Bookworm Speaks!- Guardians of the Galaxy: The Junior Novel Review

Bookworm Speaks!

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Junior Novel 

Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

****

Guardians of the Galaxy were an obscure title of Marvel Comics that had a limited release. When it was decided to make a movie about them, there were understandably some doubts about investing so much money into an adaptation of a relatively unknown franchise. All doubts were swept away on the day of release, when Guardians of Galaxy opened to rave reviews of a fun, action-packed space adventure that is a speck of light in a film landscape dominated by doom and angst. 

That’s not what we are here to talk about today. Not yet at least. Today, we are here to discuss one of the many promotional items released before and after the film’s release, the junior novelization of Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Story:  An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy tells the story of a group of cosmic misfits--Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot--who band together to protect a mysterious orb against Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.

The Good: Bookworm has not read too many junior novelizations of movies, but this tome is a good example as it is definitely a junior novel. The plot and writing has been greatly simplified and the violence has been almost completely omitted or toned down. Thankfully, the writers did a good job of preserving the feel of Guardians of the Galaxy for those who have already seen the movie. 

Some may call kid friendly adaptations. a soulless cash grab but that is an unfair assessment. The film is not that offensive but it has enough violence and some swear words to earn its PG-13 rating. So it is probably not a good idea for little kids to see it. Nonetheless, this book is gentle enough that kids can read to their heart’s content. The children are the future and it is the duty of the Nerd sphere to guide and nurture the next generation of geeks. 

The Flaws: The most glaring flaw is the books ending: it is unfinished. It basically stops right before the big climax. This is probably due to the fact that it was released before the film’s release and they did not want to spoil the ending. Still, that could not prevent the feeling of let down upon the completion of this text. Its purpose is understandable and it would probably cause Bookworm to want to go see the movie (again). Still…

Secondly, the book being simplified causes some details to be lost. Normally it is the book that is less detailed than the movie but in this case the book leaves out a lot. 

Final Verdict:

While not as good as the real things and Bookworm looks forward to a real novelization, Guardians of the Galaxy: The Junior Novel, is exactly what is says it is and in spite of its changes remains a faithful adaptation to the source material and perfect for younger readers. 

Four out of Five Stars

thecultureworm.blogspot.com