They say to never judge a book by its cover, but as it turns out, the story of "Paraworld Zero" is just as cheesy as the cover.
Fifth- and sixth-graders might enjoy its juvenile narration and over-the-top action - in which author Matthew Peterson seems determined to combine "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" - I doubt few other readers will.
The story follows an insipid child named Simon, who is drawn into a series of strange universes where he can do magic. These other universes have big problems and Simon must save them with his timely and frustrating abilities.
There are some other characters as well, but I cared about them even less than I cared about Simon. By the time Thornapple casts a Foonati spell (I'm not making this up) towards the end of the story, you will feel like throwing the book out the window.
