Rec'd via LibraryThing.com.
Advance Reader's Edition.

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Product Description
What if every time you made a choice that had a significant consequence, a new, alternate reality was created--the life that would've been had you made the other choice? What if those new realities were in danger? What if it fell to you to save all the realities? Atticus Higginbottom, a.k.a. Tick, is an average thirteen-year-old boy until the day a strange letter arrives in his mailbox. Postmarked from Alaska and cryptically signed with the initials "M.G.," the letter informs Tick that dangerous--perhaps even deadly--events have been set in motion that could result in the destruction of reality itself. M.G. promises to send Tick twelve riddles that will reveal on a certain day, at a certain time, at a certain place, something extraordinary will happen. Will Tick have the courage to follow the twelve clues M.G. sends to him? Will he be able to solve the riddles in time? Will Tick discover the life he was meant to live? The first volume of an outstanding new children's fantasy series, The Journal of Curious Letters is filled with adventure, humor, riddles, and, oh, yes--danger... As M.G. warns Tick, Very frightening things are coming your way. Will you join Tick and his friends on an amazing journey through the Realities? What will your choice be?

Started reading today.

When I first read the description of this book, I thought surely I would like it. It sounded intriguing and unique; solving riddles sent in letters that could alter our reality and create new ones? Yes please! I could barely wait for the book to arrive; once it was here I tore into it as soon as I'd finished my previous book.

I wanted to like it. I really, truly did. At first Dashner's writing reminded me of the Artemis Fowl series, which I've read and enjoyed. But the longer I read the book, the more I wanted to put it down and never come back. Certain elements would stand out - Gnat Rat? Great idea! - but I was bothered by a few key things:

- Character development. There didn't seem to be much of it. Tick, Paul and Sofia were very flat and 2-D. The basic qualify uniting them seems to be a smart mouth. I would have liked to learn more about Paul and Sofia - what happened to them? (Sofia mentions an encounter with the 'ghost thing' in an e-mail, but doesn't want to talk about it.) What did their families think of all this? etc. - and poor Sato barely appears in the book at all.

- Edgar. In a way, the involvement of a parent figure was great; it's pretty unique in kids' adventure stories, in fact. Yet Edgar's presence seemed awkward most of the time. In fact - dare I say this? - at time she seemed to be a Mary Sue character, a stand-in for James Dashner, a way for adults to participate in this childrens' fantasy. If a child was reading this with his parents, maybe he would enjoy that aspect. For me it added little to the story other than giving Dashner a chance to throw in some extra fat jokes.

- Ugly red birthmark + scarf. I guess it just didn't add much to the story other than to give Tick an excuse for wearing a scarf. I'm surprised his parents haven't tried to "wean" him of the scarf, or just buy the poor kid some turtlenecks!

I really wanted to like this book, and some aspects were really fun. I think Mistress Jane is a fantastic villainess, and Master George is a great paternal leader. Mothball and Rutger are the C3PO and R2D2 of the series, not so bad in individual scenes but annoying in large doses. I'm glad that Dashner starts introducing quantum physics; perhaps this will help drive further interest in the subject.

There's enough adventure that I think a kid in the 8 - 12 range might enjoy the book. I suspect I still wouldn't have liked it at that age; the pacing was a little too slow and the characters' stereotypes would have probably kept me from keeping the book. But my reading tastes growing up were pretty far off the target audience - read a lot more childrens' classics and then straight into Anne Rice and Christopher Pike - so perhaps a more "average" child will go for this. I definitely don't anticipate the crossover appeal to adults, like Harry Potter.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to Caroline Degg of Lexington, KY to fulfill a request on Bookmooch.com!