The Call (Magnificent 12 Series #1)

by Michael Grant

Overview

Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of mediumness. Medium looks. Medium grades. Medium parents who barely notice him. With a list of phobias that could make anyone crazy, Mack never would have guessed that he is destined for a more-than-medium life.

And then, one day, something incredibly strange happens to Mack. A three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys’ bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, called the Magnifica in ancient times, whatever that means. An evil force is on its way, and it’s up to Mack to track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. He must travel across the world to battle the wicked Pale Queen’s dangerous daughter, Ereskigal—also known as Risky. But Risky sounds a little scary, and Mack doesn’t want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?

A laugh-out-loud story filled with excitement and magic, The Magnificent Twelve: The Call is the first book in bestselling author Michael Grant’s hilarious new fantasy adventure series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061833663
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/24/2010
Series:	Magnificent 12 Series , #1
Pages:	243
Sales rank:	743,094
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Grant, author of the Gone series, the Messenger of Fear series, the Magnificent Twelve series, and the Front Lines trilogy, has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn’t tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent. Yes, even Antarctica. He lives in California with his wife, Katherine Applegate, with whom he cowrote the wildly popular Animorphs series. You can visit him online at www.themichaelgrant.com and follow him on Twitter @MichaelGrantBks.

What People are Saying About This

Morning Call

“A laugh-out-loud story full of adventure and magic great for grades 4-7.”

Editorial Reviews

Until the 3,000-year-old man appeared in the boys' room, middle-schooler Mack MacAvoy had resigned himself to leading a middling, unexceptional life. That was before the ancient bathroom crasher identified Mack as one of The Magnificent Twelve, a group of talented12-year-olds who have been empowered the save the world. Before they can do that, however, Mack must track down these other special children and prepare to do battle. Action, magic, and laughs.

Grant, author of the Gone series, takes a comedic turn, launching the middle-grade Magnificent 12 series about a boy with multiple phobias forced to help save the world. After saving the life of the school's toughest bully, 12-year-old Mack, who fears everything from spiders to the ocean, is visited by the ancient wizard Grimluk, who charges Mack with gathering the "Magnifica," a group of 12 magical 12-year-olds who can defeat the ancient Pale Queen and her daughter. Mack's adventures take him to Australia (a flight that triggers many of Mack's phobias) and alternate with flashbacks to Grimluk's original battle against the Pale Queen. Mack's bully baiting and dispatching of poisonous snakes down the garbage disposal don't exactly emphasize his unlikely heroism, but the story's abundant action and humor--from the rampant ignorance of Grimluk's day (when the very notion of a number greater than 11 baffled most folks) to the diary dispatches of the scene-stealing golem who takes Mack's place at home and in school ("Dear Mack, Did you know that you cannot eat cats? Each day I learn a little more")--should win over readers. Ages 10–up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The first book in Grant's new series, The Magnificent 12, introduces unlikely hero Mack, who has "a serious case of mediumness" and a vast array of phobias. Enter Grimluk, a 3,000-year-old man who informs Mack that he is to be the first of the new Magnifica, a group of 12 kids who must join their talents and inherited-yet-unknown powers to fight the evil Pale Queen and her vicious daughter. Reluctant and frankly freaked out by this news, Mack and former bully, now guardian friend Stefan team up to evade deadly attentions from a seriously creepy set of insect-like monsters and demonic elves. The author keeps the story moving at a brisk pace with suspenseful action and laugh-out-loud humor. The juxtaposition of chapters that recount Grimluk's ancient adventures in times when math wasn't even invented against those when the young protagonist is equipped with an iPhone and receives text messages from his golem produces a lighter-than-usual fantasy action-adventure that is sure to win many fans and fly off the shelves. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

A terrific start, with an elaborate website festooned with games and contests to ease the wait for sequels.” — Booklist (starred review)

“A lighter-than-usual fantasy action-adventure that is sure to win many fans and fly off the shelves.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The story’s abundant action and humor…should win over readers.” — Publishers Weekly

“A laugh-out-loud story full of adventure and magic great for grades 4-7.” — Morning Call, Allentown, PA

“Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

A laugh-out-loud story full of adventure and magic great for grades 4-7.

Morning Call

Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A terrific start, with an elaborate website festooned with games and contests to ease the wait for sequels.

Booklist (starred review)

"A terrific start, with an elaborate website festooned with games and contests to ease the wait for sequels."

Booklist

Grant’s brand of action and humor should satisfy both those readers who get down with fantasy and those who prefer to send it up.

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books