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Toonopolis #1
Toonopolis: Gemini
Toonopolis is a cartoon city that is home to the thoughts and ideas of all sentient beings in the universe. As the center of the Tooniverse, it acts as an other-worldly rest stop for these creations.Gemini is a teenage human boy who is thrust into Toonopolis through his father's scientific research program. He loses part of himself in the process and immediately begins a quest to regain his lost memories with the help of his Tooniverse guide named Jimbob the Talking Eggplant.After an altercation with a mysterious Shadowy Figure, Gemini's mission is changed, an he begins a new quest to defeat Shadowy Figure and protect Toonopolis from his nefarious destruction. Along the way, he meets new friends, discovers just how diverse and strange Toonopolis is, and learns lessons about compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and being true to oneself.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2011
About the author
Jeremy Rodden
19 books186 followersI spent the first ten years of my professional life in retail sales, working my way up to store management positions in two different Fortune 500 retailers. Along the way, I managed to earn a BA in Religion and English Writing from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA and an MA in Secondary Education from Holy Family University, also in Philadelphia.
After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English. When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first child, who was born in June, 2005. I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.
It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper. Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends. The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.
As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll as my strongest influences. They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis. It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.
Welcome to my world. I hope you have as much fun as I do.
After completing my Masters, I began teaching high school English. When my second son was born in May, 2010, however, my wife and I decided that it would be more prudent for me to be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of the new baby along with my first child, who was born in June, 2005. I have since had the challenge and pleasure of being a homemaker.
It was at this time that I finally grasped the stories that had been in my head since I was a teenager and wrangled them to paper. Toonopolis began as a silly interactive fiction game played with some real life and virtual friends. The game only lasted a few years but the world I had created and my characters never escaped my thoughts.
As a writer, I consider C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll as my strongest influences. They were able to create magical worlds that readers of all ages enjoy, which is exactly what I want to achieve with Toonopolis. It is a lofty goal, indeed, but the only goals that will invariably be unachievable are the ones that are not set.
Welcome to my world. I hope you have as much fun as I do.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
June 5, 2018
Full disclosure: I won a free Kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
There are some fun ideas here. Jacob Grenk, a young teenage boy has his consciousness transferred to the Tooniverse, a strange realm where, essentially, cartoons are reality. At first he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. He regains some of his memories upon battling a being made entirely of shadows. The rest of the book deals with his pursuit of Shadowy Figure and the areas and beings he encounters along the way.
The book reads well enough, though there's a sense that Jacob is journeying more so that the author can show us the various areas of the Tooniverse than anything else. In some ways it feels more like a video game--say, Kingdom Hearts, for instance--than a book. Jacob goes on a quest, collects companions and items, all building to a big boss fight at the end …
My favorite moments were the parts parodying some of my favorite types of cartoons: The Adventure Realm (speaking of video games …), Supercity (comic book superheroes), and Animetown (duh. Anime.) Rodden does a fine job of poking fun at the various tropes of each.
The ending sets up for a sequel, which may be part of the reason I’m so lukewarm on this book. I just don't know that I’m that interested in seeing more of the Tooniverse. Once was fun, but felt more like an extended joke than a novel. A second excursion, I think, would be tiresome.
There are some fun ideas here. Jacob Grenk, a young teenage boy has his consciousness transferred to the Tooniverse, a strange realm where, essentially, cartoons are reality. At first he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. He regains some of his memories upon battling a being made entirely of shadows. The rest of the book deals with his pursuit of Shadowy Figure and the areas and beings he encounters along the way.
The book reads well enough, though there's a sense that Jacob is journeying more so that the author can show us the various areas of the Tooniverse than anything else. In some ways it feels more like a video game--say, Kingdom Hearts, for instance--than a book. Jacob goes on a quest, collects companions and items, all building to a big boss fight at the end …
My favorite moments were the parts parodying some of my favorite types of cartoons: The Adventure Realm (speaking of video games …), Supercity (comic book superheroes), and Animetown (duh. Anime.) Rodden does a fine job of poking fun at the various tropes of each.
The ending sets up for a sequel, which may be part of the reason I’m so lukewarm on this book. I just don't know that I’m that interested in seeing more of the Tooniverse. Once was fun, but felt more like an extended joke than a novel. A second excursion, I think, would be tiresome.
September 19, 2011
In the first line of the acknowledgements page of Toonopolis: Gemini author Jeremy Rodden thanks his family and “especially” his mother. I would also like to thank Jeremy’s mother. I have a feeling she's a pretty cool lady. I think she probably let Jeremy watch cartoons and movies, let him play video games, and encouraged him to read anything he could get his hands on. I suspect he still does all of those.
Jeremy is a scholar of imaginary worlds and he knows that in those worlds anything goes. He's filtered that scholarly knowledge through his crazy (I don't mean that in a bad way) brain and given us this great book.
Jeremy's cartoon world is meticulously detailed and terrifically humorous. From the moment you enter Toonopolis with the book’s protagonist, Gemini, you begin a journey like no other. Every character you meet will remind you of someone in a movie, book, cartoon, comic book, video game, or even a family member or friend, but they will also have a unique quality that only Jeremy can assign to them.
A young man, Gemini, is unsure of who he is and what he’s doing in a strange place called Toonopolis. His memories are lost. He can’t remember anything that happened before this moment but he knows something just isn’t quite right. The book follows Gemini on his quest to find out who he is and what he’s doing there. Along the way he makes many great friends and a few enemies. What’s a great adventure without enemies, right?
Toonopolis is indeed a strange place full of fascinating characters. By "characters” I mean, cartoon characters.Gemini realizes he’s a cartoon character himself, but he has a feeling there’s a real Gemini in the real world. He needs to find a way to make sense of all this while living in a very non-sensical world.
As the quest unfolds, the characters travel from one section of Toonopolis to another; each as unique as the characters in the book. A description of Supercity, a comic book section, is spot on:
“Supercity looked like the drawings in a comic book. All the building lines were very sharp and outlined in black. It also seemed to him if he focused on one building or one vehicle in the street that it would become more brightly colored while the scenery in the background became duller.”
The action, the comedy, the quest, the characters themselves, and the unique sections of Toonopolis make this a terrific book. But wait! There’s more. Jeremy has an intimate understanding of how the cartoon world works and he's happy to share the details with you. Want to find out how cartoon characters can just pull random items out of thin air? Want to know why they don’t fall to a horrible death when they run off a cliff? All will be revealed as you read this book.
Toonopolis: Gemini is a classic tale of adventure, friendship, determination and honor told in a Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Groucho Marx sort of way! You’ll love it!
Before I go, I want to acknowledge the terrific illustrations by Cami Woodruff. You'll find it hard not to skip ahead to the next chapter just to see what Cami's done next!
Jeremy is a scholar of imaginary worlds and he knows that in those worlds anything goes. He's filtered that scholarly knowledge through his crazy (I don't mean that in a bad way) brain and given us this great book.
Jeremy's cartoon world is meticulously detailed and terrifically humorous. From the moment you enter Toonopolis with the book’s protagonist, Gemini, you begin a journey like no other. Every character you meet will remind you of someone in a movie, book, cartoon, comic book, video game, or even a family member or friend, but they will also have a unique quality that only Jeremy can assign to them.
A young man, Gemini, is unsure of who he is and what he’s doing in a strange place called Toonopolis. His memories are lost. He can’t remember anything that happened before this moment but he knows something just isn’t quite right. The book follows Gemini on his quest to find out who he is and what he’s doing there. Along the way he makes many great friends and a few enemies. What’s a great adventure without enemies, right?
Toonopolis is indeed a strange place full of fascinating characters. By "characters” I mean, cartoon characters.Gemini realizes he’s a cartoon character himself, but he has a feeling there’s a real Gemini in the real world. He needs to find a way to make sense of all this while living in a very non-sensical world.
As the quest unfolds, the characters travel from one section of Toonopolis to another; each as unique as the characters in the book. A description of Supercity, a comic book section, is spot on:
“Supercity looked like the drawings in a comic book. All the building lines were very sharp and outlined in black. It also seemed to him if he focused on one building or one vehicle in the street that it would become more brightly colored while the scenery in the background became duller.”
The action, the comedy, the quest, the characters themselves, and the unique sections of Toonopolis make this a terrific book. But wait! There’s more. Jeremy has an intimate understanding of how the cartoon world works and he's happy to share the details with you. Want to find out how cartoon characters can just pull random items out of thin air? Want to know why they don’t fall to a horrible death when they run off a cliff? All will be revealed as you read this book.
Toonopolis: Gemini is a classic tale of adventure, friendship, determination and honor told in a Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Groucho Marx sort of way! You’ll love it!
Before I go, I want to acknowledge the terrific illustrations by Cami Woodruff. You'll find it hard not to skip ahead to the next chapter just to see what Cami's done next!
August 11, 2017
This book is hilarious. While not a genre I typically read, I'll be snagging the sequel when it arrives (and it better arrive, because this one left plenty of openings for a sequel!) There are so many jokes, puns, and ironic statements throughout the story, between a collection of characters you'd normally never see together on the same page, much less working together. My favorite characters are Wan-Wan (because he's adorable), and Gemini, because of his almost endless enthusiasm as he dives headlong into a world unlike anything you've ever seen.
Best of all, despite its often child-like feel (in the descriptions, the scenarios, and the ease with which conflicts are concluded), there's a thread of seriousness woven throughout that asks the question, "Is anything really what it seems? And if not, who does that make you?" In the case of this book, it's an entertaining, cartoon-like story that is ultimately about discovering who you are.
Best of all, despite its often child-like feel (in the descriptions, the scenarios, and the ease with which conflicts are concluded), there's a thread of seriousness woven throughout that asks the question, "Is anything really what it seems? And if not, who does that make you?" In the case of this book, it's an entertaining, cartoon-like story that is ultimately about discovering who you are.
August 14, 2011
Wonderful read if you like cartoon worlds. Irony is spot on....
January 27, 2018
4.5 out of 5 Stars
This is a book for all ages!! It almost reminded me of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons where, as a child they were silly and fun, and as an adult you looked back and thought “how did I not notice all of these references and double entendres??” You may not get all of the jokes and pop culture references at certain ages, but it’s an amazing story anyways!
Jacob Grenk is the only one who can be used for an experiment by “The Agency” and sent into Toonopolis to “do their bidding”. Only one catch, when Jacob enters Toonopolis he has lost his memory and has no idea who he is, or why he is there.
Taking on the name “Gemini” the only thing he can remember, he sets off with his “trusty” guide, Jimbob the Talking Eggplant, to find his memories and to get home.
I started this novel immediately getting feelings of “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, “Wizard of Oz”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and “Cool World”. Funny enough, I quickly realised that I was getting those vibes for a reason!
“Where am I?” was the question that jumped out of the boy’s mouth. He didn’t even have time to wonder how the mirror could hear him since it had no discernible ears. “How should I know?” the mirror retorted. “I’m just an antique looking glass.” The young man suddenly had an idea inspired by a story from his childhood about a young girl who, like himself, found herself in a strange land full of bewilderment. It was with this thought in mind that he decided to run headfirst into the mirror. A loud thud and his rump landing on the grass were all he earned for his bright idea. “Ow!” shouted the mirror. “What in the world did you do that for?”“I guess I can’t travel through you, huh?” The boy rubbed his head. He rose to his feet gingerly.”
“The rainbow-colored walkway was made of oddly shaped rectangular rocks with rounded edges. Or so he thought. He knelt down for a closer inspection and found the pathway to be made of a plethora of PEZ candies. “Follow the Rainbow-PEZ Road,”said a cheery voice behind him.”
These kinds of silly throw-backs and pop culture references are riddled throughout the book and made me laugh all the time!! (Sometimes, these sorts of things make me wonder on the shelf life of books as, there may be a day that people don’t understand the references anymore..but, it won’t be while I’m still around!)
There are video game references,
“Well, we don’t have any other leads. Maybe if we pick one of these quests, we’ll get lucky.” Jimbob held out a piece of paper. “I like the first one.” Gemini turned to face Jimbob and snatched the paper out of his hand, saying, “Let me see that sheet.” He read aloud the first quest on the list “Questgiver: Bramaid Hanna. Reward: Ten silver. Quest: Slay five giant rats in the cellar of the Suckling Pig.”
“Enough talking,” cried Leothas. “It is your turn.” Gemini smiled. “So, what you’re saying is that you can’t attack me again until I attack you? Some magical force is making this fight turn-based? What happens if I just don’t attack you back?” Leothas looked stunned. He retreated from his attacking stance into a thoughtful one. He had one hand on his hip and rubbed his chin with the other. “I don’t know. I was always taught to take turns attacking. I don’t know any other way to fight.”“Yeah, good luck with that.” With a smirk, Gemini dropped his wooden sword into the dirt and walked up the road.”
References to certain franchises
“Toonopolis is constantly changing. The more well-known those other worlds are, the more rigid they become, like Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Or they become mixed up with so many different minds involved that they don’t even make sense anymore, like the Marvel Universe.”
To movie quotes (By the way… I’m pretty sure I’m in love with Jeremy Rodden for this quote thrown in from one of my favourite movies!!)
“Jack waved at Gemini. “By kids! Have fun storming the castle.”
Gemini had to travel through all of the different Toon realms from Supercity to Animetown to Camenot and picks up some wonderfully hilarious companions on the way
Miss Fire from Supercity
“Let’s see if we can fight fire with fire,” the superheroine said and hurled balls of fire at the wraith drake. The fireballs landed several yards away from Phantasm. “I guess Miss Fire’s not a misnomer,” said Jimbob. Miss Fire whirled on the eggplant with fire literally in her eyes. “Sorry, my mistake. I misspoke. I was misadvised by my brain.”
Wan Wan from Animetown
“Yuki cleared his throat. “I want to help.”Gemini looked sideways at the albino, who clearly was not a fighter. “Take Wan-Wan with you.”The mechanical Akita barked in agreement. “He is more than just a pet. He can help you.”“Yeah, he can fetch us the newspaper and pee oil onto our enemies,”Jimbob asserted. Yuki smiled and whispered something into Wan-Wan’s ear. A panel on the robot dog’s side opened and a missile launcher appeared and pointed toward Jimbob. “Ooh,”Jimbob said, retreating backwards.”
And Hawk from Camenot
“What’s his problem?” asked Angel in an uncaring tone. “We seek to destroy the shadow sorcerer, but we have no more leads, m’lady,” said Hawk. “Ooh, m’lady? A gentleman, eh? Whatcha doing later, Sir Knight?” Angel asked with a wink. “Serving my lord, Sir Goodypants, and assisting Sir Gemini in his quest to defeat the shadowy menace,” Hawk answered. Angel looked disappointed. “A paladin, huh? No use barking up that tree.”
And of course, who can forget Jimbob the talking Eggplant..
“He just sucks it up. Cows, crops, people. He sucked it all up.” Jimbob made a little whimper. Gemini thought at first that he was scared. After a glance at his purple companion, he realized he was trying to hold his tongue. “Just get it out,” Gemini said. Jimbob shook his head. “Come on, just say it.”“The shadowy figure sucks!” blurted Jimbob. “Feel better?” Jimbob nodded his head,”
I also love the tongue in cheek humor throughout the story because, being a Cartoon universe, nothing is ever as it seems!
“Gemini pointed to the sign. “Wouldn’t trolls be out of place here? I mean, they’re not really gothic or creepy. They seem like they’d fit better in Adventure Realm or Camenot.”
“Unless . . .”Jimbob began.
“You’re all probably fat, and I could beat you all up!”cried a voice from under the bridge. “Crap,”said Jimbob.
“What is it?”asked Miss Fire.
“An Internet troll.”
A small creature leapt from under the bridge onto the pathway at the base of it.
Gemini saw a teenager about his own age wearing a T-shirt decorated with a frowning yellow face. He had greasy black hair, fingernails that were painted black, looked as though he might have been crying.
“You’re all ugly and stupid,”said the troll. Gemini stared at it.
“Are you the grumpy old troll that lives under the bridge?”The troll’s eyes lit up at Gemini’s reaction.
“No, Dora, I live with your mom.”
This is a fabulous story that will have you laughing out loud CONSTANTLY! I love the world that Jeremy Rodden has built, I love his characters and I CAN’T WAIT to read the next instalment in the series!! I highly recommend this book to any lovers of Comedy, Cartoons, Video Games, Movies, Pop Culture, etc… SO PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!!
This is a book for all ages!! It almost reminded me of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons where, as a child they were silly and fun, and as an adult you looked back and thought “how did I not notice all of these references and double entendres??” You may not get all of the jokes and pop culture references at certain ages, but it’s an amazing story anyways!
Jacob Grenk is the only one who can be used for an experiment by “The Agency” and sent into Toonopolis to “do their bidding”. Only one catch, when Jacob enters Toonopolis he has lost his memory and has no idea who he is, or why he is there.
Taking on the name “Gemini” the only thing he can remember, he sets off with his “trusty” guide, Jimbob the Talking Eggplant, to find his memories and to get home.
I started this novel immediately getting feelings of “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, “Wizard of Oz”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and “Cool World”. Funny enough, I quickly realised that I was getting those vibes for a reason!
“Where am I?” was the question that jumped out of the boy’s mouth. He didn’t even have time to wonder how the mirror could hear him since it had no discernible ears. “How should I know?” the mirror retorted. “I’m just an antique looking glass.” The young man suddenly had an idea inspired by a story from his childhood about a young girl who, like himself, found herself in a strange land full of bewilderment. It was with this thought in mind that he decided to run headfirst into the mirror. A loud thud and his rump landing on the grass were all he earned for his bright idea. “Ow!” shouted the mirror. “What in the world did you do that for?”“I guess I can’t travel through you, huh?” The boy rubbed his head. He rose to his feet gingerly.”
“The rainbow-colored walkway was made of oddly shaped rectangular rocks with rounded edges. Or so he thought. He knelt down for a closer inspection and found the pathway to be made of a plethora of PEZ candies. “Follow the Rainbow-PEZ Road,”said a cheery voice behind him.”
These kinds of silly throw-backs and pop culture references are riddled throughout the book and made me laugh all the time!! (Sometimes, these sorts of things make me wonder on the shelf life of books as, there may be a day that people don’t understand the references anymore..but, it won’t be while I’m still around!)
There are video game references,
“Well, we don’t have any other leads. Maybe if we pick one of these quests, we’ll get lucky.” Jimbob held out a piece of paper. “I like the first one.” Gemini turned to face Jimbob and snatched the paper out of his hand, saying, “Let me see that sheet.” He read aloud the first quest on the list “Questgiver: Bramaid Hanna. Reward: Ten silver. Quest: Slay five giant rats in the cellar of the Suckling Pig.”
“Enough talking,” cried Leothas. “It is your turn.” Gemini smiled. “So, what you’re saying is that you can’t attack me again until I attack you? Some magical force is making this fight turn-based? What happens if I just don’t attack you back?” Leothas looked stunned. He retreated from his attacking stance into a thoughtful one. He had one hand on his hip and rubbed his chin with the other. “I don’t know. I was always taught to take turns attacking. I don’t know any other way to fight.”“Yeah, good luck with that.” With a smirk, Gemini dropped his wooden sword into the dirt and walked up the road.”
References to certain franchises
“Toonopolis is constantly changing. The more well-known those other worlds are, the more rigid they become, like Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Or they become mixed up with so many different minds involved that they don’t even make sense anymore, like the Marvel Universe.”
To movie quotes (By the way… I’m pretty sure I’m in love with Jeremy Rodden for this quote thrown in from one of my favourite movies!!)
“Jack waved at Gemini. “By kids! Have fun storming the castle.”
Gemini had to travel through all of the different Toon realms from Supercity to Animetown to Camenot and picks up some wonderfully hilarious companions on the way
Miss Fire from Supercity
“Let’s see if we can fight fire with fire,” the superheroine said and hurled balls of fire at the wraith drake. The fireballs landed several yards away from Phantasm. “I guess Miss Fire’s not a misnomer,” said Jimbob. Miss Fire whirled on the eggplant with fire literally in her eyes. “Sorry, my mistake. I misspoke. I was misadvised by my brain.”
Wan Wan from Animetown
“Yuki cleared his throat. “I want to help.”Gemini looked sideways at the albino, who clearly was not a fighter. “Take Wan-Wan with you.”The mechanical Akita barked in agreement. “He is more than just a pet. He can help you.”“Yeah, he can fetch us the newspaper and pee oil onto our enemies,”Jimbob asserted. Yuki smiled and whispered something into Wan-Wan’s ear. A panel on the robot dog’s side opened and a missile launcher appeared and pointed toward Jimbob. “Ooh,”Jimbob said, retreating backwards.”
And Hawk from Camenot
“What’s his problem?” asked Angel in an uncaring tone. “We seek to destroy the shadow sorcerer, but we have no more leads, m’lady,” said Hawk. “Ooh, m’lady? A gentleman, eh? Whatcha doing later, Sir Knight?” Angel asked with a wink. “Serving my lord, Sir Goodypants, and assisting Sir Gemini in his quest to defeat the shadowy menace,” Hawk answered. Angel looked disappointed. “A paladin, huh? No use barking up that tree.”
And of course, who can forget Jimbob the talking Eggplant..
“He just sucks it up. Cows, crops, people. He sucked it all up.” Jimbob made a little whimper. Gemini thought at first that he was scared. After a glance at his purple companion, he realized he was trying to hold his tongue. “Just get it out,” Gemini said. Jimbob shook his head. “Come on, just say it.”“The shadowy figure sucks!” blurted Jimbob. “Feel better?” Jimbob nodded his head,”
I also love the tongue in cheek humor throughout the story because, being a Cartoon universe, nothing is ever as it seems!
“Gemini pointed to the sign. “Wouldn’t trolls be out of place here? I mean, they’re not really gothic or creepy. They seem like they’d fit better in Adventure Realm or Camenot.”
“Unless . . .”Jimbob began.
“You’re all probably fat, and I could beat you all up!”cried a voice from under the bridge. “Crap,”said Jimbob.
“What is it?”asked Miss Fire.
“An Internet troll.”
A small creature leapt from under the bridge onto the pathway at the base of it.
Gemini saw a teenager about his own age wearing a T-shirt decorated with a frowning yellow face. He had greasy black hair, fingernails that were painted black, looked as though he might have been crying.
“You’re all ugly and stupid,”said the troll. Gemini stared at it.
“Are you the grumpy old troll that lives under the bridge?”The troll’s eyes lit up at Gemini’s reaction.
“No, Dora, I live with your mom.”
This is a fabulous story that will have you laughing out loud CONSTANTLY! I love the world that Jeremy Rodden has built, I love his characters and I CAN’T WAIT to read the next instalment in the series!! I highly recommend this book to any lovers of Comedy, Cartoons, Video Games, Movies, Pop Culture, etc… SO PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!!
Read
May 24, 2012I’ve had this for a while and have been meaning to read it for such a long time and then the other day I just decided to read it because I was looking for something funny. Needless to say there were quite a few funny parts in the book.
There are so many funny references in this book that it was so awesome. If you watch older cartoons then you will notice a lot of these. I thought it was really fun going through and spotting the different references.
The story line was really interesting and it was nice and simple which is good because I wasn’t really in the mood for something with a heavy story line. I just found it really entertaining which was great.
The main character Gemini, was interesting. It’s always interesting to read a book from a male point of view. He was also funny which I really liked. As were his companions, such as Jimbob the eggplant.
I really whizzed through Toonopolis: Gemini as it’s a whole lot of fun and has a really entertaining story line. If you’re looking for something funny and different then definitely check out Toonopolis: Gemini.
There are so many funny references in this book that it was so awesome. If you watch older cartoons then you will notice a lot of these. I thought it was really fun going through and spotting the different references.
The story line was really interesting and it was nice and simple which is good because I wasn’t really in the mood for something with a heavy story line. I just found it really entertaining which was great.
The main character Gemini, was interesting. It’s always interesting to read a book from a male point of view. He was also funny which I really liked. As were his companions, such as Jimbob the eggplant.
I really whizzed through Toonopolis: Gemini as it’s a whole lot of fun and has a really entertaining story line. If you’re looking for something funny and different then definitely check out Toonopolis: Gemini.
February 13, 2018
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
“Toonopolis: Gemini” follows the adventures of Gemini, a fairly nondescript boy in bright fuchsia pants from our world who has been sucked into a land of imagination via a shady government experiment. Toonopolis is the land of cartoons, where it’s always Saturday morning and characters imagined by humans live and play until either their creators die or they become TMed and move on to a more permanent residence elsewhere. They are sorted by category, with separate settlements for anime, video game characters, racy late-night cable cartoons, and so forth. As a human visiting Toonopolis, Gemini is an Outsider, which gives him the ability to manipulate the cartoon world in ways a normal cartoon could not--kind of like Neo in The Matrix (instead of knowing Kung Fu, he knows how to keep his eyes closed while running off a cliff; in Toonopolis, you don’t fall until you notice you’re in the air). He’s on the hunt for another Outsider named Shadowy Figure, who has been murdering cartoon characters and causing general mayhem. There are some cool twists to the worldbuilding that I’d rather let you discover for yourself.
For the most part, each chapter follows the same pattern. Gemini travels to a new corner of Toonopolis, the reader gets a rapid-fire series of jokes about the topic of that realm, Gemini meets a character who helps him push the plot along, and he moves on to the next realm. It makes the chapters feel a little formulaic, but it keeps things fresh and it keeps that pacing fast. This isn’t a book about character development or a complex plot; it’s a vehicle for the author to riff on cartoons and related media and winking at classic characters and stories without violating T.M.
The comic style is very much an “anything for a laugh” approach. The first major gag happened right after Gemini entered the cartoon world. Rodden had just introduced us to the character, so a cartoon mirror walks up to him out of nowhere to give an excuse for a physical description in the tropiest way possible: the main character checking himself out. To rattle off a few other representative gags, in the Superhero world, we meet a bear-themed hero and his sidekick, Little Dipper (A+ pun). In the video game world, Gemini picks a quest off a job board and gets bullied into a turn-based battle. While traveling through the sewer, we meet Poot the Sentient Fart Cloud, who has a heart of gold and the stench of a butt. In the anime world, background characters catch a glimpse of a girl’s panties and have spontaneous nosebleeds, and Gemini has to decide between dubs and subs. Fight scenes are full of cartoon physics.
My main criticism is that we never stay in these realms long enough to get past the surface-level humor, so I felt like many of the jokes were low-hanging fruit. But they came fast and enough of them landed that I had a good time reading this one. The other issue is that most of the characters were kind of bland and didn’t really have much of a schtick; this is setting-based humor, not character-based. The stand-out character was Gemini’s guide, Jimbob the Two Foot Tall Talking Eggplant. Jimbob was crass, irreverent, and sarcastic, making him my kind of dude and the highlight of the book for me. There’s a moment where he’s worried about going for a swim because salt-water can suck the bitterness out of an eggplant, so Gemini gleefully tosses him in.
The humor most reminded me of self-aware postmodern cartoons like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Tiny Toons, and Bonkers. There’s not a lot of depth here, but you’ll probably find something to laugh at.
“Toonopolis: Gemini” follows the adventures of Gemini, a fairly nondescript boy in bright fuchsia pants from our world who has been sucked into a land of imagination via a shady government experiment. Toonopolis is the land of cartoons, where it’s always Saturday morning and characters imagined by humans live and play until either their creators die or they become TMed and move on to a more permanent residence elsewhere. They are sorted by category, with separate settlements for anime, video game characters, racy late-night cable cartoons, and so forth. As a human visiting Toonopolis, Gemini is an Outsider, which gives him the ability to manipulate the cartoon world in ways a normal cartoon could not--kind of like Neo in The Matrix (instead of knowing Kung Fu, he knows how to keep his eyes closed while running off a cliff; in Toonopolis, you don’t fall until you notice you’re in the air). He’s on the hunt for another Outsider named Shadowy Figure, who has been murdering cartoon characters and causing general mayhem. There are some cool twists to the worldbuilding that I’d rather let you discover for yourself.
For the most part, each chapter follows the same pattern. Gemini travels to a new corner of Toonopolis, the reader gets a rapid-fire series of jokes about the topic of that realm, Gemini meets a character who helps him push the plot along, and he moves on to the next realm. It makes the chapters feel a little formulaic, but it keeps things fresh and it keeps that pacing fast. This isn’t a book about character development or a complex plot; it’s a vehicle for the author to riff on cartoons and related media and winking at classic characters and stories without violating T.M.
The comic style is very much an “anything for a laugh” approach. The first major gag happened right after Gemini entered the cartoon world. Rodden had just introduced us to the character, so a cartoon mirror walks up to him out of nowhere to give an excuse for a physical description in the tropiest way possible: the main character checking himself out. To rattle off a few other representative gags, in the Superhero world, we meet a bear-themed hero and his sidekick, Little Dipper (A+ pun). In the video game world, Gemini picks a quest off a job board and gets bullied into a turn-based battle. While traveling through the sewer, we meet Poot the Sentient Fart Cloud, who has a heart of gold and the stench of a butt. In the anime world, background characters catch a glimpse of a girl’s panties and have spontaneous nosebleeds, and Gemini has to decide between dubs and subs. Fight scenes are full of cartoon physics.
My main criticism is that we never stay in these realms long enough to get past the surface-level humor, so I felt like many of the jokes were low-hanging fruit. But they came fast and enough of them landed that I had a good time reading this one. The other issue is that most of the characters were kind of bland and didn’t really have much of a schtick; this is setting-based humor, not character-based. The stand-out character was Gemini’s guide, Jimbob the Two Foot Tall Talking Eggplant. Jimbob was crass, irreverent, and sarcastic, making him my kind of dude and the highlight of the book for me. There’s a moment where he’s worried about going for a swim because salt-water can suck the bitterness out of an eggplant, so Gemini gleefully tosses him in.
The humor most reminded me of self-aware postmodern cartoons like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Tiny Toons, and Bonkers. There’s not a lot of depth here, but you’ll probably find something to laugh at.
September 5, 2011
It was an enormous privilege to read the first in a fantasy YA series by Jeremy Rodden, an impressively creative individual who has created a toon world where it's always Saturday morning.
How can you not like a book with a talking Toonopolis guide named Jimbob the Eggplant? He has hands that appear whenever he needs them. Reminds me of Veggie Tales, but Jimbob's a much wittier vegetable.
This genre of YA is not something I'd normally pick up, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has humor, style, clever banter, and fabulous character names. I think I've found something to advertise to my sophomore boys that they might...(gasp)...enjoy.
This would be a fabulous teaching tool for middle or high school English. As far as figurative language goes, Rodden weaves devices seemlessly throughout the text. I spotted personification, allusions, irony, paradox, similes, puns, hyperboles, idioms, cliches, and onomatopoeias.
The allusions were amazing. A mention of Scooby Doo or Rainbow Brite made me wistful for childhood. There are nods to novels like The Wizard of Oz, when Gemini must walk on a Rainbow-PEZ road to get to Toonopolis and the Sorting Square (a little Harry Potter in the mix!) Not to mention, references older teens and adults would get like X-Files...reminded me of Shrek because only the older crowd understands certain jokes.
Description was superb. Rodden found so many different adjectives and verbs that I was amazed-- another thing I could stop while reading in front of my class and say, "Look at that diction!" I hardly noticed repetition. Two words I did notice use a few times were "confrontation" and "wisp," but they were both important to the story and necessarily repeated. There were two sentences with two verbs used in a row (one that should have been taken out but was forgotten), but it did not disrupt the flow of reading very much.
As far as accents go, you've got the gambit: gangster, New York, Irish, British. I loved the diversity of characters. Some mythical Greek creatures appear, but also brand new ones that Rodden has created. The reader sees talking objects everywhere. In cartoon land, as long as something appears to be real, it doesn't really have to work.
Early on, one of my favorite parts was when Gemini had to visit Professor Rabit to learn about the Laws of Cartoon Physics. That way, the Outsider Gemini will succeed through the various lands- Adventure Realm, Supercity, Animetown, Camenot (and I can't continue because half the fun is discovering the names for yourself). Even though I loved Jimbob (he truly has the best lines in the book!), I appreciated Sir Hawk's character because he represented the chivalry of medieval times. The word "paladin" was even introduced (and I saw "wince" and "consternation" which are two vocab words my students had last week...strange coincidence). Animetown was hilarious to me-- the slow motion fight scenes, the word "kawaii" (I used to live in Japan), the way characters' heads and eyes grew two sizes bigger when they were surprised.
Gemini's adventure is sliced by reports from Agent Mimic who is running Operation Gemini from the human world on planet Earth. Parts of those reports were confusing to me. I got the idea that Gemini/Jacob Grenk was the "Agent" referred to, but I couldn't figure out why he would have been given a list of targets from the Agency to destroy. It's possible the overall plan for the operation comes out more in book 2. I liked the idea that humans and cartoons had a direct effect on each other's worlds and that when a creation rebels against its master, the human goes a little crazy.
There was a pretty big plot twist toward the last quarter of the book where Gemini learns something interesting about himself and why he must face Shadowy Figure.
I'm pumped about reading the second book to see what happens to all the characters. By the end, I felt proud of the bond between Gemini's gang and wanted them to go on another adventure together. I hope we see more of the same characters again, as well as some new ones!
The Kindle copy of this book is only 99 cents-- a bargain for a book you'll find hard to put down.
A delightful read that will make you laugh out loud, root for the good guys, and wish you had a talking eggplant as your sidekick.
How can you not like a book with a talking Toonopolis guide named Jimbob the Eggplant? He has hands that appear whenever he needs them. Reminds me of Veggie Tales, but Jimbob's a much wittier vegetable.
This genre of YA is not something I'd normally pick up, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has humor, style, clever banter, and fabulous character names. I think I've found something to advertise to my sophomore boys that they might...(gasp)...enjoy.
This would be a fabulous teaching tool for middle or high school English. As far as figurative language goes, Rodden weaves devices seemlessly throughout the text. I spotted personification, allusions, irony, paradox, similes, puns, hyperboles, idioms, cliches, and onomatopoeias.
The allusions were amazing. A mention of Scooby Doo or Rainbow Brite made me wistful for childhood. There are nods to novels like The Wizard of Oz, when Gemini must walk on a Rainbow-PEZ road to get to Toonopolis and the Sorting Square (a little Harry Potter in the mix!) Not to mention, references older teens and adults would get like X-Files...reminded me of Shrek because only the older crowd understands certain jokes.
Description was superb. Rodden found so many different adjectives and verbs that I was amazed-- another thing I could stop while reading in front of my class and say, "Look at that diction!" I hardly noticed repetition. Two words I did notice use a few times were "confrontation" and "wisp," but they were both important to the story and necessarily repeated. There were two sentences with two verbs used in a row (one that should have been taken out but was forgotten), but it did not disrupt the flow of reading very much.
As far as accents go, you've got the gambit: gangster, New York, Irish, British. I loved the diversity of characters. Some mythical Greek creatures appear, but also brand new ones that Rodden has created. The reader sees talking objects everywhere. In cartoon land, as long as something appears to be real, it doesn't really have to work.
Early on, one of my favorite parts was when Gemini had to visit Professor Rabit to learn about the Laws of Cartoon Physics. That way, the Outsider Gemini will succeed through the various lands- Adventure Realm, Supercity, Animetown, Camenot (and I can't continue because half the fun is discovering the names for yourself). Even though I loved Jimbob (he truly has the best lines in the book!), I appreciated Sir Hawk's character because he represented the chivalry of medieval times. The word "paladin" was even introduced (and I saw "wince" and "consternation" which are two vocab words my students had last week...strange coincidence). Animetown was hilarious to me-- the slow motion fight scenes, the word "kawaii" (I used to live in Japan), the way characters' heads and eyes grew two sizes bigger when they were surprised.
Gemini's adventure is sliced by reports from Agent Mimic who is running Operation Gemini from the human world on planet Earth. Parts of those reports were confusing to me. I got the idea that Gemini/Jacob Grenk was the "Agent" referred to, but I couldn't figure out why he would have been given a list of targets from the Agency to destroy. It's possible the overall plan for the operation comes out more in book 2. I liked the idea that humans and cartoons had a direct effect on each other's worlds and that when a creation rebels against its master, the human goes a little crazy.
There was a pretty big plot twist toward the last quarter of the book where Gemini learns something interesting about himself and why he must face Shadowy Figure.
I'm pumped about reading the second book to see what happens to all the characters. By the end, I felt proud of the bond between Gemini's gang and wanted them to go on another adventure together. I hope we see more of the same characters again, as well as some new ones!
The Kindle copy of this book is only 99 cents-- a bargain for a book you'll find hard to put down.
A delightful read that will make you laugh out loud, root for the good guys, and wish you had a talking eggplant as your sidekick.
May 23, 2012
Disclaimer - I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I have since given it to my 9-year-old daughter who has read it 3 times and refuses to give it back. Someday, if I'm permitted, I will read it myself. Until then, here is the Book Report Ninja did for her Third Grade Final Project.
Book Report on Toonopolis by Jeremy Rodden
Ninja Tyler - 3rd Grade
The title is Toonopolis Gemini. The author is Jeremy Rodden. The setting takes place in the Tooniverse. The Tooniverse is a world full of cartoons on a big planet that Gemini got sent to. It is very crazy and chaotic. I don't know when the story took place. It is almost always summer in Book One.
The main characters are Gemini, Jimbob the talking eggplant, Hawk the knight, and Ms. Fire the Hero. There is also Wan Wan a robotic dog. Ms. Fire can throw fireballs from her hands. Gemini is a human boy who can pull things from C-Space. Hawk the knight is Sir Goodipants best warrior. Sir Goodipants is a Rogue. Jimbob the talking eggplant is Gemini's Toonopolis guide. Wan Wan is a transforming robotical Akita.
My favorite character is Wan Wan because he's cute and he can turn into a giant squirrel and a horse. He has a rocket launcher in his back and was made by an inventor name Yuki. Wan Wan lets Gemini pat his head like he lets Yuki. Wan Wan doesn't usually let people do that. He always puts a band-aid on people who get hurt.
Toonopolis is about a human named Gemini. Gemini falls into the Field of Dreams. He meets a talking mirror there and a animal that is a mixture of kangaroo, rabbit and duck. At the sorting square they have a problem sorting him and don't know what to do. They take him to the Master Sorter, Henry. He looks inside of Gemini and says he's an outsider. An outsider is a human. They go to Grayscale Village. The Village was black and gray and they saw a squirrel woman running around in circles three times. Four of her fingers have turned black. She was screaming because a shadowy figure was taking the color away from everything. Gemini tells the squirrel to calm down and says he'll defeat the shadowy figure.
Gemini goes to Stick Tent-City. The people in Stick Tent-City are stick people and one of the stick people's town gets absorbed by the shadowy figures black orbs. Gemini goes to Underwater City next and helps an Octonoid Princess. He frees her people from the Candemon. The Candemon wants Princess Polipo to be his wife. Gemini tries to free her people and father so that he can defeat the Candemon.
In underwater city Princell Polipo guides Gemini and his friends to the Cave of Dispair. In the Cave of Despair an ancient evil creature Gumthulu sleeps and feeds on fear and suffering. It has slept there ever since Princess Polipo can remember. Gemini and his friends go into the Cave to get to Licorice Lagoon where they travel to the Candemon's castle made of Toffee.
In the cave of Despair Gemini takes a already lit torch from C-Space and uses it for light. Jimbob takes the evil Gumthulu's eye from his socket and Jimbob yells “Yoink!” On Candy Island they find the Candemon. When Gemini starts to fight the Candemon the Candemon spits a wave of marshmallow at him. And then Gemini realizes his left foot was stuck in the marshmallow. The Candemon realized that Hawk shot some arrows into his gummy bear torso. The Candemon stood stunned and then after they landed, Hawk and Miss Fire helped Gemini.
At the end of the book Shadowy Figure and Gemini return back to earth. The Shadowy Figure is the bad side of Gemini in another form. Gemini learned that fighting bad guys who absorb cartoons was much harder than he thought.
I think I'd like it if Gemini would get back home in a safer way than traveling back from Tooniverse from the Shadow Lands. I think the ending could be a little better so it would be father and son together again.
Book Report on Toonopolis by Jeremy Rodden
Ninja Tyler - 3rd Grade
The title is Toonopolis Gemini. The author is Jeremy Rodden. The setting takes place in the Tooniverse. The Tooniverse is a world full of cartoons on a big planet that Gemini got sent to. It is very crazy and chaotic. I don't know when the story took place. It is almost always summer in Book One.
The main characters are Gemini, Jimbob the talking eggplant, Hawk the knight, and Ms. Fire the Hero. There is also Wan Wan a robotic dog. Ms. Fire can throw fireballs from her hands. Gemini is a human boy who can pull things from C-Space. Hawk the knight is Sir Goodipants best warrior. Sir Goodipants is a Rogue. Jimbob the talking eggplant is Gemini's Toonopolis guide. Wan Wan is a transforming robotical Akita.
My favorite character is Wan Wan because he's cute and he can turn into a giant squirrel and a horse. He has a rocket launcher in his back and was made by an inventor name Yuki. Wan Wan lets Gemini pat his head like he lets Yuki. Wan Wan doesn't usually let people do that. He always puts a band-aid on people who get hurt.
Toonopolis is about a human named Gemini. Gemini falls into the Field of Dreams. He meets a talking mirror there and a animal that is a mixture of kangaroo, rabbit and duck. At the sorting square they have a problem sorting him and don't know what to do. They take him to the Master Sorter, Henry. He looks inside of Gemini and says he's an outsider. An outsider is a human. They go to Grayscale Village. The Village was black and gray and they saw a squirrel woman running around in circles three times. Four of her fingers have turned black. She was screaming because a shadowy figure was taking the color away from everything. Gemini tells the squirrel to calm down and says he'll defeat the shadowy figure.
Gemini goes to Stick Tent-City. The people in Stick Tent-City are stick people and one of the stick people's town gets absorbed by the shadowy figures black orbs. Gemini goes to Underwater City next and helps an Octonoid Princess. He frees her people from the Candemon. The Candemon wants Princess Polipo to be his wife. Gemini tries to free her people and father so that he can defeat the Candemon.
In underwater city Princell Polipo guides Gemini and his friends to the Cave of Dispair. In the Cave of Despair an ancient evil creature Gumthulu sleeps and feeds on fear and suffering. It has slept there ever since Princess Polipo can remember. Gemini and his friends go into the Cave to get to Licorice Lagoon where they travel to the Candemon's castle made of Toffee.
In the cave of Despair Gemini takes a already lit torch from C-Space and uses it for light. Jimbob takes the evil Gumthulu's eye from his socket and Jimbob yells “Yoink!” On Candy Island they find the Candemon. When Gemini starts to fight the Candemon the Candemon spits a wave of marshmallow at him. And then Gemini realizes his left foot was stuck in the marshmallow. The Candemon realized that Hawk shot some arrows into his gummy bear torso. The Candemon stood stunned and then after they landed, Hawk and Miss Fire helped Gemini.
At the end of the book Shadowy Figure and Gemini return back to earth. The Shadowy Figure is the bad side of Gemini in another form. Gemini learned that fighting bad guys who absorb cartoons was much harder than he thought.
I think I'd like it if Gemini would get back home in a safer way than traveling back from Tooniverse from the Shadow Lands. I think the ending could be a little better so it would be father and son together again.
September 8, 2011
It has the fantastical quirkiness of Alice in Wonderland, the uniqueness of Willy Wonka, the magic of Never Never Land, along with a sprinkle of the darkness/gothic wonder from Tim Burton and the other-worldness of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, and then some. But at the same time it is an unparalled universe, (or parallel universe)make that, Tooniverse that is all its own.
You want to know what is going on with this character as he wakes up and finds himself in this new alternate reality, feeling quite disoriented and a bit like he fell down the strangest rabbit hole known to man (or cartoon, for this matter). The main character, who christens himself Gemini, really pulls you in as you discover this new world he is thrown into. It is a fantasy type world where everyday is Saturday morning, the popular time for nonstop cartoons. He becomes a cartoon version of himself, so to speak, although he is actually dubbed an Outsider. Lucky for him, this means he has even more power than the toons around him do.
You won't find Bugs Bunny here or The Famous Mouse (as Gemini sadly discovers), but you will find many loveable characters as you embark with Gemini on this adventure. He at first views it as a fun experiment type virtual world (which is partly true) but then he starts to see the bigger picture. He realizes that they are real, just like him and they do feel courage, fear, pain, love, loss and other emotions.
Science fiction and fantasy fans are not the only ones who will love the world of Toonopolis, as it will pull in anyone who loves an adventure (read:epic) and it works really well to remind you of that childhood joy you found in a really good story. Toonopolis has it all: Great references to some of your favorite cartoons, childhood stories and movies that you loved as well as amusing jokes about the current trends in books and what people like to read about (Bloodthirsty vamps? Anime? Superheroes and annoying sidekicks? It’s all here!)
[Sidenote: There is even some (hidden) love for fans of a certain video game (which is my all time favorite one now that you mention it) that involves a talking frog, time travel, a silent type as the leading character and a tomboy princess, as well as a couple magical worlds of its own- are you a fan? Please comment below! 'New Game Plus' option on my blog ;)]
Back to the world of Toonoplis, you will find yourself smiling and laughing along with the characters. In the cartoon world, there is a fun mix of tongue in cheek humor, puns, parodies, and plays on words.
The back story is also very enthralling to follow, as you get an inside look at this “experiment”- i.e, how and why Gemini was thrown into this world and what he does/doesn’t remember. This could be very dangerous for him and adds a serious undertone to his adventures that shows there is more at stake than meets the eye and makes the read even more into one of those books that you just can't put down.
This is a great place to visit and you will find yourself wanting to return to this world to hear more about the character’s adventures and this very unique creation that is the Tooniverse! Luckily for you too, as there will be more to come in the Toonopolis Files.
You want to know what is going on with this character as he wakes up and finds himself in this new alternate reality, feeling quite disoriented and a bit like he fell down the strangest rabbit hole known to man (or cartoon, for this matter). The main character, who christens himself Gemini, really pulls you in as you discover this new world he is thrown into. It is a fantasy type world where everyday is Saturday morning, the popular time for nonstop cartoons. He becomes a cartoon version of himself, so to speak, although he is actually dubbed an Outsider. Lucky for him, this means he has even more power than the toons around him do.
You won't find Bugs Bunny here or The Famous Mouse (as Gemini sadly discovers), but you will find many loveable characters as you embark with Gemini on this adventure. He at first views it as a fun experiment type virtual world (which is partly true) but then he starts to see the bigger picture. He realizes that they are real, just like him and they do feel courage, fear, pain, love, loss and other emotions.
Science fiction and fantasy fans are not the only ones who will love the world of Toonopolis, as it will pull in anyone who loves an adventure (read:epic) and it works really well to remind you of that childhood joy you found in a really good story. Toonopolis has it all: Great references to some of your favorite cartoons, childhood stories and movies that you loved as well as amusing jokes about the current trends in books and what people like to read about (Bloodthirsty vamps? Anime? Superheroes and annoying sidekicks? It’s all here!)
[Sidenote: There is even some (hidden) love for fans of a certain video game (which is my all time favorite one now that you mention it) that involves a talking frog, time travel, a silent type as the leading character and a tomboy princess, as well as a couple magical worlds of its own- are you a fan? Please comment below! 'New Game Plus' option on my blog ;)]
Back to the world of Toonoplis, you will find yourself smiling and laughing along with the characters. In the cartoon world, there is a fun mix of tongue in cheek humor, puns, parodies, and plays on words.
The back story is also very enthralling to follow, as you get an inside look at this “experiment”- i.e, how and why Gemini was thrown into this world and what he does/doesn’t remember. This could be very dangerous for him and adds a serious undertone to his adventures that shows there is more at stake than meets the eye and makes the read even more into one of those books that you just can't put down.
This is a great place to visit and you will find yourself wanting to return to this world to hear more about the character’s adventures and this very unique creation that is the Tooniverse! Luckily for you too, as there will be more to come in the Toonopolis Files.
September 9, 2011
I received Toonopolis: Gemini as a review copy after meeting the author in social media.
My initial concern in reading a novel set in a cartoon universe was that it would try very hard to be funny, fail, and just wind up being embarrassing for the author. Thankfully, that problem did not occur in Toonopolis: Gemini. I laughed out loud many times. This was partly because of genuinely cartoon-like situations and visual images, but mostly because of constantly surprising popular culture references. The book is a paradise for someone like me who has consumed a lot of comic books, cartoons, and sci fi and fantasy movies over the years. Author Jeremy Rodden surprised me many times. Even a few of the puns caught me unawares and made me laugh. Some of them take a moment: for example, there is a bear-shaped superhero named Ursidae. This isn’t funny, but his sidekick is a kid wearing a bear mask. That IS funny. The sidekick is named Little Dipper. Think back to what you know about constellations: you’ll get it.
The characters are passing through underwater tunnels, have to choose from three, and suddenly a riff appears from out of Fellowship of the Ring that is a laugh-out-loud surprise if you know the original.
Lots of stuff in this book is like that.
The book follows the story of Gemini, a young man who pops into a cartoon universe (the Tooniverse) learns the rules, and sets out to journey through cartoon-genre-themed regions of the city of Toonopolis to defeat a menacing entity called Shadowy Figure. Gemini is accompanied by Jimbob the Talking Eggplant, who supplies a lot of the verbal and physical humor and is an endearing figure who is consistent, can be clearly visualized and who could easily sustain a real cartoon series. Despite the dominant comedic elements, Toonopolis: Gemini also has a genuine plot and some moments of what, in context, must be considered real drama. The setting has its own internal rules that are well-developed and consistently applied.
The book is a pastiche – more a reassembly of already established genre elements (many, many you will not expect) in satisfying ways. It occasionally echoes Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but then, it occasionally echoes lots of things. The derivative nature of the many components is actually more of a strength. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that to show up. Wow, that’s cleverly used. What’s next?
There are nice shaded line drawings by Cami Woodruff at the start of most chapters which add well to the cartoon feel. Rodden’s writing is not a masterwork of literary style, and there are some minor spelling and formatting problems, but they didn’t distract me. The story is fast paced, plot-driven, does not take long to read, and will leave you interested in reading another book in the Toonopolis series when one is available. Although Gemini’s story is satisfactorily concluded, there is more potential in the situations set up here for other characters to enter the Tooniverse and have adventures.
I will read them.
My initial concern in reading a novel set in a cartoon universe was that it would try very hard to be funny, fail, and just wind up being embarrassing for the author. Thankfully, that problem did not occur in Toonopolis: Gemini. I laughed out loud many times. This was partly because of genuinely cartoon-like situations and visual images, but mostly because of constantly surprising popular culture references. The book is a paradise for someone like me who has consumed a lot of comic books, cartoons, and sci fi and fantasy movies over the years. Author Jeremy Rodden surprised me many times. Even a few of the puns caught me unawares and made me laugh. Some of them take a moment: for example, there is a bear-shaped superhero named Ursidae. This isn’t funny, but his sidekick is a kid wearing a bear mask. That IS funny. The sidekick is named Little Dipper. Think back to what you know about constellations: you’ll get it.
The characters are passing through underwater tunnels, have to choose from three, and suddenly a riff appears from out of Fellowship of the Ring that is a laugh-out-loud surprise if you know the original.
Lots of stuff in this book is like that.
The book follows the story of Gemini, a young man who pops into a cartoon universe (the Tooniverse) learns the rules, and sets out to journey through cartoon-genre-themed regions of the city of Toonopolis to defeat a menacing entity called Shadowy Figure. Gemini is accompanied by Jimbob the Talking Eggplant, who supplies a lot of the verbal and physical humor and is an endearing figure who is consistent, can be clearly visualized and who could easily sustain a real cartoon series. Despite the dominant comedic elements, Toonopolis: Gemini also has a genuine plot and some moments of what, in context, must be considered real drama. The setting has its own internal rules that are well-developed and consistently applied.
The book is a pastiche – more a reassembly of already established genre elements (many, many you will not expect) in satisfying ways. It occasionally echoes Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but then, it occasionally echoes lots of things. The derivative nature of the many components is actually more of a strength. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that to show up. Wow, that’s cleverly used. What’s next?
There are nice shaded line drawings by Cami Woodruff at the start of most chapters which add well to the cartoon feel. Rodden’s writing is not a masterwork of literary style, and there are some minor spelling and formatting problems, but they didn’t distract me. The story is fast paced, plot-driven, does not take long to read, and will leave you interested in reading another book in the Toonopolis series when one is available. Although Gemini’s story is satisfactorily concluded, there is more potential in the situations set up here for other characters to enter the Tooniverse and have adventures.
I will read them.
September 8, 2011
So. Much. Fun.
Jeremy Rodden has a gift! He sees eye-to-eye with young people. He doesn't talk down to them, he doesn't overwhelm them and yet despite the high entertainment factor, there is valuable life lessons in his story.
Here is the book summary: Toonopolis is a cartoon city that is home to the thoughts and ideas of all sentient beings in the universe. As the center of the Tooniverse, it acts as an other-worldly rest stop for these creations.
Gemini is a teenage human boy who is thrust into Toonopolis through his father's scientific research program. He loses part of himself in the process and immediately begins a quest to regain his lost memories with the help of his Tooniverse guide named Jimbob the Talking Eggplant.
After an altercation with a mysterious Shadowy Figure, Gemini's mission is changed, and he begins a new quest to defeat Shadowy Figure and protect Toonopolis from his nefarious destruction. Along the way, he meets new friends, discovers just how diverse and strange Toonopolis is, and learns lessons about compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and being true to oneself.
Think of all the fantasies you had as a kid. Did you have an imaginary friend? A monster under the bed? Did you dream up funny characters to entertain yourself? Well, I know where they are. Toonopolis, of course.
What an awesome and colorful world! What a lovable bunch of characters! Throw in the great adventure and subtle humor even an adult can laugh at and you have all of the necessary makings for an adult and child to enjoy together. As a bonus, Jeremy Rodden adds down to earth wisdom everyone can use!
This isn't written in a way as to alienate an adult who reads to their children at bedtime. Mr. Rodden cleverly used a writing style that all ages can relate to.
I loved it and I recommend it to everyone!
Jeremy Rodden has a gift! He sees eye-to-eye with young people. He doesn't talk down to them, he doesn't overwhelm them and yet despite the high entertainment factor, there is valuable life lessons in his story.
Here is the book summary: Toonopolis is a cartoon city that is home to the thoughts and ideas of all sentient beings in the universe. As the center of the Tooniverse, it acts as an other-worldly rest stop for these creations.
Gemini is a teenage human boy who is thrust into Toonopolis through his father's scientific research program. He loses part of himself in the process and immediately begins a quest to regain his lost memories with the help of his Tooniverse guide named Jimbob the Talking Eggplant.
After an altercation with a mysterious Shadowy Figure, Gemini's mission is changed, and he begins a new quest to defeat Shadowy Figure and protect Toonopolis from his nefarious destruction. Along the way, he meets new friends, discovers just how diverse and strange Toonopolis is, and learns lessons about compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and being true to oneself.
Think of all the fantasies you had as a kid. Did you have an imaginary friend? A monster under the bed? Did you dream up funny characters to entertain yourself? Well, I know where they are. Toonopolis, of course.
What an awesome and colorful world! What a lovable bunch of characters! Throw in the great adventure and subtle humor even an adult can laugh at and you have all of the necessary makings for an adult and child to enjoy together. As a bonus, Jeremy Rodden adds down to earth wisdom everyone can use!
This isn't written in a way as to alienate an adult who reads to their children at bedtime. Mr. Rodden cleverly used a writing style that all ages can relate to.
I loved it and I recommend it to everyone!
January 22, 2012
It has been a long time since I watched cartoons that didn't involved teaching little kids about numbers and colors. So it took me a few chapters to get into the style of this book. But in a way, it fit with the beginning. The character Gemini, was also a bit confused about what was going on around him at the beginning. About the time Gemini figured out what was going on, I got into the groove too. I really connected with Gemini because of this, which in turn, I think allowed me to enjoy the book so much more.
I fell in love with the world building Jeremy Rodden put into this book! So imaginative and yet so familiar. It was great fun to have the characters go to different areas of the Tooniverse and recognize basic elements of my favorite cartoons and comics.
As an adult, there was a part of my brain telling me that I shouldn't be laughing or enjoying the book as much as I was! Afterall, cartoons are for kids right? But I'm so glad I read it. I enjoyed every joke, every wise crack, and every 'slip on a banana peel' moment the characters went through.
The best part of the story, wasn't the humor or the wise cracks or the sense of nostalgia for my favorite cartoons. No, it was the plot it self. The whole idea of how cartoons came to be and their connection to their creators - and what happens when a cartoon gets out of control is amazing! Such an inventive and unique twist to the idea of cartoons being "real" in the minds of those that create and love them.
I read this in one night, as I'm oft to do with great reads. While the style wasn't something I was used to, it fit perfectly with the story and would lose the humor present if written in any other way. I would recommend this to anyone who has a love for cartoons, comics, and unique plots.
I fell in love with the world building Jeremy Rodden put into this book! So imaginative and yet so familiar. It was great fun to have the characters go to different areas of the Tooniverse and recognize basic elements of my favorite cartoons and comics.
As an adult, there was a part of my brain telling me that I shouldn't be laughing or enjoying the book as much as I was! Afterall, cartoons are for kids right? But I'm so glad I read it. I enjoyed every joke, every wise crack, and every 'slip on a banana peel' moment the characters went through.
The best part of the story, wasn't the humor or the wise cracks or the sense of nostalgia for my favorite cartoons. No, it was the plot it self. The whole idea of how cartoons came to be and their connection to their creators - and what happens when a cartoon gets out of control is amazing! Such an inventive and unique twist to the idea of cartoons being "real" in the minds of those that create and love them.
I read this in one night, as I'm oft to do with great reads. While the style wasn't something I was used to, it fit perfectly with the story and would lose the humor present if written in any other way. I would recommend this to anyone who has a love for cartoons, comics, and unique plots.
May 27, 2011
I really enjoyed this novel. Rodden has taken the toon world a created a wonderful story about their universe—it’s completely original and something we don’t think about much: what is life like for a toon? I found this novel to be extremely humorous and well written, and Rodden’s explanations of toon life and abilities is fascinating. For instance, I’ve never thought about why toons can run off cliffs and not fall until they look down, but Rodden explains why this is so, and it’s an ingenious explanation! I found this a lot as I read—Rodden is very thorough and it’s obvious that he’s spent a lot of time thinking about, and refining, explanations for the strange capabilities toons possess.
I loved the writing style Rodden uses. It’s told from two different perspectives, one from Special Agent Mimic, from the human world, and one from Gemini, the human boy sent to Toonopolis for research purposes. It was enlightening to read about Mimic’s plans and thoughts as he read up on the research being conducted, and I liked that it switched viewpoints so the reader can see inside both Gemini’s and Special Agent Mimic’s mind. I think this is a very interesting way to present a story, and I highly enjoyed it, especially the revelation about the Shadowy figure at the end of the novel—I never saw it coming!
To read my full review (6/19):
http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
I loved the writing style Rodden uses. It’s told from two different perspectives, one from Special Agent Mimic, from the human world, and one from Gemini, the human boy sent to Toonopolis for research purposes. It was enlightening to read about Mimic’s plans and thoughts as he read up on the research being conducted, and I liked that it switched viewpoints so the reader can see inside both Gemini’s and Special Agent Mimic’s mind. I think this is a very interesting way to present a story, and I highly enjoyed it, especially the revelation about the Shadowy figure at the end of the novel—I never saw it coming!
To read my full review (6/19):
http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
June 13, 2011
Toonopolis: Gemini by Jeremy Rodden is a unique book with a lot of appeal. When Gemini first comes to the city of Toonopolis I pictured it kind of like the toon world from Roger Rabbit with the bright colors and craziness everywhere. The city is organized into sections by genre (ex Animetown) and there are some great refrences to video games, comics, cartoons, and some general pop culture refrences. The story is a lighthearted tale following Gemini in his travels with Jimbob (the talking eggplant), his travel guide.
The story is written from two perspectives: that of Gemini on his journey through Toonopolis, and that of Agent Mimic in the form of correspondence where you learn the reason that Gemini is in Toonopolis. The segments with Agent Mimic then to remind you that the story does have a basis in the real world when it would be very easy to forget and lose yourself in the cartoon world. The journey of Gemini and Jimbob takes a lot of strange turns, with some very humorous references to a wide variety of topics (my favorite was the turn based video game).
This book qualifies as young adult, but can be read and enjoyed by anyone. At some point I will be reading this book to my daughter and I'm sure when she is able to read she will read it to herself as well. I look forward to seeing what else Jeremy Rodden has to offer.
The story is written from two perspectives: that of Gemini on his journey through Toonopolis, and that of Agent Mimic in the form of correspondence where you learn the reason that Gemini is in Toonopolis. The segments with Agent Mimic then to remind you that the story does have a basis in the real world when it would be very easy to forget and lose yourself in the cartoon world. The journey of Gemini and Jimbob takes a lot of strange turns, with some very humorous references to a wide variety of topics (my favorite was the turn based video game).
This book qualifies as young adult, but can be read and enjoyed by anyone. At some point I will be reading this book to my daughter and I'm sure when she is able to read she will read it to herself as well. I look forward to seeing what else Jeremy Rodden has to offer.
July 21, 2011
Toonopolis is a cartoon world similar to Toontown in the film Roger Rabbit. There are super heroes, teddy bears with rocket launchers and maidens waiting for the chosen one. When Jacob, an ordinary teenage boy, finds himself in Toonopolis he has no recollection of how he got there or his name. He calls himself Gemini. He is given a guide, Jimbob the talking eggplant, who accompanies him around the various sections of Toonopolis and helps him to get his memories back and find a way home. The trouble is that the cartoon character who can really help is pure evil. He has been terrorising the neighbourhood by sucking up cows, crops and people and Gemini ends up in hospital after their first encounter. He must master cartoon physics, including pulling objects out of thin air, before they meet again.
The story was well-written and great fun. I particularly liked the attention to detail. For example, in Super City all the buildings were outlined in black and words such as SMACK rose in the air, like in a comic book. There were lots of twists and turns, perhaps a few too many for perfect pacing, but I found each one thoroughly enjoyable. The writer clearly knows his world well. The cartoon environment and illustrations would appeal to a 9+ readership, but some of the material pushes this into YA fiction and, therefore, is correctly placed. This book is definitely worth a read.
The story was well-written and great fun. I particularly liked the attention to detail. For example, in Super City all the buildings were outlined in black and words such as SMACK rose in the air, like in a comic book. There were lots of twists and turns, perhaps a few too many for perfect pacing, but I found each one thoroughly enjoyable. The writer clearly knows his world well. The cartoon environment and illustrations would appeal to a 9+ readership, but some of the material pushes this into YA fiction and, therefore, is correctly placed. This book is definitely worth a read.
July 29, 2011
At first, I was kind of upset. I had thought from various tweets and so on, that this was going to be something I would laugh out loud about. But the humor is more tougue in cheek, which is fine, it goes with the main character Gemini and his side kick Jimbob.
I quickly got involved in Gemini and his adventures through Toonopolis. Mr. Rodden does an excellent job in pulling from the old RPG style of meeting your gaming group and slowly finding the right plot device. He even includes a red herring with the requisite back tracking. The entire novel is delightful once you start to understand the humor behind it.
I quickly got involved in Gemini and his adventures through Toonopolis. Mr. Rodden does an excellent job in pulling from the old RPG style of meeting your gaming group and slowly finding the right plot device. He even includes a red herring with the requisite back tracking. The entire novel is delightful once you start to understand the humor behind it.
June 19, 2011
An original and fun story.
Rodden has a pleasant, descriptive writing style and he paints a colourful, quirky world with many very recognisable elements for those who read comics and manga and for those who play roleplaying games. I really liked Gemini, but I liked his travel companions even more I will confess, especially Jimbob, the talking eggplant who's perfectly cast as Gemini's guide as well as comic relief. The story is funny, suspenseful and full of action, leading to a conclusion that leaves you hungry for more. All in all this is a very enjoyable and exciting adventure, set in a fantastical world and I can advice it to anyone who's looking for a fun read.
Rodden has a pleasant, descriptive writing style and he paints a colourful, quirky world with many very recognisable elements for those who read comics and manga and for those who play roleplaying games. I really liked Gemini, but I liked his travel companions even more I will confess, especially Jimbob, the talking eggplant who's perfectly cast as Gemini's guide as well as comic relief. The story is funny, suspenseful and full of action, leading to a conclusion that leaves you hungry for more. All in all this is a very enjoyable and exciting adventure, set in a fantastical world and I can advice it to anyone who's looking for a fun read.
June 15, 2011
What a great read! Normally for this to be pulled off, you'd need to be seeing the characters on screen e.g. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". But Rodden manages to make the characters leap straight into your imagination. I'd definitely read Rodden again.
The downside?
You WILL find yourself chuckling like a mad person in public. I got strange looks on the bus, train and in a queue for a bottle of milk while reading Toonopolis. You have been warned!
The downside?
You WILL find yourself chuckling like a mad person in public. I got strange looks on the bus, train and in a queue for a bottle of milk while reading Toonopolis. You have been warned!
July 8, 2011
Well this book almost killed me. Honestly, don't drink or eat anything while you are reading this book! It is for a sure a different outlook on things.
Very well written, and particularly humorous.
Great read and Highly recommended. And the cover looks awesome!!!!! I can't wait to read more books by Mr. Rodden :)
Very well written, and particularly humorous.
Great read and Highly recommended. And the cover looks awesome!!!!! I can't wait to read more books by Mr. Rodden :)
July 16, 2011
Great read! Awesome cast of characters and fun adventures. Clever plot filled with funnies. I truly enjoyed reading this book! Hope there is more coming.
July 27, 2011
I recieved this book free through GoodReads first reads...and I'm jazzed I was a winner. This is definitly a unique book of a cartoon world. Great characters, great humor, great story. Read it!
August 15, 2011
I bought the book for my teenager, but ended up laughing through it myself.
February 9, 2018
Excellent mixture of comedy and coming-of-age story to keep both young adults and adults immersed in Toonopolis: Gemini.
An outsider (human) finds himself on a different plane of consciousness where all of humanities toon creations thoughts live. But this young man, Gemini, has very few memories. He seeks help and is given an assistant to help him on the quest to find those lost memories. He quickly learns that Tooniverse has been infiltrated by a shadowy figure intent on destroying things and taking control. Gemini decides he must stop Shadowy Figure before he can do irreparable damage only then continuing on in search of his lost memories. Then he learns that Shadowy Figure may be involved in those lost memories and the quest begins.
This book is a genre bending story, beginning with lost memories, igniting the quest form, continues on to become a coming-of-age story, all while being inside a cartoon world where human thoughts of these creatures have made them come alive. Finally, the world works on humor and cheesy puns.
An outsider (human) finds himself on a different plane of consciousness where all of humanities toon creations thoughts live. But this young man, Gemini, has very few memories. He seeks help and is given an assistant to help him on the quest to find those lost memories. He quickly learns that Tooniverse has been infiltrated by a shadowy figure intent on destroying things and taking control. Gemini decides he must stop Shadowy Figure before he can do irreparable damage only then continuing on in search of his lost memories. Then he learns that Shadowy Figure may be involved in those lost memories and the quest begins.
This book is a genre bending story, beginning with lost memories, igniting the quest form, continues on to become a coming-of-age story, all while being inside a cartoon world where human thoughts of these creatures have made them come alive. Finally, the world works on humor and cheesy puns.
October 23, 2021
This book definitely falls into the LitRPG category, although our hero is stuck inside a cartoon dimension, rather than an online game. It's a bit like having all the Saturday morning cartoons crammed together, as the story travels through the different areas of the Tooniverse - superhero, anime, stick figures, etc.
Like a lot of cartoons, this book is written at two levels. It is quite suitable for kids of ages 8 or 9 and up (depending on their reading level) and a lot of the humour is aimed at that level. But there is another level of humour that will appeal to adults, with the many Easter eggs that are included.
This is a series starter and there are a number of openings left for the story to continue, although I was somewhat disappointed that the primary storyline wasn't really resolved, and I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to dive into a second book.
Like a lot of cartoons, this book is written at two levels. It is quite suitable for kids of ages 8 or 9 and up (depending on their reading level) and a lot of the humour is aimed at that level. But there is another level of humour that will appeal to adults, with the many Easter eggs that are included.
This is a series starter and there are a number of openings left for the story to continue, although I was somewhat disappointed that the primary storyline wasn't really resolved, and I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to dive into a second book.
August 28, 2017
A really fun and imaginative read
March 22, 2018
This story took me hither and yon, through multiple diverse places in a cartoon universe that was fun and filled with every kind of character. I never knew what to expect. My grandchildren from 8 to 28 will have fun reading it.
November 6, 2011
When an agent discovers the land of Toonopolis, he and the Agency believe they can use the cartoon world to stage covert operations. The teenage son of the lead scientist becomes the first operative in Toonopolis.
Toonopolis: Gemini is an off-the-wall comedy adventure set in the cartoon world of Toonopolis where an incomplete 'Outsider' named Gemini goes on a quest to complete himself and in doing so pits himself against a shadowy menace consuming toons and wreaking havoc. Although this is firmly in the young adult category, there are all sorts of references I could appreciate from cartoons, comics and even games.
For me, there were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and there were some that left me scratching my head a bit. I liked the purple eggplant guide named Jimbob. If you think of this character as your typical Robin Williams style one-liner comic relief you'd be pretty close. Gemini was a little one-dimensional (for a reason), so it was a bit of fun to have a talking eggplant offer up a myriad of puns and sarcastic put downs. I also liked some of the zany cartoon rules that came into play. The very clever way of avoiding copyright infringement in the story was to TM (terminally move) all cartoons that go public to another place. The Gravity Effectiveness Displacement theory also got a smile out of me. But I think it was the references to popular cartoon forms and genres which actually brought out the laughs.
Through the story we get a sampling of many favourites: all quests beginning with killing 5 rats in the cellar, turn-based fighting, anime expressions and action scenes, role-playing games alignments, the plight of the superhero sidekick and the result of our obsession with vampires. All of these and a few more gave me giggles even though some were heavy-handed.
The author had a story in mind for Toonopolis: Gemini on top of the comedy and popular cartoon references. However, this is the area that I don't think worked as well for me. The basis of Toonopolis was that there was a connection between a creator in the human world and that of the creation itself. This became a bit messy for me. A sidekick will be created in tandem with a superhero, so why would they have different creators? Do people create superhero sidekicks without the superhero? If the life of a toon creation is tied to the life of its creator how are ‘Originals’ still existing - cartoons there at the start of Toonopolis? These things wouldn't have bothered me if there wasn't so much emphasis placed on the connection to form the basis of the story. Additionally, the idea of TM in the story was a good one, but should have been applied a bit more consistently. We should not have been reading about the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, nor should we have the farm of Old McDonald as a location in the story.
There was also a small background father/son plot from the real world that trickled into the toon world. Unfortunately, I found this a bit unsatisfying. If you have a YA target audience, a teenager's feeling of alienation and abandonment is an excellent opportunity to create a connection with your readers as there is a good chance that they will relate and bond with the character. However, the exploration of this side was quite shallow. There seemed to be hints that the main character may not have all the information, but at any point where there were revelations or reversals, I just never seemed to get the full picture behind what happened and why other than the obvious circumstances of the experiment. It was an opportunity lost in my opinion. Admittedly, this story focused more on the fun and absurdity of a toon adventure, but I think if you're going to go there, go there.
It was inevitable that there were going to be some big revelations towards the end of the story and they were there. However, the biggest (and for me, most obvious) revelation was decidedly deus ex machina. I was a bit disappointed that there was no way the author could find to eventually progress the main character's understanding of himself other than a sudden and jarring aside that came out of nowhere just in time for the final confrontation.
That said, for all my complaints about plot cohesion, I thought the book was worthwhile, if just for the fact that it gave me several laughs and smirks. It was an easy and fun read. That I could "get" nearly every reference means that this could be a book that adults enjoy as much as the YA target audience. Of course, it could also mean that I'm just a big kid - which isn't such a bad thing either.
Toonopolis: Gemini is an off-the-wall comedy adventure set in the cartoon world of Toonopolis where an incomplete 'Outsider' named Gemini goes on a quest to complete himself and in doing so pits himself against a shadowy menace consuming toons and wreaking havoc. Although this is firmly in the young adult category, there are all sorts of references I could appreciate from cartoons, comics and even games.
For me, there were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and there were some that left me scratching my head a bit. I liked the purple eggplant guide named Jimbob. If you think of this character as your typical Robin Williams style one-liner comic relief you'd be pretty close. Gemini was a little one-dimensional (for a reason), so it was a bit of fun to have a talking eggplant offer up a myriad of puns and sarcastic put downs. I also liked some of the zany cartoon rules that came into play. The very clever way of avoiding copyright infringement in the story was to TM (terminally move) all cartoons that go public to another place. The Gravity Effectiveness Displacement theory also got a smile out of me. But I think it was the references to popular cartoon forms and genres which actually brought out the laughs.
Through the story we get a sampling of many favourites: all quests beginning with killing 5 rats in the cellar, turn-based fighting, anime expressions and action scenes, role-playing games alignments, the plight of the superhero sidekick and the result of our obsession with vampires. All of these and a few more gave me giggles even though some were heavy-handed.
The author had a story in mind for Toonopolis: Gemini on top of the comedy and popular cartoon references. However, this is the area that I don't think worked as well for me. The basis of Toonopolis was that there was a connection between a creator in the human world and that of the creation itself. This became a bit messy for me. A sidekick will be created in tandem with a superhero, so why would they have different creators? Do people create superhero sidekicks without the superhero? If the life of a toon creation is tied to the life of its creator how are ‘Originals’ still existing - cartoons there at the start of Toonopolis? These things wouldn't have bothered me if there wasn't so much emphasis placed on the connection to form the basis of the story. Additionally, the idea of TM in the story was a good one, but should have been applied a bit more consistently. We should not have been reading about the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, nor should we have the farm of Old McDonald as a location in the story.
There was also a small background father/son plot from the real world that trickled into the toon world. Unfortunately, I found this a bit unsatisfying. If you have a YA target audience, a teenager's feeling of alienation and abandonment is an excellent opportunity to create a connection with your readers as there is a good chance that they will relate and bond with the character. However, the exploration of this side was quite shallow. There seemed to be hints that the main character may not have all the information, but at any point where there were revelations or reversals, I just never seemed to get the full picture behind what happened and why other than the obvious circumstances of the experiment. It was an opportunity lost in my opinion. Admittedly, this story focused more on the fun and absurdity of a toon adventure, but I think if you're going to go there, go there.
It was inevitable that there were going to be some big revelations towards the end of the story and they were there. However, the biggest (and for me, most obvious) revelation was decidedly deus ex machina. I was a bit disappointed that there was no way the author could find to eventually progress the main character's understanding of himself other than a sudden and jarring aside that came out of nowhere just in time for the final confrontation.
That said, for all my complaints about plot cohesion, I thought the book was worthwhile, if just for the fact that it gave me several laughs and smirks. It was an easy and fun read. That I could "get" nearly every reference means that this could be a book that adults enjoy as much as the YA target audience. Of course, it could also mean that I'm just a big kid - which isn't such a bad thing either.
February 18, 2018
I received this e-book free through Goodreads First Read.
A unique and funny read.
A unique and funny read.
May 13, 2012
General Comments
In all honesty, it took me a while to warm up to this book. While nothing grabbed me at the beginning, the story was well-written and the concept was so pleasantly different that I kept reading. As I read on the book became more engaging. I found myself laughing, raising my eyebrows, and sometimes squealing in surprise and excitement after the author used a familiar element from cartoons. Jeremy Rodden did a lovely job of bringing life to cartoons as we know them and it was very easy to tell that he knew his subject well.
Critical Review
Author’s Voice/ POV:
The majority of the book is written in the third person POV, however, there are some journal entry-type sections and these are written in the first person. The transitions from the main story, which was set in the Tooniverse, and the journal entire, which were set in the real world, were smooth and did not disrupt reading. This is due in part to the easy flow of the story as well as to the fact I found myself able to accept that the two worlds existed side-by-side or rather one-on-top-the-other and that it was only right that we should see the events occurring in both of them as they affected each other.
Characters:
The majority of the characters that we come across in Toonopolis were relatively flat. However, they did represent the perfect example of many supporting characters in cartoons. Our protagonist, Gemini, was reasonably fleshed out but I found it hard to really relate to him. He wasn’t a very emotional character and I identify best with those types.
Jimbob, the talking eggplant, was the perfect example of a cartoon and I loved him from the beginning. His quirkiness and his corny jokes really spoke to me, however, it got to be a little too much by the end and I really felt that some of the other characters’ treatment of him was unnecessary and a little forced.
Storyline/ Plot:
My strongest feelings about Toonopolis came from the concept. A human boy in a toon universe on a quest to save the cartoons as well as to discover the truth about himself. While the base plot something we’ve seen many times, the setting alone makes this book standout. Especially as it’s a setting that is so utterly familiar yet alien. Who didn’t watch cartoons when they were younger? Who didn’t laugh at the funny and unrealistic things our favourite cartoon characters did? What struck me most was how well the author knew his subject. He managed to voice opinions or bring attention to certain things that we all accept in cartoons but never really think about and he also created rules for them. His writing provides the oddest but most amusing example of world building that I have ever seen.
Other:
Okay, I have to mention this again but I really loved the concept. It was brilliant and the author did it justice. I also loved the short flashes back to reality. They provided that extra something that helped me to connect to the story. My biggest turn-off was comment made by one character about teenagers in general and somehow, I took it personally. It felt a little too judgmental especially when teenagers make up part of the book’s audience.
Rating Conclusion
Overall, I’d give this story 3 out of 5 stars. While the concept was brilliant, the overall story didn’t grab and hold my attention as much as I would have liked.
For more reviews check out my book blog: Words That Fly
In all honesty, it took me a while to warm up to this book. While nothing grabbed me at the beginning, the story was well-written and the concept was so pleasantly different that I kept reading. As I read on the book became more engaging. I found myself laughing, raising my eyebrows, and sometimes squealing in surprise and excitement after the author used a familiar element from cartoons. Jeremy Rodden did a lovely job of bringing life to cartoons as we know them and it was very easy to tell that he knew his subject well.
Critical Review
Author’s Voice/ POV:
The majority of the book is written in the third person POV, however, there are some journal entry-type sections and these are written in the first person. The transitions from the main story, which was set in the Tooniverse, and the journal entire, which were set in the real world, were smooth and did not disrupt reading. This is due in part to the easy flow of the story as well as to the fact I found myself able to accept that the two worlds existed side-by-side or rather one-on-top-the-other and that it was only right that we should see the events occurring in both of them as they affected each other.
Characters:
The majority of the characters that we come across in Toonopolis were relatively flat. However, they did represent the perfect example of many supporting characters in cartoons. Our protagonist, Gemini, was reasonably fleshed out but I found it hard to really relate to him. He wasn’t a very emotional character and I identify best with those types.
Jimbob, the talking eggplant, was the perfect example of a cartoon and I loved him from the beginning. His quirkiness and his corny jokes really spoke to me, however, it got to be a little too much by the end and I really felt that some of the other characters’ treatment of him was unnecessary and a little forced.
Storyline/ Plot:
My strongest feelings about Toonopolis came from the concept. A human boy in a toon universe on a quest to save the cartoons as well as to discover the truth about himself. While the base plot something we’ve seen many times, the setting alone makes this book standout. Especially as it’s a setting that is so utterly familiar yet alien. Who didn’t watch cartoons when they were younger? Who didn’t laugh at the funny and unrealistic things our favourite cartoon characters did? What struck me most was how well the author knew his subject. He managed to voice opinions or bring attention to certain things that we all accept in cartoons but never really think about and he also created rules for them. His writing provides the oddest but most amusing example of world building that I have ever seen.
Other:
Okay, I have to mention this again but I really loved the concept. It was brilliant and the author did it justice. I also loved the short flashes back to reality. They provided that extra something that helped me to connect to the story. My biggest turn-off was comment made by one character about teenagers in general and somehow, I took it personally. It felt a little too judgmental especially when teenagers make up part of the book’s audience.
Rating Conclusion
Overall, I’d give this story 3 out of 5 stars. While the concept was brilliant, the overall story didn’t grab and hold my attention as much as I would have liked.
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