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Alpha Gene
Peter, Annie, Tommy, Sophie y Gigi, son guiados por el Doctor Lucas McKenna, un eminente científico que descubrió que este grupo de chicos era la primera generación a la que el misterioso "Gen Alfa" dotaba de sorprendentes habilidades.
Nuevas hazañas y desafíos cambiarán las vidas de estos cinco jóvenes al descubrir los talentos que oculta el cerebro humano. Sólo aquellos que estén dispuestos a agregarle imaginación a la ecuación serán capaces de ir más allá de lo nunca antes explorado.
Nuevas hazañas y desafíos cambiarán las vidas de estos cinco jóvenes al descubrir los talentos que oculta el cerebro humano. Sólo aquellos que estén dispuestos a agregarle imaginación a la ecuación serán capaces de ir más allá de lo nunca antes explorado.
331 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 16, 2013
What can I say... I really hope you guys enjoy it!
July 25, 2015
I guess I should start by thanking the author for the free ARC. I was really excited when this book arrived -- at the time, it had about a 4.6 rating. Since then, it's dropped to a 4.37. It surprises me that it hasn't dropped more.
Reading the summary, I thought this was going to be an awesome book. Kids are born with special abilities. They're invisible, they're mind readers, they can move things with their minds! The doctor who researches this stuff is accused of murdering his partner! Yeah, sounds pretty cool. If only the final product matched up to the description, maybe I could've given the book more than two stars.
It is an interesting premise. I can give it that. That's about all I can give it, and the only reason I didn't give it one lonely star.
From the very beginning of the book, the plot doesn't make sense. First of all, how old is Dr. McKenna? Judging by the first few pages, he should be about 70. The man talks like a teenager. He shifts between using pseudo-intellectual language that he tries (unsuccessfully) to explain in layman's terms and overexplaining the stupidest, most mundane things like sandboxes and science class. Second of all, how old are these kids? I thought they were ten years old, but they act like teenagers. Not only are they dating, but they take dissection classes (I don't remember dissecting things in fifth grade) and watch documentaries on immigration reform (I'm pretty sure those started in late high school). That's just the characters, by the way. Huerta often throws in very strange commentary. For example, he makes a comment about how a dog can't see glow in the dark stars because dogs are colorblind. I wasn't aware that colorblindness made animals unable to see colored things. My biggest issue, plot-wise, is the whole evolution/genetics thing. This "Alpha Gene," as Dr. McKenna calls it, is present in a total of five children. That should make it pretty rare, right? Dr. McKenna attributes its existence to the brain finally doing something with that supposedly unused 90% (the good doctor is fascinated by the theory that we only use 10% of our brain). This is, according to him, something that happens spontaneously because of evolution. However, at the end of the book, he states that 30% of children are now born with this gene, and it's expected to rise to 60% in the next generation. That is awfully fast for evolution. For reasonable evolution, we are looking at thousands of years before a new trait becomes common in the population, so I'm unsure whether Huerta to say that the new trait was inherited (so presumably the 60% comes from the children of the 30%, meaning that the trait was dominant, which also doesn't make sense because then, logically, more than five children should have it) or whether he believes that evolution occurs over one generation. There are a lot of questions plot-wise, my main question being how Dr. McKenna, the third-person narrator, knows what's going on in everybody's head (and sometimes their bedrooms) at all times.
My second issue was with the bullying topic. I didn't like it. I thought it was out of place and unnecessary. These kids are supposed to be ten years old. Why are they constantly being threatened by bullies? Why are they fighting outside candy stores and having rumbles at school dances? Come on. The bullying did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. Sure, it made Peter look like a hero at the end, but it also made him look like a jerk through most of the book. (Speaking of, Dr. McKenna is an absolutely terrible teacher and authority figure given the way he handles bullying. At one point, the main bully flings a piece of dead frog into Peter's mouth during "dissection class." Peter, understandably, proceeds to vomit. Dr. McKenna gives Peter detention for this. What?)
Finally, my biggest qualm with the book is the persistent grammatical errors. I understand that English is Huerta's second language. He has a very good command of it, and I likely wouldn't notice anything if I were conversing with him. But in writing, I expect a higher standard. Here is a list of just a few of the mistakes I noticed: worse/worst, maybe/may be, an/and, were/we're, its/it's, looter/loiter. Sometimes even the names of the characters are written incorrectly (Luca/Lucas, Miss Smith/miss Smith), which leads me to believe that nobody even bothered to do a quick proof of the book before it was sent to print. Sometimes it seems that accents are used instead of apostrophes, and there are entire sections of the book where apostrophes are just left out altogether. This is the one thing I just cannot tolerate in a book. Yes, I got this book for free, but not everybody who reads it will. If you expect people to pay for your work, the absolute least you can do is get someone to proof it. You may not be a grammatical genius, and that's ok. English may not be your primary language, and that's ok. But your readers should not be able to tell by just casually flipping through your book.
I was disappointed by Alpha Gene. I had high hopes and it fell short in many ways.
Reading the summary, I thought this was going to be an awesome book. Kids are born with special abilities. They're invisible, they're mind readers, they can move things with their minds! The doctor who researches this stuff is accused of murdering his partner! Yeah, sounds pretty cool. If only the final product matched up to the description, maybe I could've given the book more than two stars.
It is an interesting premise. I can give it that. That's about all I can give it, and the only reason I didn't give it one lonely star.
From the very beginning of the book, the plot doesn't make sense. First of all, how old is Dr. McKenna? Judging by the first few pages, he should be about 70. The man talks like a teenager. He shifts between using pseudo-intellectual language that he tries (unsuccessfully) to explain in layman's terms and overexplaining the stupidest, most mundane things like sandboxes and science class. Second of all, how old are these kids? I thought they were ten years old, but they act like teenagers. Not only are they dating, but they take dissection classes (I don't remember dissecting things in fifth grade) and watch documentaries on immigration reform (I'm pretty sure those started in late high school). That's just the characters, by the way. Huerta often throws in very strange commentary. For example, he makes a comment about how a dog can't see glow in the dark stars because dogs are colorblind. I wasn't aware that colorblindness made animals unable to see colored things. My biggest issue, plot-wise, is the whole evolution/genetics thing. This "Alpha Gene," as Dr. McKenna calls it, is present in a total of five children. That should make it pretty rare, right? Dr. McKenna attributes its existence to the brain finally doing something with that supposedly unused 90% (the good doctor is fascinated by the theory that we only use 10% of our brain). This is, according to him, something that happens spontaneously because of evolution. However, at the end of the book, he states that 30% of children are now born with this gene, and it's expected to rise to 60% in the next generation. That is awfully fast for evolution. For reasonable evolution, we are looking at thousands of years before a new trait becomes common in the population, so I'm unsure whether Huerta to say that the new trait was inherited (so presumably the 60% comes from the children of the 30%, meaning that the trait was dominant, which also doesn't make sense because then, logically, more than five children should have it) or whether he believes that evolution occurs over one generation. There are a lot of questions plot-wise, my main question being how Dr. McKenna, the third-person narrator, knows what's going on in everybody's head (and sometimes their bedrooms) at all times.
My second issue was with the bullying topic. I didn't like it. I thought it was out of place and unnecessary. These kids are supposed to be ten years old. Why are they constantly being threatened by bullies? Why are they fighting outside candy stores and having rumbles at school dances? Come on. The bullying did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. Sure, it made Peter look like a hero at the end, but it also made him look like a jerk through most of the book. (Speaking of, Dr. McKenna is an absolutely terrible teacher and authority figure given the way he handles bullying. At one point, the main bully flings a piece of dead frog into Peter's mouth during "dissection class." Peter, understandably, proceeds to vomit. Dr. McKenna gives Peter detention for this. What?)
Finally, my biggest qualm with the book is the persistent grammatical errors. I understand that English is Huerta's second language. He has a very good command of it, and I likely wouldn't notice anything if I were conversing with him. But in writing, I expect a higher standard. Here is a list of just a few of the mistakes I noticed: worse/worst, maybe/may be, an/and, were/we're, its/it's, looter/loiter. Sometimes even the names of the characters are written incorrectly (Luca/Lucas, Miss Smith/miss Smith), which leads me to believe that nobody even bothered to do a quick proof of the book before it was sent to print. Sometimes it seems that accents are used instead of apostrophes, and there are entire sections of the book where apostrophes are just left out altogether. This is the one thing I just cannot tolerate in a book. Yes, I got this book for free, but not everybody who reads it will. If you expect people to pay for your work, the absolute least you can do is get someone to proof it. You may not be a grammatical genius, and that's ok. English may not be your primary language, and that's ok. But your readers should not be able to tell by just casually flipping through your book.
I was disappointed by Alpha Gene. I had high hopes and it fell short in many ways.
September 4, 2013
When I read the reviews here about this book, I was impressed because they were gushing all over the place. So I agreed to review it myself. But after having finished it, I'm almost shocked by all those five star reviews. But checking out the reviewers, I quickly saw that many of them only ever rated one book and wrote one review. Now, I don't care how authors promote their books. But at least, I don't feel bad anymore for not liking it as much as the rest.
The blurb does sound fascinating. I mean, how many great plot possibilities come to your mind when you think of a bunch of teenies with supernatural abilities. Yet, they're no aliens but were simply born with it. But this book didn't blow me away at all with its plethora of ideas, simply because there was none. It was a whole lot of pseudo-science and meaningless events.
First and foremost, the POV doesn't work out. The book is told from the perspective of Dr. Lucas McKenna as a first person narrator. But he already tells us all the scenes where his character doesn't occur. He even knows what the others feel. On the first page of the book, McKenna is 65 years old, on the second page he's 60 years old. The main events take place more than 10 years later. Therefore, the book is told from a person who's at least (!!!) 72 if not much older. Now, look at this quote:
This was my first time at a courtroom, and I have to say I always imagined a judge as a fat bearded guy or gal with a beard wearing a big black robe and sporting white hair, -you know, how they are always portrayed in books.
Is McKenna an old genius with the maturity of a six year old child? And he obviously also thinks that his readers are quite simple because he even explains in detail what a sandbox is:
Back then, young Annie, was at her usual place inside the sandbox, a small box designed to contain little children while their mother or caregiver could relax a bit as the play date group sat on a bench a few yards apart and chatted away like there was no tomorrow.
The tone obviously doesn't fit the narrator at all. There are also many plot holes in the book, like the one concerning Dr. Lucas' age. Some things are also hard to believe. I don't know about America, but we don't have 75 year old middle school teachers. Or think about the fact that while the young boy Peter is sleeping things start to fly around in his rooms because of his telekinetic powers. And his parents never saw that? I mean we all check on our children sometimes for various reasons. It's just impossible not to realize that my child has certain abilities.
Unfortunately, I'm also not a big fan of Huerta's writing. His constant misusage of the word "worst" instead of "worse" was annoying. His characterizations were full of clichés and stereotypes. And the author feels the need to provide us supposedly funny anecdotes on every unimportant people we meet throughout the novel which was entirely unnecessary.
All those good ideas were wasted which is a major shame. I also liked the issue (one of the only two existing conflicts in the book) of the group of teenagers having to deal with a bully in their school and how they had to overcome their inner inhibitions in order to develop their full potential. But I can't give the book any more credit than that.
The blurb does sound fascinating. I mean, how many great plot possibilities come to your mind when you think of a bunch of teenies with supernatural abilities. Yet, they're no aliens but were simply born with it. But this book didn't blow me away at all with its plethora of ideas, simply because there was none. It was a whole lot of pseudo-science and meaningless events.
First and foremost, the POV doesn't work out. The book is told from the perspective of Dr. Lucas McKenna as a first person narrator. But he already tells us all the scenes where his character doesn't occur. He even knows what the others feel. On the first page of the book, McKenna is 65 years old, on the second page he's 60 years old. The main events take place more than 10 years later. Therefore, the book is told from a person who's at least (!!!) 72 if not much older. Now, look at this quote:
This was my first time at a courtroom, and I have to say I always imagined a judge as a fat bearded guy or gal with a beard wearing a big black robe and sporting white hair, -you know, how they are always portrayed in books.
Is McKenna an old genius with the maturity of a six year old child? And he obviously also thinks that his readers are quite simple because he even explains in detail what a sandbox is:
Back then, young Annie, was at her usual place inside the sandbox, a small box designed to contain little children while their mother or caregiver could relax a bit as the play date group sat on a bench a few yards apart and chatted away like there was no tomorrow.
The tone obviously doesn't fit the narrator at all. There are also many plot holes in the book, like the one concerning Dr. Lucas' age. Some things are also hard to believe. I don't know about America, but we don't have 75 year old middle school teachers. Or think about the fact that while the young boy Peter is sleeping things start to fly around in his rooms because of his telekinetic powers. And his parents never saw that? I mean we all check on our children sometimes for various reasons. It's just impossible not to realize that my child has certain abilities.
Unfortunately, I'm also not a big fan of Huerta's writing. His constant misusage of the word "worst" instead of "worse" was annoying. His characterizations were full of clichés and stereotypes. And the author feels the need to provide us supposedly funny anecdotes on every unimportant people we meet throughout the novel which was entirely unnecessary.
All those good ideas were wasted which is a major shame. I also liked the issue (one of the only two existing conflicts in the book) of the group of teenagers having to deal with a bully in their school and how they had to overcome their inner inhibitions in order to develop their full potential. But I can't give the book any more credit than that.
February 12, 2015
En primer lugar es un libro para jóvenes lectores (12 años)
La historia de un grupo de chicos que tienen habilidades y como lidian con estas y los problemas típicos de la escuela, en especial con buleadores.
Está la invisible, el telépata, etc… El fortachón, quien paradógicamente es tímido, etc. Hay un líder, pero él también necesita uno que otro fracaso para entender lo que está pasando.
Lo vemos todo desde la perspectiva de un narrador testigo (que a veces funciona como omnisciente). Un científico que se convierte en maestro de secundaria de una ciudad pequeña y cuyas investigaciones lo ayudan a descubrir
Mi calificación es de 3.5
Me gustó, la recomiendo mucho para nuevos lectores.
La historia de un grupo de chicos que tienen habilidades y como lidian con estas y los problemas típicos de la escuela, en especial con buleadores.
Está la invisible, el telépata, etc… El fortachón, quien paradógicamente es tímido, etc. Hay un líder, pero él también necesita uno que otro fracaso para entender lo que está pasando.
Lo vemos todo desde la perspectiva de un narrador testigo (que a veces funciona como omnisciente). Un científico que se convierte en maestro de secundaria de una ciudad pequeña y cuyas investigaciones lo ayudan a descubrir
Mi calificación es de 3.5
Me gustó, la recomiendo mucho para nuevos lectores.
November 19, 2014
This children's novel, almost appropriate for pre-teens and early teens (more on that later), is two stories woven into one. The better story that should have been the focus of the book, is about a club of pre-teens in which each has a superpower that s/he is trying to come to grips with. These kids are also learning to navigate the more complicated landscape of early-dating, puberty, school, fears and bullying. This is a well established fantasy trope with the superpowers making a wonderful metaphor for the physical and social changes that occur at this point in the kids' lives. The ultimate theme for the book would have been learning to accept one's individuality and strengths. It also delivers a decent message about the importance of over-coming bullying, not just for oneself but for everyone.
Unfortunately, this is treated as the lesser of the two stories. Also, the novel thinks that it is a work of science fiction and not fantasy, but the science is so very misguided and yet authoritative that I would NOT recommend this for kids because of the disinformation that it is spreading. The ultimate problem is in the choice of narrator, Dr. Lucas McKenna. I liked the character for the first chapter in which he proves himself to be a folksy doddering, old fool of a scientist and businessman. He sees himself as a beyond-brilliant scientist on the verge of a Nobel Prize. The book also wants him to be regarded as the latter . . . oops. This "brilliant scientist" authoritatively mis-identifies a frog as a reptile [which is no small mistake] and believes in and espouses spontaneous evolution across an entire species rather than the actual, accepted notion of natural selection. The narrator also misuses the term "theory" to mean "hypothesis;" this is a gaffe made by non-scientists, not credible Nobel Laureates. The biggest skewing is in the explanation of "brain science."
Fantasy does not need the "science" to make sense even when a story includes a scientist as they so often do: The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, the X-Men, The Hulk, Captain America etc. All of these heroes with special abilities have back-stories that involve a transformation or emergence with a very loose science-y explanation. However, they do not get so caught up in their false-science that they take on an authoritative tone. One would not walk away from one of these stories thinking that they had just learned something scientific in the process. It is not speculative-science that they rely on, but rather magic-science, ie fantasy-science, ie NOT science. Alpha Gene thinks it is espousing science as it simultaneously mangles it beyond recognition.
I would have thought better of this book without the Dr. McKenna character. His story which is supposed to take the front seat could have been included without his mentor-teacher character. As a secondary story-line beneath the pre-teens learning about their bodies and dealing with bullies themes, there could have been a thread following "evil" scientists wanting to "study" these good, wholesome kids-come-superheroes. There are many reasons to not trust this narrator [not that trusting a narrator is required, but this book wants you to trust him and his judgment]. 1) He's established as a doddering fool in the first chapter. 2) He is present in less than 10% of the scenes. Yet, he even tells back-stories about kids that take place elsewhere. I cannot imagine for a second that these kids or their parents would have told him this much. 3) His folksy generalizations about all people did not ring true. ["The boy didn't have any fond memories of the place--of course, no one does when it comes to cemeteries." Well, I'm someone, and I have good cemetery memories.]
I was excited to read this book based on the advertising blurb. And I was doubly excited to receive a free, autographed copy through Goodreads' First Reads. That's where the excitement ended. I do not recommend this book.
Unfortunately, this is treated as the lesser of the two stories. Also, the novel thinks that it is a work of science fiction and not fantasy, but the science is so very misguided and yet authoritative that I would NOT recommend this for kids because of the disinformation that it is spreading. The ultimate problem is in the choice of narrator, Dr. Lucas McKenna. I liked the character for the first chapter in which he proves himself to be a folksy doddering, old fool of a scientist and businessman. He sees himself as a beyond-brilliant scientist on the verge of a Nobel Prize. The book also wants him to be regarded as the latter . . . oops. This "brilliant scientist" authoritatively mis-identifies a frog as a reptile [which is no small mistake] and believes in and espouses spontaneous evolution across an entire species rather than the actual, accepted notion of natural selection. The narrator also misuses the term "theory" to mean "hypothesis;" this is a gaffe made by non-scientists, not credible Nobel Laureates. The biggest skewing is in the explanation of "brain science."
Fantasy does not need the "science" to make sense even when a story includes a scientist as they so often do: The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, the X-Men, The Hulk, Captain America etc. All of these heroes with special abilities have back-stories that involve a transformation or emergence with a very loose science-y explanation. However, they do not get so caught up in their false-science that they take on an authoritative tone. One would not walk away from one of these stories thinking that they had just learned something scientific in the process. It is not speculative-science that they rely on, but rather magic-science, ie fantasy-science, ie NOT science. Alpha Gene thinks it is espousing science as it simultaneously mangles it beyond recognition.
I would have thought better of this book without the Dr. McKenna character. His story which is supposed to take the front seat could have been included without his mentor-teacher character. As a secondary story-line beneath the pre-teens learning about their bodies and dealing with bullies themes, there could have been a thread following "evil" scientists wanting to "study" these good, wholesome kids-come-superheroes. There are many reasons to not trust this narrator [not that trusting a narrator is required, but this book wants you to trust him and his judgment]. 1) He's established as a doddering fool in the first chapter. 2) He is present in less than 10% of the scenes. Yet, he even tells back-stories about kids that take place elsewhere. I cannot imagine for a second that these kids or their parents would have told him this much. 3) His folksy generalizations about all people did not ring true. ["The boy didn't have any fond memories of the place--of course, no one does when it comes to cemeteries." Well, I'm someone, and I have good cemetery memories.]
I was excited to read this book based on the advertising blurb. And I was doubly excited to receive a free, autographed copy through Goodreads' First Reads. That's where the excitement ended. I do not recommend this book.
November 7, 2018
Debo admitir que antes de comenzar el libro busque reseñas sobre éste para darme una idea sobre la trama y honestamente me dejaron un poco decepcionada ya que la mayoría recomendaba el libro para 12 años o menos. De hecho si que es middle age pero sorprendentemente me gustó, la trama me pareció novedosa, la historia me envolvió lo suficiente como para no poder soltar el libro hasta que lo acabe,y lo personajes me agradaron bastante, sin embargo hay tres factores importantes que no me permiten poner un calificación perfecta.
1. La historia gira entorno a un científico que descubre a 5 chicos cuyo ADN incluye en Gen Alfa que les permite tener habilidades especiales. Annie se vuelve invisible, Peter es telequinetico, Tommy lee la mente, Gigi tiene superfuerza y Sophie que puede sanar al instante a cualquier persona con solo tocarla. Lo que no alcanza a gustarme de todo es que la historia narra las aventuras de los chicos, e i forma sobre la vida de Annie y como comenzaron a utilizar sus poderes pero no termina de agra darme que no se menciona mucho a Sophie y me uede con ganas de leer mas sobre ella.
2. Todo el libro es relativamente emocionante, cada capítulo es mejor que en anterior hasta llegar al 18, ahí la historia se vuelve un poco lenta y forzada, los chicos de repente alcanzan el control de sus habilidades y en cuento de 3 capítulos se convierten en héroes.
3. El ultimo capítulo explica que sucede con los chicos años más tarde de que aprendieran a controlar sus habilidades pero me parece final un tanto forzado, los chicos con siguen hacer grandes cosas debido a sus habilidades especiales pero no habla sobre Peter y menciona que ni sus padres supieron que sucede con él lo que me parece muy irreal, y eso mas que nada fue lo qje no me agradó del libro. Por lo demas pje so qje el libro esta bastante bien para entretenerte un rato, te engancha completamente y te hace pasar un tiempo agradable
1. La historia gira entorno a un científico que descubre a 5 chicos cuyo ADN incluye en Gen Alfa que les permite tener habilidades especiales. Annie se vuelve invisible, Peter es telequinetico, Tommy lee la mente, Gigi tiene superfuerza y Sophie que puede sanar al instante a cualquier persona con solo tocarla. Lo que no alcanza a gustarme de todo es que la historia narra las aventuras de los chicos, e i forma sobre la vida de Annie y como comenzaron a utilizar sus poderes pero no termina de agra darme que no se menciona mucho a Sophie y me uede con ganas de leer mas sobre ella.
2. Todo el libro es relativamente emocionante, cada capítulo es mejor que en anterior hasta llegar al 18, ahí la historia se vuelve un poco lenta y forzada, los chicos de repente alcanzan el control de sus habilidades y en cuento de 3 capítulos se convierten en héroes.
3. El ultimo capítulo explica que sucede con los chicos años más tarde de que aprendieran a controlar sus habilidades pero me parece final un tanto forzado, los chicos con siguen hacer grandes cosas debido a sus habilidades especiales pero no habla sobre Peter y menciona que ni sus padres supieron que sucede con él lo que me parece muy irreal, y eso mas que nada fue lo qje no me agradó del libro. Por lo demas pje so qje el libro esta bastante bien para entretenerte un rato, te engancha completamente y te hace pasar un tiempo agradable
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2013
Soy fan de Inspiración y cuando supe que el director escribio una novela, inmediatamente la compre. Es de los mejores libros que he leido y sin duda su mejor trabajo hasta ahora. Espero vengan mas, muchas mas historias.
April 9, 2020
Es un libro definitivamente para jóvenes muy jóvenes. Quizás 12-14 años.
La redacción en primer persona es algo peculiar, y hubo muchas ocasiones en las que llegó a confundirme sobre quien estaba hablando. A veces sentía como si estuviera platicándole al lector de una manera hasta cierto punto infantil.
En cuanto a la historia, a pesar de ser ficción, hubieron muchas cosas que no tuvieron sentido para mí:
-Un científico con tanto dinero como para construir una réplica de la Nasa se va a un pueblito? Si tiene tanto dinero y le interesa la investigación, era para que tuviera un laboratorio un poco más grande que el sótano de su casa...
-Ben finge su muerte, no hay cuerpo, y aún así lo acusan a él?
-Como sabe el que tenían que hacer los niños para controlar sus poderes?
-Llamarlo un gen y en realidad no comentar mucho de su investigación demuestra poco dominio del tema. He leído otros libros parecidos donde lo explican tan bien que si te la crees.
-La parte de la dama de blanco se me hizo completamente innecesaria para la trama
-La escena final muy anti climática
-Y además, la maestra se puede llevar a un grupo de niños a otra ciudad después de clases como si nada? Y sus padres?
Hay otra cosas, pero en si, me dejo con ciertas inconformidades.
Le doy 3 estrellas
La redacción en primer persona es algo peculiar, y hubo muchas ocasiones en las que llegó a confundirme sobre quien estaba hablando. A veces sentía como si estuviera platicándole al lector de una manera hasta cierto punto infantil.
En cuanto a la historia, a pesar de ser ficción, hubieron muchas cosas que no tuvieron sentido para mí:
-Un científico con tanto dinero como para construir una réplica de la Nasa se va a un pueblito? Si tiene tanto dinero y le interesa la investigación, era para que tuviera un laboratorio un poco más grande que el sótano de su casa...
-Ben finge su muerte, no hay cuerpo, y aún así lo acusan a él?
-Como sabe el que tenían que hacer los niños para controlar sus poderes?
-Llamarlo un gen y en realidad no comentar mucho de su investigación demuestra poco dominio del tema. He leído otros libros parecidos donde lo explican tan bien que si te la crees.
-La parte de la dama de blanco se me hizo completamente innecesaria para la trama
-La escena final muy anti climática
-Y además, la maestra se puede llevar a un grupo de niños a otra ciudad después de clases como si nada? Y sus padres?
Hay otra cosas, pero en si, me dejo con ciertas inconformidades.
Le doy 3 estrellas
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2023
Le tengo un cariño especial, pero realmente me parece una novela preciosa, los 5 integrantes tienen una química especial, y te hace soñar con ser parte de ellos, muy agradable.
October 22, 2013
Imagine being able to lift a car, move objects with your mind, and become invisible at a moment’s notice. Doctor Lucas McKenna had been researching a gene that would make this possible for years. He was just about to make a presentation on this gene when his research partner is murdered, and Dr. McKenna is to blame. He is found not guilty and relocates to a small town, where the alpha gene that he had researched and imagined for so long is shown to him through children, right before his very eyes. These almost teenagers feel alone with their powers, but Dr. McKenna takes them in under his wing, and helps them learn to control their abilities. And with each other these kids find confidence, fight bullies, and learn to accept themselves.
The story starts out with Dr. McKenna as the main character, and it’s told through his point of view. But then it shifts to the children’s stories, mostly Peter. I think it would have been helpful if it then switched to Peter’s point of view instead of third character because I always felt that first person pov made the story more ‘real’ if you will.
One other thing that would make me stop the story in my tracks was all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Some words are spelled right, but just in the wrong form, for instance, “Go take a sit, kid, any seat,” (p. 58).
And then, there was the constant age change.
"For young Peter, the road trip had been torture. A twelve-year-old kid, confined to the back seat of a car for six hours, that’s almost like prison time. Peter was a smart kid, not grades smart but street smart. The ten year old was kind of tall for his age, had black hair, and sported a few freckle here and there." (pgs.49- 50)
See what I’m saying? I had to not think about their age and just assumed they were somewhere in between 10-12 years old.
One last bothersome thing was the fish, Merlin. Peter was still getting used to his powers, and Merlin the fish ended up on the floor. Peter’s mom came up when she heard the ruckus and “by the time she pulled it out of the back of the desk, the poor little creature was breathing no more.” (p. 124). Of course it wasn’t breathing, it’s a fish! They breathe in water. Yes, maybe the fish was dead from suffocation or from the force of being thrown out of an exploding fish tank, but we don’t know for sure because they didn’t try to put it back in water. (I’m just saying, cause my fish once jumped out of the tank before I knew to put a cover on top. When my husband found it we thought it was dead, but we put it in the water and it lived another year!)
Okay, on to the positives. It was a good story! This is Mr. Huerta’s first book, and I think he did an amazing job. If it wasn’t for the grammar errors, the age change, and point of view issues, I probably would have rated it higher than I did. But for what it’s worth 3 ½ stars is still a good rating.
My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****
The story starts out with Dr. McKenna as the main character, and it’s told through his point of view. But then it shifts to the children’s stories, mostly Peter. I think it would have been helpful if it then switched to Peter’s point of view instead of third character because I always felt that first person pov made the story more ‘real’ if you will.
One other thing that would make me stop the story in my tracks was all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Some words are spelled right, but just in the wrong form, for instance, “Go take a sit, kid, any seat,” (p. 58).
And then, there was the constant age change.
"For young Peter, the road trip had been torture. A twelve-year-old kid, confined to the back seat of a car for six hours, that’s almost like prison time. Peter was a smart kid, not grades smart but street smart. The ten year old was kind of tall for his age, had black hair, and sported a few freckle here and there." (pgs.49- 50)
See what I’m saying? I had to not think about their age and just assumed they were somewhere in between 10-12 years old.
One last bothersome thing was the fish, Merlin. Peter was still getting used to his powers, and Merlin the fish ended up on the floor. Peter’s mom came up when she heard the ruckus and “by the time she pulled it out of the back of the desk, the poor little creature was breathing no more.” (p. 124). Of course it wasn’t breathing, it’s a fish! They breathe in water. Yes, maybe the fish was dead from suffocation or from the force of being thrown out of an exploding fish tank, but we don’t know for sure because they didn’t try to put it back in water. (I’m just saying, cause my fish once jumped out of the tank before I knew to put a cover on top. When my husband found it we thought it was dead, but we put it in the water and it lived another year!)
Okay, on to the positives. It was a good story! This is Mr. Huerta’s first book, and I think he did an amazing job. If it wasn’t for the grammar errors, the age change, and point of view issues, I probably would have rated it higher than I did. But for what it’s worth 3 ½ stars is still a good rating.
My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****
October 17, 2013
“Alpha Gene” was an enjoyable book to read and had a wonderful message on how to standup to bullies. I would describe the book as Pre-teen/Teen Sci Fi (if there is such a classification) and would recommend it for the 10 to 15 year-old reader. I do, however, have a few issues with the book. One thing that distracts greatly from reviewing any writing is errors in spelling and grammar. This is not just a matter of being anal, but these errors distract from the flow, enjoyment and understanding of the reading. For example, in numerous place the word “maybe” was spelled “may be”. These have different meanings and cause the reader to pause and determine the context in which the word was used. There were also several places where a wrong preposition (e.g., of, at, to) was used. I don’t think this was intentional, but suggests that the book was not edited carefully before printing. My final criticism has to do with the future evolution of the alpha gene as described on page 321: “…approximately 30 percent…are born with the gene…in another twenty years or so, that number will rise to about 60 percent.” Perhaps I’m being too much of a biology geek, but this just does not seem likely in Darwinian evolution. For any gene to increase in the population, it must convey a fitness advantage, which is expressed by those having the gene being more reproductively successful than those without it. This must happen over many generations, unless the 30% accounted for 60% of the babies born over the next 20 years. Again, the book was enjoyable to read and should find success with the younger readers.
September 14, 2013
Alpha Gene
Alpha Gene follows the story of five kids who use more than 10 percent of their brain function due to a genetic anomaly called the Alpha Gene, nature’s way of naturally evolving human beings as a species. I have to say I really enjoyed the premise of this book. While I would have liked to see more point of views from the kids, all in all the whole concept was incredibly intriguing.
Most of the books I tend to read revolve around romances, which was why I was surprised when I enjoyed this so much. But the thought that there are people who are using more than ten percent of their brains and have powers because of it is just awesome. The five kids, Peter, Tommy, GG, Annie and Sophie, all have very different gifts and their own set of triggers to make their gifts work.
I like how Doc helps the kids develop their gift while still studying them, but not in a creepy scientist way. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but I have to say that Peter is probably my favorite character, not just his gift, which I think is awesome, but he’s a genuinely good person. I love how he’s always trying to help his friends and how he isn’t afraid to stand up to bullies.
There’s a pretty big twist in this story that comes towards the end of the book and it really showcases how each character has grown through the process of the story. I definitely think if the mind fascinates you Alpha Gene is a great story to read!
Alpha Gene follows the story of five kids who use more than 10 percent of their brain function due to a genetic anomaly called the Alpha Gene, nature’s way of naturally evolving human beings as a species. I have to say I really enjoyed the premise of this book. While I would have liked to see more point of views from the kids, all in all the whole concept was incredibly intriguing.
Most of the books I tend to read revolve around romances, which was why I was surprised when I enjoyed this so much. But the thought that there are people who are using more than ten percent of their brains and have powers because of it is just awesome. The five kids, Peter, Tommy, GG, Annie and Sophie, all have very different gifts and their own set of triggers to make their gifts work.
I like how Doc helps the kids develop their gift while still studying them, but not in a creepy scientist way. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but I have to say that Peter is probably my favorite character, not just his gift, which I think is awesome, but he’s a genuinely good person. I love how he’s always trying to help his friends and how he isn’t afraid to stand up to bullies.
There’s a pretty big twist in this story that comes towards the end of the book and it really showcases how each character has grown through the process of the story. I definitely think if the mind fascinates you Alpha Gene is a great story to read!
June 14, 2016
“If you add imagination to the equation, then anything is possible.”
An exceptional book for those readers who still believe in the power of good doing and standing up for those you care about. I highly recommend it for teenagers that enjoy sci-fi and adventures and grown ups with a taste for good simple storytelling and a longing for the careless life we led as kids. I'm not a fan of this genre and still the author managed to get me hooked through character anecdotes, witty humor and faith. And that is the greatest message this books brings to readers: believe in yourself, overcome fear, and learn to rely on your friends.
I think it is a great debut for its author, much will be learned from it, and I can't wait to see what follows.
An exceptional book for those readers who still believe in the power of good doing and standing up for those you care about. I highly recommend it for teenagers that enjoy sci-fi and adventures and grown ups with a taste for good simple storytelling and a longing for the careless life we led as kids. I'm not a fan of this genre and still the author managed to get me hooked through character anecdotes, witty humor and faith. And that is the greatest message this books brings to readers: believe in yourself, overcome fear, and learn to rely on your friends.
I think it is a great debut for its author, much will be learned from it, and I can't wait to see what follows.
July 19, 2013
This book reminded me of those classic tales like Stand by me or IT (without the horror side to it) because of how the author introduces each character with a little back story of their own. In fact, the writing style reminds me a lot of Mr. King´s in his early years. I decided to give this book a chance because of the book description and I´m happy to say I made the right choice. I loved the book and I declare myself a Fan of its author. This book is without a doubt an instant classic!
October 6, 2013
A great book of children coming of age, learning about themselves and how to deal with new and interesting situations. This would be a book I recommend to the young adult crowd whom will want to know that everyone feels the way that they do. The author Angel Huerta combines points of view from many characters that lets the reader delve into their minds to feel and experience what the characters are feeling and going through.
July 31, 2013
This book reminded me of the Harry Potter books. The story is so well told and the characters so fascinating, that I read it two times already. Props to the author, he has quite an imagination.
I loved the way each character has a back story and how the author makes you see them perfectly! This book could turn out to be one of the greats of all time. Im not kidding!
I loved the way each character has a back story and how the author makes you see them perfectly! This book could turn out to be one of the greats of all time. Im not kidding!
July 20, 2013
Oh my God! I had a great time reading this book. This is the type of book you can read over and over. I loved GG, he´s my favorite character. He´s like the sleeping giant. I loved the book, I loved the story. I hope this turns into a series.
July 31, 2013
I finished the book in a day and started reading it one week later. This book takes you to a world of imagination. I really hope the author turns this into a series because he ends it on a mystery note.
August 8, 2013
Saw my daughter reading this book. She was laughing, excited, and on the edge of her seat. Literally. So when she was done I read it. She laughed at me the next day as I was on the edge of my seat laughing and excited reading. I loved this book. Great read!
June 3, 2016
Un libro muy recomendable que me dejó con mucho que decir.
Tiene un enfoque parecido al de muchos autores que he apreciado, como Michael Buckley, y enseña moralejas que los niños de ahora deben aprender.
definitivamente una buena historia
Tiene un enfoque parecido al de muchos autores que he apreciado, como Michael Buckley, y enseña moralejas que los niños de ahora deben aprender.
definitivamente una buena historia
July 16, 2013
Instant Classic! Reading this book is like going on an adventure! I highly recommend it!
September 23, 2015
An entertaining read for parents to their kids, or preteens and young adults who've always wished they had superpowers.
September 8, 2013
actual rating 3.5
good book with a pretty interesting plot but it just fell short.... full review to come...
good book with a pretty interesting plot but it just fell short.... full review to come...
April 15, 2015
Disponible en todas las tiendas Gandhi, Booksmart, Gonvill y La Ventana.
February 14, 2015
Me encantó!
March 8, 2016
Me gustó mucho la manera en que está contada, me transportó a mi infancia y me hizo recordar aquellos años maravillosos durante la década de los 80s.
Muy recomendable.
Muy recomendable.
June 3, 2016
Ampliamente recomendada.
June 3, 2016
Una novela muy entretenida para niños o adolescentes quienes siempre han soñado con tener superpoderes.
August 1, 2013
I loved the book. This is for sure one of the year´s best releases.
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