This book had a few boring moments and was sometimes hard to follow. But overall it has a great story and I am pretty excited to see what the second book will bring.

Harry Potter meets the x-men. Great writing, character dev and plot. More please!

This was a suspenseful page-turner, with so much plot to get across. I liked how the details of the book's universe was slowly laid out, which increases the suspense as you fit together the puzzle pieces. The humor was also a plus- there were many laugh-out-loud lines. Perhaps it is because of the fast-paced action that the characters all seemed to fit too handily into archetypes, but the story and witty writing made up for any issues I had with character development. (Received a copy of the book from NetGalley)

When I first saw the cover for The Paladin Prophecy I knew I wanted to read it, when I read the synopsis that want became a need, and I am very thankful to the publisher for sending a copy out.

The protagonist, Will and his parents, are constantly moving round, never staying in one place long enough to make friends.  Each day Will tries to follows his Dad's list of rules to live by, eg
#2 stay focused on the task at hand
#3 don't draw attention to yourself
#5 trust no one
#11 trust your instincts.
By following these rules Will is able to outrun cars that are following him with the aim to capture him.  Faced with the prospect of getting caught or going to a new school, Will chooses the new school.  He make hasty plans to leave home and go to The Center for Integrated Learning early.  The Center expressed an interest in him after he scored so high on a test, without even trying.  They want to enrol Will into their school at the start of the new term.
Will shares his living space with 4 other people, Nick, Ajay, Elsie, and Brooke. Each one has their own personality and unique ability which we get to experience first hand between the pages.  Even Will has his own ability, and while we see hints of it when he is outrunning the cars, we get to see even more of it in action.

Like every school there are bullies, only the bullies in The Paladin Prophecy have a different aim in mind, world domination.  The bullies are a group of twelve students who call themselves the Knights of Charlemagne, they are also in cahoots with The Black Caps, (who drive the cars and are after Will) they are trying to stop Will and bring in creatures from The Other Team, back to Earth to re-inhabit it and take over.

I was instantly drawn into the world Mark Frost has created and quickly found myself engrossed in the story and wanting Will to succeed.  Each page had me wanting to know more, wanting to discover what was really happening and what other secrets the school was hiding.  The characters Mark has created were instantly likeable and I loved this group as a whole.  They work well together, bouncing ideas around and just seem to knit well. They are the perfect mix of personalities, abilities, and form a strong friendship.
The plot behind The Paladin Prophecy kept me interested, there was always a new development in the home front, a new mystery to unravel at school, or a new hint as to what is going on.

The Paladin Prophecy was a surprising read, one that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did, or grab hold as much as it did.  I loved that you are kept guessing right up to the final chapters about what is really going on, not only with the Knights but also with Will and his friends, and while most things are answered, new questions arise which need answers, and I'm really hoping they get answered in the next book which is out in a few months, I'm sure I can survive the wait......possibly.

This book was a really good read. I liked how the author created rounded characters, I felt like it would have been all too easy in this book to make one trait the whole of a character, but the author didn’t do that.

Ugggghhh I hate writing these kinds of reviews. You know - the ones where you didn't really like the book, found a ton of problems with it, had to put it down multiple times so it took you forever to finish it, but then the end still makes you read the next one?

Yeah, that's what Paladin Prophecy was for me. I think the plot is interesting, but the actual writing frustrated me. The dialogue seemed...off. I don't know any other way to put it. And the way the story unfolded was many times hard to follow. I was also a bit off-put by the naming of the "otherwordly" elements, many of them seem so trite. (Never-was? Come on.)

I love young adult fantasy/dystopian-type novels. I feel like oftentimes there's real truth there about growing up, becoming who you're meant to be, experiencing all the bumps and bruises we all experience on the way to growing up. I just...I don't know. I really, REALLY wanted to like this book, and I found myself only reading it when I was desperate and had nothing else to read. And that's not a good sign.

In all fairness though, I am interested to see which direction the story will take, and I will most likely purchase then next book so I couldn't in good conscience give it less than 3 stars. But really, more like a 2.5.

I think Frost might be better suited with an editor more adept at tightening up storylines.

Although I had a little trouble getting into this book because of the bizarre premise, I ended up really enjoying it. I really started enjoying it when the author introduced the main character's roommates. They are very funny! I recommend this and am looking forward to the sequel.

Will West has worked all his life at being mediocre. His parents have stressed the need to keep his head down and not be noticed, moving every 18 months and never forming any deep relationships. He has some special gifts, intelligence, speed and quick healing that he must keep hidden. Now, his whole life is about to change...
Will hugs his mom as he leaves the kitchen for a before school workout with his cross country team. On the way, he is stalked by goons in a black limo and his father texts him from across the state to, "RUN,WILL!"
The cast of characters includes the requisite good guys and some really EVIL bad guys and a fight to determine the fate of the world. The dialogue is laugh out loud funny at times and the action is nonstop and so clever. I couldn't put this book down and I know my seventh graders won't either.