The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini was introduced to my class last Tuesday, April 10, 2012 by the author himself. He was invited to read to my class. He decided to introduce each of the characters briefly in the book. My class was enthralled and I ordered the book from Amazon that night. I started the book this morning and I finished it this afternoon. I loved every minute. Every boy or girl over 10 should read this book. Every English teacher should assign this book for summer reading. The dynamic way the author explains the boys in this story is magnificent. The brother is in the Marines and is fighting in the Iraq war that should not be going on. The three boys and one outlaw, Angel, not really an angel does come around.I'm glad I read it and now have two copies.

Don't really find books of this type entertaining other people might anyways you should still read this book it's ok.

Creative idea. Elementary age readers will like this book - It will make a good read aloud too.

Writing books changes a person, according to an author who visits John Smith's class. And boy does it ever! He tells the students that anyone can write a book if they work hard. John asks him if writing will make enough money to buy an Escalade and have some cash left over for college. The author gets a kick out of John and tells him they should get together and he'll give him some pointers. The 13-year-old is determined to put pen to paper and begin his first novel. To start off, he creates a list of 10 rules for writing a novel for kids, one of which is that children's books should have lists. So he peppers his book with plenty of lists.John has a lot going on right now. His friends, Lucky and Jorge, join him in starting a leaf-raking business. They meet the neighbor who all the kids fear --- Old Man Jackson. He comes complete with a pit bull named Da Nang. They are shaking in their shoes as they approach the house to rake the leaves. Old Man Jackson gives them the go-ahead to rake when around the corner comes Angel, the class bully.Angel hates Old Man Jackson and his dog. John, Lucky and Jorge think that Angel tries to poison the pooch, so they plot to get back at Angel by shaving off his mohawk. Their ongoing neighborhood battles get downright dangerous when Angel puts metal in a leaf pile, then challenges John to a leaf-jumping contest. Lucky decides to jump in the pile of leaves and gets seriously hurt. Now justice must be served!Suddenly, revenge isn't on John's radar when he hears the news that his brother, Franklin, is "found missing" in Iraq. He isn't quite sure what "found missing" means. Is his brother found or missing? All he knows is that it feels as if his world is crumbling. He has a dream where his brother comes to visit him, which freaks him out because he wonders if it's Franklin's ghost coming to say good-bye. Thinking of all the good times and late-night talks they shared helps John get through the night. But it's hard for him to see his parents like this. He has never witnessed his mom cry so hard, and his dad smokes like a chimney in the backyard. But as a reader, you need to go back to John's list of rules for writing a kids' book to know that books should have happy endings. Keep the faith; things will get better.Peter Johnson's writing style is fun and relaxed, and the narrator is quite realistic. The way John talks about girls, friends, enemies and his theories about life all jive with the voice of a 13-year-old. More than a book about writing, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF JOHN SMITH, JR. AKA HOUDINI captures a young boy's feelings about his friendships, his nemesis and his family.Reviewed by Kathleen M. Purcell on April 30, 2012

John Smith Jr. aka Houdini is thirteen and lives on the East Side of Providence. He's obsessed and has read every book about the real Houdini. John helps his friends Lucky and Jorge rake leaves in their neighborhood, but this book is really about feelings, the war in Afghanistan, parents, trouble, enemies, and most of all change.Wait, I almost forgot, it's also about a boy that writes a book.Author Peter Johnson teaches college level creative writing and children's literature in Rhode Island.

It is hard to find good preteen literature and this is another poor excuse for literature. It was just odd and as other's mentioned is not age appropriate for preteens.

John Smith is a boring name unless you're related to the John Smith of Pocahontas fame, which this one isn't. Fortunately a fascination with magician Harry Houdini has yielded a semi-cool nickname for this thirteen-year-old potential author. That is until Angel, who is badly named since he's the school bully, turns it into "Houdini Weenie" and sets out to make Houdini and his buddies as miserable as possible without actually committing murder and going to prison. Houdini Smith and his friends Lucky, who isn't, and Jorge, who probably needs medication to keep him from going truly crazy, have many interesting and bizarre adventures that Houdini decides to turn into a book so he can get rich, or at least help his parents pay the bills. As he writes, he determines not use curse words, but gives you a list of alternatives he WILL use, and swears off talking about sex so kids can read his novel. This done, Houdini gives the reader a guided tour through his life, including the way his family copes with his brother's stint as a Marine in Iraq, dealing with Angel-the-Bully and his crew, setting up a leaf-raking adventure that nearly cripples Lucky, and making sort-of-friends with a half-crazed Vietnam vet named Old Man Jackson. This was an okay read that may appeal to reluctant readers and middle school boys. The relationships are fairly shallow, there are plenty of almost-swear-words, and the boys make a concentrated effort to put the bully in his place through trickery. Not a first pick for me, but I've never been a middle school boy (thank goodness!).