MVP*: Magellan Voyage Project

by Douglas Evans, John Shelley (Illustrator)

Every kid’s dream is to be named Most Valuable Player. But how many ever dream that the game is a race around the world (no flying allowed) in just forty days? That’s the challenge Adam faces in the Great Global Game. As the player for the Magellan Voyage Project, he competes against others for a four-million-dollar prize! Trackers with blowguns and a nefarious baron don’t make things easy.

Genres: Adventure, Childrens, Middle Grade, Humor, Fiction, Juvenile, Travel

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Douglas Evans lives in Berkeley, California. He grew up in Ohio and Minnesota and taught for many years in various settings ranging from a small logging town in Oregon, to a wealthy suburb in California; a private school in Berkeley, to international schools in Helsinki and London. Now he is a full-time writer of books, stories, plays, and screenplays for children. Doug spends a good part of each year living abroad and has visited over 100 countries. Doug plays a competent piano and guitar and has written over 400 songs and compositions. His published books include MVP: Magellan Voyage Project, The Elevator Family, and Classroom at the End of the Hall.

Reviews

[Tristan Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

MVP
By: Douglas Evans

This book in my opinion was great. The adventurous book, MVP, made me cringe in intense moments and cheer at exciting moments. When I read this book I immediately was into it, and to my surprise I finished it the day I started it. Proof of how interesting this book really is.

There are really only four main characters, out of the hundreds of characters that you meet throughout the story. The four are Adam Story, Baron von Sheepsbutt, Meredith, and Prince Oh. This books plot is this. A twelve-year old, Adam Story, is approached on his birthday while sitting on the picnic bench at his school, waiting for his mom. The person that approaches him is Prince Oh. Prince Oh tells him about a challenge, which was that he had to travel around the world in less than forty days and if he does so that he would receive four million dollars. But what Prince Oh doesn’t tell Adam is that there are twenty-three other twelve-year olds also trying to do this challenge or any of the rules. These twenty-four twelve year olds are part of teams, which all are led by Princes and Princesses and Barons and Queens and so on. All these people have staff that helps the teams twelve year old along the journey because if one of the kids quits or if a kid wins than all the losing leaders lose their titles of Prince or Queen and so on.

As for Adam Story the main twelve year old competitor in this race, is the least expected to win the race. As he progresses throughout the race he finds a girl named Meredith, who tells him all about the rules and about all the people like stoppers and trackers and pilots. Then fills him in on all of the other teams. As he progresses he comes in contact with all of these people, many civilians that help him and many more but you will have to read the book to find out.

As my conclusion this book was 5 out of 5. It was very adventurous, which I like, and at the end of every page made me keep reading. This book in my opinion was one if the book that I have ever read. I definitely think that this should be read by all ages and that they will really enjoy it.

[Arminzerella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Adam Story, 12 year-old, has been chosen to participate in the Great Global Game - a challenge to race around the world in 40 days (or less). He’s racing against 23 other kids for a 4 million dollar prize and he’s up against some tough odds. Although his sponsor, Prince Oh the fortieth of the now defunct kingdom of Babababad, has provided him with cell phone, passport, GPS, ATM and credit cards to help him get where he needs to go, Adam is being tailed by a group of teenagers armed with sleeping darts hired especially to take him out (not to mention the legal trackers and detention centers that operate within the game). Despite all of this, Adam is having a great time – he’s getting to see the world, something he’s always wanted to do, and for the first time he’s making friends.

This story is very rushed. The characters are all pretty flat, so despite the excitement and the fast-pacing, it’s hard to care much about what happens to them – you don’t form any connections. It’s also difficult to get a flavor or feel for all of the places and Adam and his fellow competitors visit; here they are traveling around the world and there’s no time to enjoy it. While the concept itself is something worth exploring, the execution just wasn’t up to expectations. Readers should get excited about the idea of a worldwide race, a big money prize, a taste of true independence at the age of 12, but the storytelling falls short. Even the ending is anticlimactic. Adam reaches his starting point just 1 second before the end of the race, but no one is there to greet him or cheer for his achievement or award him the prize money. Instead his mom picks him up and it’s back to school the next week and he gets a lottery ticket in the mail some weeks later. There’s not even much opportunity for him to celebrate his achievement on his own. I give this one a resounding ‘eh.’ Find something better to read.

Note: Kids in our reading group *loved* this book. And they were having none of my not loving it. :) I'm all for their enthusiasm, so, if you're about 10 or 11, you might just adore this.

[Signe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids loved it.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was mentioned at one of Judy Freeman's seminars, and usually you can't go wrong with her suggestions. But this one... what a shame. The idea of a global game where kids have to race around the world in forty days or less is a really interesting one, and should capture the attention of our media-saturated minds. I say should, because unfortunately, it absolutely failed at this goal. This is a book with a great idea behind it that in reality is flat and boring.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp around the world as 12-year-olds (with the backing of country-less royals) compete to see who can make it through all 24 time zones and back to their home base in 40 days. Action, adventure, intrigue, and more!

[Kim Cowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great children's book. My almost 9 year old, soon borrowed this book from the library and neither of us could put it down. I went to wake him up for school one day and he was in bed reading it. I couldn't blame him. Very exciting adventure, great characters, we loved it.

[Christopher Guinto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book because it's about adventure and I like adventure. The book was about a boy who's running around the world for 4 million dollars in 40 days. I would recommend this book to anyone who like adventure.

[Lori Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book! I plan to use this fall in my classroom to entice my reluctant readers. About 4th grade reading level...

[Aun Naqvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book MVP by Douglas Evans is a great read. Imagine being a 12 year old living in poverty having a chance to win $1 Million just for traveling the world. MVP is a great read, it starts with a 12 year old boy going to a normal school when he notices a strange man on the playground. The strange man comes up to him asking if he would like to join his traveling group MVP, if Adam, the protagonist of the story can make it around the world the fastest he will win 1 Million dollars. Adam accepts the request thinking of it as a normal challenge until he finds out he is in a huge game show . He finds out he has to compete with other players around the globe and the fastest will win. The characterizations in this book are amazing, the author knows how to develop a character and attach the reader with the character. You can see this from the beginning to the end of the story, in the beginning Adam is a lonely boy who wants to travel the world, near the end we can see Adam develop a lot throughout becoming a better traveler and confident. Any gender can enjoy this book, I recommend this book for kids ages 10-13 as it is not a hard read. This book can be compared to The Travel because it also features a young boy traveling the world.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was absolutely awful, with boring, flat characters, lots of uncomfortable ethnic stereotypes, and an unbelievably rushed plot. With all of the fantastic children's literature that's out there, I am stumped as to how this actually got published.

We will be discussing this tonight for my 5th-8th grade book discussion group and I am soooo curious to see what the kids thought!

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my two children over the course of a week and it was a lot of fun for me and for them. We discussed travel, adventures, competition, fair play, time zones, and basic discovery of new things. I highly recommend this book. And if you like palindromes you will love it.

[Josh Woodsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. I liked the adventure factor. I think the idea of a "great global game" would be pretty cool if we actually had one.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun story!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i haven't read this in like 15 years and yet it's still a fun lil read

a bit dated but what isn't

[Adison Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magellan Voyage Project (MVP)

I read the book Magellan Voyage Project also called MVP. This book is written by Douglas Evans. It is about a boy named Adam who has the opportunity to travel around the world in 40 days. He soon finds out though that he is not the only one who is in this competition! I thought that this book is really good! There are a lot of twists and turns, and a lot of action in this book. I think that how they introduce the characters are really good, and I really enjoy how descriptive the author is. The main characters, Adam Story. This story is told in 1st person by Adam Story. Adam Story is a 12 year old boy who gets selected to enter a challenge to travel around the world in 40 days, there are 23 other 12 year old, and if he gets around the world first, he wins a 1 million dollars. He only receives a passport, GPS, backpack, and credit/debit cards. There's a catch though, their are detention centers where you are held back for 24 hours from the competition. You either end up there if you break a rule, or are stupid enough to go with a stranger, who ends up running a detention center. There was also a sponsor who had a group of teenagers with sleep darts go out and try and find Adam. Do you think he will make it? If you were Adam, do you think that you could make it? Overall, I thought that this book was really good! I would give it a 9/10 because no books or basically anything is perfect. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys books like the Hunger Games because it has a lot action, and people who enjoyed Mr. Lemoncello's Library because both books use a lot of problem solving, and have a lot of action. I would want to read this book again, and I recommend it to other people.

[Anna Heyne]

MVP is about a twelve year old boy who is put into a race. This boys name is Adam Story and lives in San Francisco, California. Adam Story is a loner at his school with not many friends. One day a man named Prince Oh appoints him. This man says that he has a chance to win four million dollars for going around the world in forty days by not going by air. Adam decides to go but his mom does not know about this. She thinks that he is at his summer camp. For his adventure he is given a cell phone, passport, gps, atm, and credit cards. Adam has to go through many bad things for example the trackers that are out to take him out of the game and a group of teenagers who have sleeping darts hired to get him out especially. They take him to a detention center where he his held captive, so he is not able to complete the adventure within the forty days. Adam decides he can’t stay there so he escapes by not being seen by the guards. He gets in contact with his cell phone and is able to make it back. Adam makes it back a second before the game is over. No one s there to congratulate him on his adventure. His mom comes and takes him home not knowing that he ever went on a big adventure. A couple weeks later though he receives a lottery ticket, he wasn’t sure at first but then remembered how he had won four million dollars. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure. The ending is a little broad, the middle of the book though tells a lot about other countries. Overall I would give this book an eight out of ten for adventure but ending not to well.

[Siddhesh Krishnan]

Adam Story is 12 years-old.He is very poor, and his mom has to work in the kitchen for his school.He is also very shy because he has no friends and is really independent.He has been chosen to participate in the Great Global Game a challenge to race around the world in 40 days (or less). He’s racing against 24 other kids for a 4 million dollar prize and he’s up against some tough odds. Although his sponsor, Prince Oh the fortieth of the now defunct kingdom of Babababad, has provided him with cell phone, passport, GPS, ATM and credit cards to help him get where he needs to go, Adam is being tailed by a group of teenagers armed with sleeping darts hired especially to take him out. Despite all of this, Adam is having a great time – he’s getting to see the world, something he’s always wanted to do, and for the first time he’s making friends. While he is out traveling around the world his mom thinks that he is at a soccer camp.

This is a great book. This book is my type because I love travelling. This book is great and suspenseful because of the villains. This book is great. I really liked it. MVP*: Magellan Voyage Project

[Jennifer Margulis · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the first scene of this book where a royal portly prince dressed in black woos Adam Story, a 12-year-old boy and self-described loaner, into agreeing to race to circle the globe in 40 days (land transportation only, no flying) to the ridiculous names (Baron Von Sheepsbottom, the kingdom Babababab), this book is quirky, funny, and completely fantastical.

My 10-year-old son and I enjoyed the palindromes ("Madame I'm Adam") and liked the brief descriptions of the places Adam visited around the world. I found the book a bit fluffy and the characters and plot a bit underdeveloped. Where is Adam's father? Why do the other players betray each other and leave the game? How are the referees chosen? I could go on ... But it doesn't really matter, I suppose, which is why I'm giving the book only three stars.

I imagine this book could appeal to elementary school boys who are learning to read to themselves and who like books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants. There are lots of illustrations and the writing is simple and straightforward, if full of goofy word play, which is good for struggling readers.

There really isn't much of a point to MVP--other than an amusing story. It isn't a memorable book but it is certainly a fun one.

[Michael Pauloski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"MVP" by Douglas Evans I thoguht was a great book. I thought that it was great because of how action filled, exciting, and adventurous it was. The book was good all the way through, it made perfect sense and was very entertaining. This book is like a thrill ride around the world in 200 pages. The main character (Adam Story) and I have quite a bit in common. We are both 13 years old and we love to travel. He goes to camp for almost the entire summer, but he is a very smart kid with no friends, and is kind of poor. That however does not fit my description. This book reminds me of Amelia Earhart because the main character tries to go around the world in fourty days for a chance at four million dollars. I would recommend this book to kids of all ages and young adults. "MVP" by Evan Douglas is a great book, and I highly reccomend it.

[Jane]

This book was certainly not what I expected it to be. In a good way. I expected it to be about a sport because MVP stands for 'most valuable player'. I loved the twist.
This book is about a boy who gets asked to play a game on his birthday. The game is to travel around the world on surface in 40 days.What he doesn't know is that 23 other 12 year olds are playing against him.
Long story short, whoever makes it around the world first will win 4,000,000$! The boy's family is running low on money, so he accepts. His journey is filled with adventure when he meets people that he can't trust and even finds a partner.
When people start breaking rules and begin to kidnapp, he's wondering if he should give up. Read this story to find out if he'll go on or give up.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Adam Story is chosen to compete in a race around the world. In order to win, he must get through all 24 time zones and back to his hometown of San Francisco in 40 days. Adam is intrigued by the challenge, but soon finds out that there is more to this race than he'd expected.

This book has a very wacky tone and there's a lot of word play (for instance, Adam introduces himself as "Madam, I'm Adam" because it is a palindrome). I enjoyed seeing Adam go through the different countries. It was very interesting to get a little snippet of different countries and cultures as Adam goes through the race. The quirkiness of the story and the super-abrupt ending didn't really do it for me, though.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam Story is a loner and that makes him the perfect player for a global race around the world sponsored by various royal families who have lost their kingdoms or thrones. The goal is to be the first 12-year-old to circle the globe (not by air) within 40 days - the winner receiving 4 million dollars. Of course, there are lots of complications including a cheating team and participating without telling his mother (who thinks he is safely attending summer camp). Though the ending is not really in doubt, his story of getting there does take a few surprising twists and turns. A solid read for those who like adventure along the lines of Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy (minus any superheroes of course).

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam, who loves palindromes, is a very savvy 12-year-old. He is approached by Prince Oh, who tempts him with a proposition. Prince Oh tells Adam he has been chosen to participate in a race around the world. If he circumnavigates the world trip by ground in 40 days, he will become the youngest traveler ever to do this amazing feat. Adam must, however, deceive his mom in the process. She must not know of his adventure. The trip coincides with his summer camp schedule when he would be away from home anyway. He accepts the challenge. Oh yes! One small piece of information has been omitted. If he is the first to complete the race, he is awarded four million dollars. This is a book packed with geographical points of interests to whet your traveling interests.

[Rustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books no question. I am a 10 year old boy and I would recommend this book. This book is about a 12 year old boy getting the M.V.P. birthday challenge about competing in this race to circumnavigate around the world in 40 days. The boy's name is Adam Story and his mom works in the cafeteria for the school he goes to. They're not a rich family. More of the challenge part, you can only use ground transportation and lots of other rules, and if you win, you get 4,000,000 dollars. They're stoppers, trackers, and many other people to help you or trap you or even put you to sleep. This is by far one of the best books I've read and would very highly recommend it.

[Emily Everts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. When a strange man comes up to adam and offers him a chance to play in a world wide game he can't deny. There are many trapes and triks that the sponcers can play on the other player that they are not sponcering. The players are one teen frome every country. There sponcers are princesses and princes frome all around the world. Adam has to finish the game withen fourty days. My favorit part is when Adam's sponcers contacts him a month after he finished the game and tells him he has wone the scolership and the five hundred thousand reword money.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you made a list of worldwide landmarks you would want to visit someday, what places would you include?

A twelve-year-old geography-loving boy is challenged by a mysterious man to circle the globe in 40 days. Along the way he learns he is actually a pawn in a huge competition, and that some of the other contestants will do anything to keep him from winning. A fun read, with danger, excitement, and geography at every turn.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

MVP is an action pact book.Adam Story has to travel around the world in forty days.Without fling.Baron got 99 stoppers from across the world and they are not nice.The Great Global Game is awesome.There is stoppers,trackers,referres,and pilots.There is producers.Each producer has a player.If a player loses the producers will not be a prince,queen,or king.Adams producer is prince Oh.

In recommend this book for people that like action.Also 3rd-6th.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story about Adam, a 12 year old boy who is approached by a strange man to take a trip around the world in 40 days (no aircraft) by himself. At first Adam is skeptical but ends up never getting on the bus for summer camp and having the adventure of his life. He soon learns that he is part of a competition set up by L.O.R.D., League of Royalty without Domains, called the Great Global Game. There are rules and bad guys trying to stop him and friends he doesn't know if he can trust. Good story.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book about a boy who has to make it around the world in 40 days with no air travel. My kids were reading it so I picked it up. I didn't have great expectations, and while it's not the best book I've read lately, I was impressed with the various turns in the story. Good for the 9-12 age group.

[Kata Bel Air · Rating 1 out of 5]

ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick ick.
i did not like this book AT ALL whatsoever. it was pointless, it was unrealistic, and many more things that i dare not describe. i don't reccomend this book to ANYONE! AND I NEVER WILL!