Category: Challenge-Middle Grade Book Challenge 2011

TITLE: The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused (book 1)
AUTHOR: Kari Lee Townsend
PUB DATE: November 2010
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
PAGES:208

SOURCE: I received this book from the publisher.

ABOUT THE BOOK: (from publishers website)
When you make a face or cross your eyes, do your parents tease that if you’re not careful, your face might stay that way forever?
Well, my parents said that if I’m not careful, I’ll turn into one of my gadgets.

I thought they were joking, people!

But—somehow, someway—I have become a living, breathing, walking piece of technology. Apparently my head now has a built-in GPS and my palm is equipped with talking and texting capabilities—just like my cell phone!

Now I’m a techno-superhero with powers that seem to have a mind of their own. And, in my case, keeping a secret identity is harder than it sounds. I short-circuit every time Trevor Hamilton looks my way.

Like being a girl isn’t stressful enough.

MY THOUGHTS:
Fused is the first book in the Samantha Granger Experiment and the next book in the series is called Fearless being released this summer.

This was a quick and fun read. After the stress of the holiday season I wanted something light and fun to read and this was it. I manged to read it in one sitting. Plus there was enough happening action wise that made me want to read more to find out what would happen to Samantha.

I had to laugh when I read the back of the book because I was always told that the faced I made or the rolling of my eyes would eventually stay like that from my parents growing up so that brought back some memories. Even to this day I still have a bad habit of rolling my eyes.

Samantha is walking through the woods on her way home from her best friend Melody’s and they are talking on their cell phones (like most kids). Samantha is lost in the woods (Adirondack Mountains) and Melody thinks its funny because Samantha is The Queen of Technology. (She has the latest gadgets)

Samantha spots a light ahead of her and curiosity kills the cat because she goes to check it out. She is nervous and when she gets closer she reaches out to touch it figuring what does she have to loose. Remember growing up and your parents telling you not to touch things? I guess Samantha never got that talk because she reaches out to touch it. The next thing she knows is she is thrown twenty feet backwards (not one scratch or mark to be found on her) and her cell is missing. She is going to be in trouble for loosing her phone.

Its not until the next day when Samantha begins to experience some weird effects such as massive pain in her head and being able to give her mother directions to her soccer game that afternoon. She is freaking out how did that happen? Then alone in her room, pacing back and forth her cell phone rings. She searches her room looking for it but soon realizes its her hand is ringing. How did that happen? She quickly realizes that all the gadgets on her phone are now inside of her such as the camera, GPS, texting etc. She is a walking piece of technology.

She quickly realizes that she has bitten off more then she can chew. Who can she confide in? If she tells her mother she knows she will be taken to all kinds of drs. The only one she can truly trust is Melody, she tells her everything. She has to keep this secret identity hidden no one can find out. She thinks that this is the worse thing that could have happened to her and tries to find a way to get back to normal.

Will Samantha find the way to get back to normal or will something happen to make her realize that what she has could be something special?

I think this is a great book for the tween girl who is into super hero’s but would like the super hero to be a girl instead of the typical boy.

The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fearless (June 15, 2011) This is book 2.