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    Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation
    Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation
    Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation
    Audiobook9 hours

    Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation

    Written by Matt Myklusch

    Narrated by Norbert Leo Butz

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Fans of Brandon Mull and James Riley will love this middle grade fantasy trilogy about a regular kid who discovers that the truth about his past could be the answer to saving the future.

    All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage that sinks more and more into the swampland of New Jersey with each passing year. His aptitude tests project him as spending a long, unhappy career as a toilet brush cleaner. His only chance at escape comes through the comic books donated years ago to the orphanage that he secretly reads in the dark corners of the library. Everything changes one icy gray morning when Jack receives two visitors that alter his life forever. The first is a deadly robot straight out of one of his comic books that tries its best to blow him up. The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, an astonishing place where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate—including Jack. Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability—one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they’ve ever faced.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 3, 2010
    ISBN9781442304796
    Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation
    Author

    Matt Myklusch

    Matt Myklusch lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

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    Reviews for Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation

    4/5

    56 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Great book. You can't not read this book!!! Good for 9 years old kids and up!


    • 5/5
      Where do I start with this? Seriously, I wish that Jack Blank had been in my life when I was a young reader! The Accidental Hero (originally titled Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation) is such a brilliantly written book. Complete with an fabulous world, amazing characters, and tons of positive messages, this is the type of book that I would put into the hands of reluctant readers. I guarantee that they will fall in love!

      I absolutely have to start with the original world that Matt Myklusch builds in the Imagine Nation. This is the type of place that dreams are made of. A world populated with superheroes and villains. With more futuristic technology than you can wrap your head around. The type of world where a young boy can thrive, especially one with a huge imagination! Super fights are common. Cars fly. I can't even explain to you how much I loved the Imagine Nation! I wonder if I believe hard enough, if I might be able to move there myself.

      Then there is my love for Jack himself. I really enjoyed watching him grow from the quiet, scared boy in the orphanage into the brave and strong character that he ultimately becomes. Jack is the perfect role model for both boys and girls of any age. He knows his limits, he admits when he's scared, but he chooses to fight anyway. He's selfless, kind and so witty. Best of all though, Jack's character is written so vividly that it's easy to believe that he might just be your best friend. Following him through his adventure is made all the more amazing, simply because Jack is so amazing himself.

      Finally, and I feel like this is a big part of why I loved this story so much, The Accidental Hero has so many fabulous messages to share with young readers. Jack's story isn't always happy. It isn't always easy. Still, along the way he meets some amazing people who teach him important life lessons. To be strong. To be brave. To be a friend. It is so inspiring! My all time favorite? "Never underestimate the power you have over what happens today. Never forget the power today has over tomorrow." (pg 467) All of these come into the story without feeling preachy. It's magical.

      If you couldn't already tell from my raving review above, I give this book my highest seal of approval! The Accidental Hero is the whole package. If you have a reluctant reader at home, boy or girl, put this book in their hands. I see so much potential for this to become their new favorite series. Skeptical? I have one word for you to say as you hand it to them: Robo-Zombies. Get this book. You won't regret it!
    • 4/5
      After a lifetime of people telling him that they knew what was best for him and what his future was going to be, it was wonderful to hear someone say that it was really all up to him. - Chapter 7

      When rumors are reported as fact for a long-enough period of time, people eventually lose the ability to tell the difference. - Chapter 10

      All young boys get scared from time to time. Even the brave ones. - Chapter 15

      Accidental Hero is about a young boy (Jack Blank) who has grown up in an orphanage not knowing anything about his past. One day, he finds out that his favorite comic book heroes are actually real. And that he comes from a place called the Imagine Nation. Thus starts a great adventure filled with superheroes and villains, a threat from outer space and some unexpected twists. Jack gradually discovers that he has powers he didn't even know about and that even he can be a hero. It's not about being unafraid, it's about acting to protect those you love, despite the fear.

      I read this book with my 11-year old son. We really enjoyed it. Jack is an excellent main character, realistically flawed and clever, but lacking self confidence. The book is fast-paced and fun. Towards the end, neither of us wanted to stop reading; we just had to see what would happen next. The ending resolves the book itself, but there are two more books in the series, I think. I would like to see what happens with Jack next, since the future isn't written in stone... (But our next read starts the summer reading assignment, so Jack Blank will have to wait.)

      Recommended to:
      6th grade and up; kids that like adventure & superheroes; not just for boys.
    • 4/5
      Great first book-I really liked the main character and the writing was hilarious and kept me hooked.
    • 4/5
      The sign in front of St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost read CRUSHING THE SPIRIT OF CHILDHOOD SINCE 1898. Appropriately, the words were carved in stone because it wasn’t ever going to change (p. 1).Thus begins the story of Jack Blank, an orphan at St. Barnaby’s who has no idea who he is or where he comes from. The poor kid doesn’t even know his last name. Constantly bullied by the children and adults at the Home, Jack retreats into the imaginary worlds of his favorite comic books and dreams of a better life. When two mysterious visitors appear at St. Barnaby’s one night, Jack is swept away to a fantastic place called the Imagine Nation, a world under siege, desperately in need of a hero.Fans of Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel Comics will be right at home with this book, although Myklusch’s affection for his influences sometimes steers the narrative into derivative territory. The story of a young boy who must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to find courage, strength, and, in Jack’s case, an identity, is an overly familiar one. But Myklusch infuses his novel with such vigor and earnestness that this familiarity becomes welcome, and his novel holds genuine appeal for anyone who loves a good old fashioned futuristic tale of good versus evil.
    • 4/5
      Young boy grows up in miserable orphanage, picked on by grown-ups and kids alike. Things mysteriously go wrong when he's around, but he's saved and taken to a wonderful, magical place where everybody knows of him and he's offered a spot in an elite school. Also, things are awesome.Sound familiar? And please - don't say Harry Potter. Try something novel, like any of the thousands of books with a premise just like this.Sounds tired and predictable? Well... not so much. Sure, this is the premise that has launched a thousand authors' careers, but that's because it works. What kid doesn't sometimes wish somebody would whisk THEM away from the drudgery of daily life? What kid doesn't hope THEY have a magical heritage, just waiting to be found? (If there is such a kid, I hope we never meet. It'd be weird.)Okay, so it's an old story, and the sub-premise (that there's a secret moving island that all our hopes and dreams and superheros are nurtured on) is a bit silly. So what? It's still an engrossing and engaging book, with a couple of surprising plot twists near the end. And certainly having the kid whisked away to where everybody knows his name in a BAD way, that's new.This isn't a series likely to break any new ground, but the first book was pretty fun.
    • 4/5
      Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation is the debut novel for Matt Myklusch. It’s a Young Adult novel with Jack Blank as the 12 year old main character. He has spent his whole life in St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage for those so described, and has wished everyday to be someone else.The book is similar to Harry Potter and Alcatraz Smedry (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians) and in many ways really reminded my of Alcatraz. Both Alcatraz and Blank are raised as orphans, knowing/wishing they had a different life, then finding out they were sent from their secret country to live among the unenlightened. While Alcatraz is very tongue-in-cheek Blank is a bit more serious, though still a lot of fun.Jack Blank, was left on the doorstep of St. Barnaby’s as a babe with a note pinned to his blanket calling him Jack. He grew up at St. Barnaby’s, much against his preferances. Jack had daydreams like all boys, about getting super powers and becoming a superhero. One day while bailing out the basement as punishment for reading comic books, he’s attacked by a large cyborg that resembled the Rustov robots in his comics, and he barely escapes. While trying to explain all the damage caused by the robot which blew up leaving no trace and Jack in as the culprit, Jazon Knight arrives and whisks Jack away. Jazon tells him about the Imagine Nation where all the impossible is possible and Jack is from there. This is the beginning of Jacks adventures and the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for, you just might get it’ holds true.