Jaguar Stones: Middleworld

Author: J & P Voelkel

Summary: (from back) Fourteen-year-old Max Murphy, video-gamer extraordinaire, is furious when his archaeologist parents cancel the family vacation to go on a dig in Central America. But things go from bad to worse when Max is summoned to join them, only to discover that his parents have vanished. With the help of Lola, a fast-talking, quick-thinking Maya girl, Max embarks on a quest to find out just what’s going on. Soon Max and Lola are running for their lives in the perilous rainforest, as they unlock ancient secrets, meet mysterious strangers, and begin to understand that, in San Xavier, nothing is ever as it seems.

Fate has delivered a challenge of epic proportions to Max Murphy. But can a teen whose biggest talent is for video games rescue his parents from the Maya Underworld and save himself from the villainous Lords of Death?

Review: Another story from a boy's point of view. Weird, I'm not even looking out for them and here they are! I had always thought they were pretty rare, but you just need to look.

Anyway, it is written in third person, but the main character is Max, a fourteen year old boy. He actually sounds like he's younger, in my opinion.

I have to say that I love Mayan culture and learning about their history. That probably made the book a lot more attractive to me. The story concentrates on five Jaguar Stones which can prevent the destruction of the world, or cause it depending on who has them, as predicted by the Maya. December 2012 is when the third world is set to end.

The characters were well developed. I understood them and I liked how Uncle Ted wasn't portrayed as evil. Humans have a lot of complicated emotions and reasons for doing what they do, but it doesn't make a person good or bad. I felt Uncle Ted was a human with flaws he wished to correct. Lola is a pretty funny and tough girl and I hope to see more development between Max and her relationship in the next book! :)

I would recommend this book for younger readers, like middle grade, because I feel that YA lovers tend to enjoy the romance of a story more. This book is cleaner as it concentrates on the Mayan history and is a great book to read if your interested in it. Hope you guys enjoy it like I did! :)

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5