November 19, 2024 by Random House BFYR
Copy provided by the publisher
Having defeated Blaise Southmore and his rev replications in Futureland: Battle for the Park and Clare White Bourne and her gliders in Futureland: The Nightmare Hour, Cam Walker and his family and friends are now faced with their most formidable opponents: the Architects. After a lengthy vacation to rest from their travails, Cam's parents tell him they are heading to Italy. This doesn't happen when Gordon Torrance challenges them to a very public battle in Egypt. Uncle Trey is injured, so stays behind in Atlanta, but Futureland heads out with Cam, his parents, Grandma Ava, her best friend Aunty Maxine, Yusuf, Angel, Rich, Earl, and even a refurbished Dooley! Dooley's still coming back online after having been tampered with, so Cam still has to reconnect with his former robotic best friend. The gaming commission in Cairo doesn't waste time in getting the competition set up; the news is all over the newspapers, and tickets are sold. There are some surprises, like the members of the Architects' team, which include former Futureland workers. There are puzzles, as well as feats of skill, but team Futureland starts at a deficit because Cam opened a puzzle box before he was supposed to. He eventually confesses and apologizes, and his mother lets him know that he doesn't have to win the whole competition by himself; everyone is there to help. There's a trip to the virtual Great Library of Alexandria, a fierce double dutch competition, and lots of cheating by the Architects, who are even rude to the gaming commissioners. Team Futureland doesn't do well, but there's a final journey through the desert that they can hopefully win. Cam is the member chosen to do this leg of the competition, but doubts himself, thinking he fails every time. Even though the Architects cheat, when Torrance is injured, Cam makes sure he brings his competitor back safely. Team Futureland wins by a narrow margin... but then the Architects try to steal Futureland! What will the Walkers end up doing as Cam gets ready to start 7th grade?
Strengths: This had a lot of interesting illustrations, vlog entries, and additional information that was fun to see. It was good that the whole gang got to go along on the adventure, and their inclusion also made the ending (which I don't want to spoil) make sense. It was fun to see the grandmother come along, and while she was portrayed as taking the occasional nap, she also did a great job at double dutch! This wraps the series up nicely, and I'll be curious to see if Hunter comes out with any more exciting titles.
Weaknesses: I knew right away who one of the villains was, and this was on the long side. I would have punched up the action and had a little bit less about Cam's emotional state. (The competition didn't start until we were about 100 pages into the book.)
What I really think: This is a good fantasy adventure series for fans of Chen's Ultraball, Dao's Team Chu or McCulloch's Jinxed.
Strengths: This had a lot of interesting illustrations, vlog entries, and additional information that was fun to see. It was good that the whole gang got to go along on the adventure, and their inclusion also made the ending (which I don't want to spoil) make sense. It was fun to see the grandmother come along, and while she was portrayed as taking the occasional nap, she also did a great job at double dutch! This wraps the series up nicely, and I'll be curious to see if Hunter comes out with any more exciting titles.
Weaknesses: I knew right away who one of the villains was, and this was on the long side. I would have punched up the action and had a little bit less about Cam's emotional state. (The competition didn't start until we were about 100 pages into the book.)
What I really think: This is a good fantasy adventure series for fans of Chen's Ultraball, Dao's Team Chu or McCulloch's Jinxed.
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