The Marino Mission: One Girl. One Mission. One Thousand Words.

I purchased this for my niece teenage but gave a couple chapters a read before shipping it off to her. For it's purpose, it's not a bad text. Every page has about 5-10 SAT words interspersed throughout the text with the definitions on the bottom of the page. The writing does come off a bit mechanical and the dialogue is especially unnatural when using SAT words I feel that for the purpose of teaching vocabulary words in context, this is forgivable. It's to be read not as the next great American novel to torn apart for literary criticism but as a fun tool for SAT practice.In general, the writing is very easy to get through and the story in engaging enough. It reads like a take-to-the-beach novel but with random sentence that suddenly jump into academic language. Hardcore readers will probably be a little bored but if you take this book as it is - as an alternative to computer word games and flash cards - it's a great tool.

I like the book. Yet there is a 'blooper'that bugged me. Jose uses words that most english speaking people don't use. I know that this is an SAT novel, but still he's speaks english perfectly. Which is alittle unrealtic and lost me. Im hispanic and live in New England. My first language is english and I struggle speaking spanish. Yet, Jose lives in a very poor spanish speaking country and has an extensive engish vocabulary. I did like that this book did include hispanic characters because most books do not. I thought that the whole 'free willy' theme was so unrealistic. Being a hopeless romantic, i had hoped that Alexa and Jose's relationship would be alittle deeper. I was not satisfied and the ending was so cheesy. Jose says, "it alaways boils down to whether or not you know the vocab". I would have prefered if the book was more like other novels and not so robtic and boring.Definetly buy "Sunkissed" by Belinda Ray. its an SAT vocab novel also. And doesnt feel robotic like this book.

The high school girl I mentor and I read this book aloud over a period of many weeks. (We alternated readers every couple of paragraphs.) Each day we discussed the words and the actions of the heroine and other characters. On our own we explored other words related to the featured words. When we were finished we read Mayan Mission  The Mayan Mission: Another Mission. Another Country. Another Action-Packed Adventure. 1,000 New SAT Vocabulary Words and loved that too, just as much. When the next book appears - as I hope it will - I'll be first in line to buy [it!

Marino Mission, a great story for augmenting your vocabulary. It's worth five stars from me.Although in my forties, I couldn't resist reading this book and have re-read it a few times. I'd to say that I've loved this book so much that I've bought another book by the same author. I'd learned off all the words within.

I have taught SAT and GRE vocabulary for 20 years. This is one of the best resources available. Karen Chapman uses the words in context just like the SAT. My daughter, now a dean's list college student read it and said, "It's not bad." High praise for a seventeen year old.Karen must be a very interesting person. Read her bio and then see how well this brainiac writes a YA novel. Excellent work.

We purchased this book on the strong recommendation of a relative, and can likewise recommend it to others, without a bone of contention...I skim-read the story, and while the artifice used to introduce the vocabulary is a bit much for an adult, it should work well for the target audience. As the heroine is, well, - a heroine, the book might initially appeal more to young women, rather than to boys. But, any young person would probably enjoy the plot and the storyline once immersed in the book. At the risk of dating myself, I'd equate the book to Nancy Drew meets Tom Swift, updated for the 21st century... All in all, an effective and elegant solution for providing young people with a rich vocabulary while preparing them for one of the most significant examinations they must undertake.Significantly, one-third of the book is devoted to exercises which reinforce the meaning and proper use of the myriad words introduced in the story. As repetition is the root of understanding, students would be wise to make use of this added bonus. Teachers and educators should likewise give this book strong consideration for inclusion in their curriculum and SAT-prep courses.With the advent of a re-tooled SAT containing a much-dreaded essay component, Ms. Chapman should put her considerable creativity to work on a new book which addresses this coming challenge. I have no doubt that any such attempt would be as engaging and successful as "The Marino Mission."...On a personal note, at last I can use the word "perspicacity" correctly...