Thursday, January 6, 2011

"The Great Brain"


Oh, where to start on describing this one-of-a-kind book!? Well, to start off:
"The Great Brain" by John D. Fitzgerald is the story of "The best con man in the Midwest...
And he's only ten years old". Yes, I admit, I stole that from the back cover - but, it is a brilliant way to sum up not only this book, but Tom Fitzgerald as well. "The Great Brain" is the first book in the series about Tom Fitzgerald, a boy living in Adenville, Utah in the.... yep, that's right. 1800s. But don't worry, it's 1890s, none of that Civil War stuff I post about so often. Anyway, the book is narrated by none other than Tom's younger brother, J.D., who tells the true stories about life with "The Great Brain". So, who is The Great Brain?
He's Tom Fitzgerald.
He's a swindler.
He's a money-maker.
He's a cheater.
He's a smarty-pants.
He's a ten year old.

All I can think of when I'm done reading this book is: Poor J.D.  and S.D. (Sweyn is the oldest of the three brothers, to answer your first question. And they call each other by their initials, to answer your second question.)  Tom comes up with many schemes to make money, but can always prove that he made a fair deal. These books are so funny, and never get old to me. It cracks me up each time I read about their father, the editor and publisher of their local newspaper, ordering every useless invention he can find - including the first water-closet in Adenville. It cracks me up every time Tom explains things to J.D.. It cracks me up every time  Tom makes bets, and charges kids money for things, like taking a look at their new water closet. This book does have one problem, though: it's not the most well written book in the world, and we even found a couple errors in the printing. Besides that, not everything is politically correct, so it's not a book you would read for school or anything. But when you're not in school? Pick up these hilarious books! Trust me, I have not been able to find words for this review - but if you read one of these books, you will not be disappointed. I give this book 4 stars, and say that it's good for all ages! It has 175 pages, and has a few illustrations by the talented Mercer Mayer.

Natalia

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