Review Detail

Connected by Michael Anthony Steele is a novelization of the movie The Mitchells vs. the Machines. We watched the movie on Netflix when it first became available, and it quickly rose to the top of our favorites list. The book has as well. It follows the adventures of one family who work together to stop a robot-like apocalypse.

What I Liked:
-Age-appropriate language makes it engaging for independent readers
-Type-font indicates the narrator of the story
-Short chapters are less intimidating to young readers and offer easy stopping points
-Fast-paced, sci-fi adventure reminiscent of iRobot and Terminator but age-appropriate for kids

What Left Me Wanting More:
Because this is a movie novelization that was released at the same time as the movie itself, there is little to no new information. I expected this, however my ten year old was quickly bored because he knew the story from seeing the movie. There are stills from the movie in the center of the book, seemingly placed at random. This would have served the author and story well if the pictures were placed at the appropriate spots of the book instead of all together in the center.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, I liked Connected. It was an easy read, age-appropriate, and fast-paced like the movie it is based on. I would’ve liked to see more backstory and events that didn’t happen in the movie or maybe were alluded to but not shown on screen. Sci-fi fans will enjoy this one.