Monday, July 05, 2010

The Gecko and Sticky : The Greatest Power by Wendelin Van Draanen

The Gecko and Sticky: The Greatest Power is the second book in The Gecko and Sticky series. It is a hilarious action novel in which 13-year-old Dave Sanchez and his gecko named Sticky battle the infamous Damien Black. Dave has a magical ancient Aztec wristband that was previously owned by Damien. The wristband has a slot for an ingot that gives the wearer of the wristband a special ability. Different ingots give the wearer different abilities. In The Greatest Power, Dave must recover items stolen by Damien, including money and a ring.

I found the story absolutely ridiculous at first, but then I couldn't put it down because the story was told so entertainingly. Part of what makes the story so entertaining is the playful wordplay that is rhythmic and rhymes. For example, on the first page, a gun is described as "a multi-muzzled, peculiar puzzle of a gun." The story is also entertaining because of the humor, which made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud. The wordplay plus the magnificently drawn illustrations give the story a cartoon-like feel. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cartoons.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sammamish, WA USA