. Will Mack and his friends be able to avoid The Trap?

Clue: THE TRAP location #2: With 9,999 rooms, this is the world’s largest surviving palace complex. For 9,999 bonus points, memorize a map of this place. (Note: We lied—there aren’t any bonus points. But if you still want to memorize a map of 9,999 rooms . . . you’re crazy.)

Find the next clue Friday at Charlotte’s Library!

And just in case you missed Clue Number 1 on Monday at The O.W.L., we’ll fill you in:

Clue: THE TRAP location #1: If you’re in Beijing, China and craving deep-fried crickets, centipedes, and lizards for dinner, this is the place to go. Hint: it’s not McDonald’s!