Review: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Title: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Author: James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date: July 21, 2008

Reviewer: Elisa

Summary: He was born with great power
The greatest superpower of all isn't to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells--the greatest power is the power to create.

Daniel X has that power.
And a deadly secret
Daniel's secret abilities - like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to recreate himself in any shape he chooses - have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of the earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond anyone's imagining.
Now the fate of the world rests on Daniel X
From the day that his parents were brutally murdered before his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to hunt down their assassin. Finally, with the help of The List, bequeathed to him in his parents' dying breath, he is closing in on the killer.

Now, on his own, he vows to take on his father's mission - and to take vengeance in the process. (summary from goodreads.com)

Review: This was a fun little gem of an alien hunting book and it is the first in a series. Daniel's parents were killed by the worst alien on earth, number one on The List of big, bad uglies. Daniel was 3 years old at the time and managed to shift shape and hide from him. Since then he has taken over the family business of keeping earth safe from "bad" aliens and been working on removing the bad guys permanently. But for some reason, now that he is 15, he decides it is time to work on taking out #6 on the list, Seth Ergot.

Daniel gets to LA and decides to go back to school to avoid truancy cops, makes a friend and avoids Seth and his henchmen, for a while. All sorts of stuff happens. Daniel almost doesn't make it. It is crazy! They go off-planet, meet some family and clean up some stuff that needs cleaning. Daniel isn't all powerful, though he has some awesome abilities. He makes mistakes and learns from them. He loves his friends and his parents, has a few crush moments which are cute and he is a genuinely nice guy.

It is a super fast read, most chapters are 2-3 pages in large type. It has gotten a little crazy actually. I mean, really? Three paragraphs or a new thought and done! Chapter 87 is over. You feel like a monster speed reader. I picked it up because I hadn't been able to finish anything with all this family that decended on me for two weeks in a row. I also add easy items to my to-do lists so I can easily feel like I am accomplishing things...keeps me motivated and this book was like that. Yay, two hours and a whole book is complete! But luckily I enjoyed the storyline and had a good time reading it. My 12 year old niece loves Patterson now because of the Angel Experiment books, so I got this for her and decided to read it too. Anyway, fun for kids and adults. 4 stars as it is a compelling read, well-done character, great start to a new easy series and just plain fun. Great for boys and girls 10 maybe? and up. My friend's 9 year old son just started it, is a little confused but is totally loving it.