Review: The Dead Gentleman by Matthew Cody

The Dead Gentleman by Matthew Cody.

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 2011
List Price: $15.99
ISBN-13: 9780375855962

Review: Matthew Cody has written a fantastic book that might be right for you titled The Dead Gentleman. This book was written in three different parts. The two main characters of the story are Tommy Learner and Jezebel Lemon. Matthew Cody wrote the book from the main character's point of view. Tommy Learner is a part of the Explorers' Society which is a Society that tries to explore new planets and places where people can live but just haven't known about. They try to keep the Society a secret though. Jezebel is a girl that lives in an apartment with her father in New York City. She is about to see a lot more than New York City though.

Part 1: When Jezebel finds the basement door of the hotel she lives in, she wants to immediately go see what she can find. When she goes down she finds a little boy about her age behind the staircase. The boy tells her that he is looking for a little brass bird that he has lost. He also tells her to stay away from dark closets, shadows, and under the bed. He warns her that if she goes in any of those places that she might never see the light of day again. Out of curiosity she goes in her closet around midnight and hears three different voices coming from the closet. How did Tommy know there was something in her closet?

Part 2: When Tommy finds the little brass bird he calls Merlin, he is overjoyed. He finally has the key to bring down the Dead Gentleman's army. The Dead Gentleman has put together his army to conquer Earth. He has awakened some dead, and is using them to awaken more of the dead. The Dead Gentleman's plan is to make Earth a planet of the walking dead. The only problem for him is that if he goes out into Earth's sunlight he will be disintegrated along with his army. If he can get possession of Merlin, then he will have a chance at conquering Earth. If Tommy keeps possession of Merlin, then the Dead Gentleman can never take over the world.

Part 3: Jezebel and Tommy find a way to travel to New York City in Jezebel's time frame. But when they get there, there is something big and black in the sky. It looks like a huge funnel cloud. By Tommy's reaction, you can tell he knows what it is. According to him, the Dead Gentleman is coming to take over Manhattan. Tommy grabs his boot and takes out the compass that is hidden in the sole of the boot. He keeps saying something about his is ship was coming. The next thing Jezebel knows, Tommy is in a ship in the Hudson River fighting the Dead Gentleman and she is trying to keep Merlin safe. Tommy starts his ship into a dive and then directs it straight at the Gentleman's ship. Jezebel finds the remains after the crash. She also finds Tommy's body lying on one of the platforms of a ship with a metal spike protruding from his chest. Is Tommy dead or alive? What happens to the Dead Gentleman?

Matthew Cody has made yet another outstanding book. The Dead Gentleman is one of the best books I have read. Tommy and Jezebel team up to try and stop the Dead Gentleman from taking over earth. Can they stop him in time and survive the battle? This book has a lot of detail and the characters are highly developed. The mix between science fiction and fantasy is also perfect. I definitely hope that Matthew Cody writes another book to make it a series. I highly recommend this book for you.

Review written by Michael (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of The Dead Gentleman for this review.

Have you read The Dead Gentleman? How would you rate it?