The movie is coming to a theater near you. So, I figured, I will just go read the book in advance. Having done so, I figured I'd offer a little advice for those considering doing the same - don't. The book reads as though it were slammed together, at the request of a movie studio, to re-create the same story line used in a hundred other movies, in hopes of drawing in fans of kids with super powers. It's your completely run-of-the-mill rehash of the same old story line: Boy, growing up with destined powers, deals with stereotypical peer pressures and cliques in school, learns to use his powers, gets the hot girl, befriends the nerd, and saves the world. Well, I should probably explain that the "save the world" part was also very typical, in that he ends up getting saved numerous times by everyone else around him, including average humans. This is such a common theme anymore - incapable super-powered kids, getting their butts kicked, and saved by mere mortals. He can do amazing things, but put him in a battle with some teeth gnawing beasts, and he is as effective as a lump of coal. The entire story was utterly predictable - there was nothing in it that will make you curious about what will happen next. The breezy love formed between the inept savior and the hot girl from school is full of space filling fluff, laden with wrenching boredom. The action comes entirely too late in the story. The vivid back-telling of his home world is a nothing short of a rehash of Avatar. On top of all that, there are several shocking typos and grammatical errors. The editors should be ashamed of themselves. So I rate this book as: Zzz, for sleepy. I have no doubt the movie will contain a few special effects that draw in the crowds, but the story will be so boring and so over-done, that eventually it will be filed on the crap shelf along with The Last Airbender.
I watched the preview. People are apparently in love with the movie. So I suppose I'm alone in my opinion of this boring story. Well, maybe the light he shoots from his palms will generate a lot more interest than I imagined.