MVP

by Douglas Evans, John Shelley (Illustrator)

Overview

Every kid's dream is to be named Most Valuable Player. But how many ever dream that the game is a race around the world (no flying allowed) in just forty days? That's the challenge Adam faces in the Great Global Game. As the player for the Magellan Voyage Project, he competes against others for a four-million-dollar prize! Trackers with blowguns and a nefarious baron don't make things easy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781932425130
Publisher:	Highlights
Publication date:	08/19/2004
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.56(h) x 0.89(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Douglas Evans has a master's degree in education and has taught for fifteen years in settings ranging from a small logging town in Oregon to international schools in Helsinki and London. He currently lives in Berkeley, California.

John Shelly was born in Birmingham, England, and moved to Tokyo as an adult. He has illustrated a number of English and Japanese titles.

Editorial Reviews

"[A] fast paced, fun adventure story." —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

The title of Evans's (Math Rashes) picaresque novel refers to the Magellan Voyage Project, one of 24 groups sponsoring a 12-year-old participant in the Great Global Game. The most valuable player-and winner of a $4 million prize-will be the kid who can travel around the world fastest, using only surface transportation, within the allotted 40 days. Lured by the prospect of fame, fortune and adventure, San Francisco resident Adam, when approached by the MVP's leader, accepts the challenge. The boy believes he is the sole traveler rather than one of two dozen competitors in a race-but soon learns otherwise when he meets another player, Meredith, on a train headed to New York. The two meet up again-this time in a "detention center" in France to which, as part of the game, contestants are brought after they are captured by individuals called "trackers." After escaping from this facility, Adam and Meredith team up temporarily to travel east, until she sneaks off a train while they cross Siberia. Evans interjects some entertaining episodes and tidbits about various cultures, but extraneous detail, silly diversions ("I'll see England, I'll see France. I hope no one sees my underpants," he tells his MVP "pilot") and an overdose of palindromes burden the narrative. Readers may find the pace of Adam's journey sluggish and its resolution curiously anticlimactic. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Adam Story joins the Great Global Game in a competition to see who can be the first twelve-year-old to circumnavigate the world without an adult. Prince Oh, sponsor of the Magellen Voyage Project (Adam's team), warns Adam that he has 40 days using only surface transportation to make the trip. Throwing aside the rules and guides MVP offers, Adam decides he can be more successful on his own. The challenge grows as he's chased by trackers attempting to capture and detain him, and he must dodge the sleeping darts of the stoppers to win the $4 million prize. Reality TV meets children's literature in this rollicking adventure. The idea of sponsoring such a contest without parental or legal consent is just so preposterous that it works. Adam Story's quest is a dream-come-true for every kid. Teachers will find a wealth of opportunity for teaching geography with this book, which includes everything from famous monuments, to world cultures, to time zones. What a fun read! 2004, Front Street, Ages 8 to 12.
—Mary Helen Sheriff

Children's Literature

Twenty-four 12-year-olds take off on a million-dollar race around the world in this unlikely adventure. Adam Story, recruited by a mysterious stranger on his school playground, is only too happy to avoid going to soccer camp and take on the challenge of circling the globe in less than 40 days. Adam's willingness to trust a stranger and deceive his mother is only the first unsettling (and improbable) detail in this deliberately madcap romp. Throne-less royalty, teenagers with blowguns, elaborate rules, well-appointed detention centers, and a parade of sketchily drawn traveling companions are all jumbled together as Adam catalogues the time zones he travels through. Shelley's cartoon-style black-and-white illustrations highlight details but don't add much appeal. Adam, in particular, looks younger than his years, making the action seem even more unbelievable. Evans works hard to create suspense but most readers guess the outcome-and aren't likely to slog through the whole story to find out how Adam succeeds. Fast-paced, but not a real contender. (Fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews