Official Review: The Machine by Gary Green
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Official Review: The Machine by Gary Green
Set in the 1940s, George “Mick” Robins is a well-liked, hardworking Ohio farm boy; he always does what his highly principled parents tell him to do. At a very young age, he is fascinated with boxes; he collects any kind that he could find and even waits at the post office as people would give him boxes from stuff they have delivered. He has collected over two hundred boxes, stacked neatly in rows that are labeled by month and year; he seems to have no intention of stopping any time yet. While Mick and his friends are exploring the spooky area behind a carnival, Mick discovers an odd-shaped box owned by a great magician. There are stories about its healing powers, but many people tell him to get rid of it, warning him of its evil. Mick is confused with what to do with the mysterious box; will it bring him anything he desires? Or will it only put his loved ones in danger? Narrated in the first-person perspective, The Machine by Gary Green presents Mick’s extraordinary journey with his intelligent pet dog Jeff and friends Stella, Fatty and Mumbo.
Green displayed his sense of humor through his main characters; there was hardly a page that did not contain something humorous. There would always be something to smile or laugh about as I read on; the group’s antics were funny. The Machine was not just about humor; the build-up of suspense was thrilling as the mystery of the box unfolded.
Green was able to make me visualize the scenes vividly as if I was with the characters. I could easily see a young Mick sending out punches at his enemy and being dragged by his huge friend as they went fishing. I could feel his excitement and amazement as he wandered around a carnival. I could feel the sadness Mick experienced as he realized the outcome of his decisions. It was easy to see The Machine translated into the big screen.
Green brought me back to my childhood with his remarkable set of young characters; just like any other kid, they were mischievous and did not consider the consequences of their overactive imagination and curiosity. Each character possessed a distinct personality and was relatable. I liked Mick’s character: he was someone who would stand for what he believed is true and impartial. As expected, the antagonists in The Machine were despicable: T. Rex was an opportunist, enriching himself at the expense of other people’s misfortunes; Nelson was the school's bully, and Joe McCarthy was the typical villain: rough, mean and evil.
The Machine by Gary Green conveyed the importance of family and friends in one’s life. I liked the good values presented here and the way these values were presented did not come off as preachy. One character’s message stuck with me even after reading the book: “We are all people of values and morals, and if we keep to them, we will always be good people.”
On the downside, there were numerous grammatical errors like missing hyphens, periods and commas. There would be an error or two practically on every page and there were instances where a single page or a paragraph would contain different types of errors. The missing, incorrectly placed and unnecessary quotation marks made me pause many times because I could not determine where the dialogue started or ended. There were unnecessary punctuation marks, some missing words and vague statements due to poor sentence construction. Misspelled words inundated the novel. Many compound words like “manpower” and “hardworking” were written as two words. The enormity of grammatical errors led me to believe the author did not utilize any proofreading tool.
A book this engaging deserves the highest rating. However, the ubiquitous grammatical errors were distracting and prevented me from experiencing a smooth read. Thus, I give The Machine by Gary Green 3 out of 4 stars.
This book is for young readers who are into adventure, suspense, or mystery books. If you are sensitive to themes of racism and animal violence or you don’t like a book with a cliffhanger ending, you have to look elsewhere.
******
The Machine
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Sure.The review is on another level.Priyanka2304 wrote: ↑03 Jul 2020, 13:19 I could easily find all the elements that make up a good read in this book. Thanks for the wonderful review.
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I couldn't agree more on this. Thanks.Munachimso_Nwaogazie wrote: ↑03 Jul 2020, 20:03 One thing that caught my attention is how consistent Mick was in gathering and packing boxes. This is worthy of emulation. Thanks for this review.
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Humor is the life of a book. Thanks for a good review.Green displayed his sense of humor through his main characters; there was hardly a page that did not contain something humorous.
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The review is superb.
Congratulations on Botd
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