BOOK REVIEW: The Set Up (Medusa Project #1) by Sophie McKenzie

The Set Up

Author: Sophie McKenzie

Genre: YA Fantasy / Sc-Fi

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's

Publication Date: June 9th, 2009

Book Description (from Goodreads):

Fourteen years ago, scientist William Fox implanted four babies with the Medusa gene - a gene for psychic abilities. But Fox died and the babies were hidden away for years.

Now they're teenagers - and unaware that their psychic powers are about to kick in.

Cocky, charismatic Nico thinks his emerging telekinetic abilities will bring him money, power and the girl of his dreams. He's about to find out just how wrong he is...

Buy Links:

Amazon

MY REVIEW

I'll make this quick as I don't have much to say about The Set Up apart from the fact that it wasn't as satisfying a read as I had expected it to be. The concept was interesting, so I gave it a go and it turned out that the execution didn't complement the idea. Based on the blurb, I knew I wasn't in for much of an original story but I had hoped it was going to be more enjoyable and intriguing, which, I'm sad to say, it wasn't.

I didn't mind that it was predictable, and I knew what was around the corner. I had expected as much. I was excited about the journey, not the destination. The characters were a little underdeveloped and whiny for my liking, and I ended up not caring what happened to them. From a scientific angle, not much was explained about the operation of the Medusa Project. It should have been explored more. At times, I felt as though the author underestimated the readers intelligence, primarily because of the targeted age group. I found the context a little patronizing, which was a shame because the intricacies of characterizing a scientific experiment would have been great to explore. It definitely would have made the story more exciting.

The story dragged in places. I found myself wanting to skip a few chapters but I soldiered on as I did see the potential of what it could be, and I was hoping and waiting for that something that would encourage me to pick up the next books in the series. Unfortunately, that something never appeared, so I think this is where I jump ship.

I think readers between the ages of 10-12 would enjoy the story. The mentality of the characters seemed fitting for that age group. It was an okay read, but it could have been so much more. It turns out I had a lot more to say than I'd thought.

VERDICT:

BRONZE

Award: Bronze
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Source: My own copy