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The Basics
Creepy Condors of California by Johnathan Rand is a thrill. Cameron and Melanie Doyle go on a camping trip to Mt. Shasta. This book is filled with action, adventure, terror, and a bit of humor. They are captured by a condor and need to find a way to get out. I chose this book because of the eye catching cover and title. I ended up loving the beginning, so then I decided to continue. -
Event 1- GOLD
Cameron and Melanie go panning for gold. They go to a river near the capming cite, and are told to be back by 4 and they left at 12. Melanie has no luck, but Cameron is just looking in the river and sees a gold nugget! Suddenly, Melanie see's a California Condor! This propeled the action because now it's scary instead of just looking for gold because those birds are very dangerous.My thinking on this was that it was predictable because otherwise it wouldn't say she learned about them in school. -
Event 2- IT'S ALIVE! Not.
Melanie is scared and telling Cameron not to move because she knows how dangerous the condors are. Melanie and Cameron ran for their lives, but Cameron then smacked it with a log and it was knocked out. Then they realized it's mechanical. Cameron was able to connect it to his airplane remote controller, so they could fly it around! This explained Cameron as a character as brave and smart. My thinking on this was that this was why the condor would've attacked because it's being controlled. -
Event 3- Out of Control
Cameron has the bird in control for a while, but they realize they don't know where they are from running from the bird. Melanie tells Cameron to have the bird pick her up and see over the trees, but once she gets up there Cameron loses control. Then, the condor is heading straight for the huge Mt. Shasta! This propeled the action because the two siblings are separated now. My thinking on this was that this is a very action packed part and scary part. -
Event 4- Joy Ride
Melanie is heading toward Mt. Shasta while being carried by a creepy, mechanical condor. She knew she had to hold on incase the bird let go. She thinks she is about to die because the bird is about to hit the side of Mt Shasta, but the bird turns into a tunnel which is pitch black. This propeled the action because it puts you in a state of discomfort putting yourself in her shoes. My thinking was that there was someone inside the mountain controlling the bird which was coming back to its owner. -
Event 5- Starstruck
Melanie is all of a sudden in a room with tons of lights and cameras and people she recognizes from TV! This is a movie set. Melanie is starstruck. She saw Steven Spellbird, Sylvester Malone, Arnold Shortenbigger, Mary Ash, and Kately. The tech guy told her that 2 of the birds went out of control. Melanie was scared because he said 2 birds, and Cameron was in danger. Melanie now gets something good out of all of this. Now, I completely understood what happened with the condors. -
Event 6- Look out Cameron
Cameron is very scared because his sister is gone and he can't find her, plus he thinks it's his fault. Then, it even got worse for him. There was another condor swooping above him. It attacked him, but the tech guy got control of the bird just in time and picked up Cameron and brought him to Mt. Shasta. This propeled the action because there is another condor attack. My thinking on this was that I was still really scared for Cameron, but I knew he was safe. -
Event 7-Filming with the Stars!
Cameron and Melanie explain to Mr. Spellbird what was going on with the birds. Mr. Spellbird asks them to be in a scene in the movie. Cameron and Melanie couldn't say no. They shot the scene in the mountain because a competitor against the movie company doesn't want them shooting the movie. This was different for Cameron and Melanie because they knew the birds were in control. My thinking on this was that it turned out well for them that they found the condor because they got to be in a movie! -
Event 8- Traitor!
There is a commotion with a huge light that burnt out. During this, someone working with Mr. Spellbird loaded all of the footage into his van and drove off. Mr. Spellbird noticed and called him. He said if anyone called the cops then he would drive the footage into water. That's when Cameron and Melanie had an amazing idea. My thinking on this was that this was like a twist at the end of the book, and it was like a second problem in the book which propeled the action. -
Event 9- Stop that Van!
Cameron says he used his remote control to control the condors, so they could control them with their better computers to pick up the van and bring him back. They successfully do it, and the traitor is arrested. This made Cameron and Melanie sort of the hero, so this propeled the action, but then you knew the book was close to being over. My thinking on this was that Melanie and Cameron did a really good thing and had a really good idea. I figured they would get a reward for all they did. -
Event 10- Movie Time!
Mr. Spellbird invites them to see the first showing of the movie with him. They tell their parents the whole story, and they can't believe it. No one at school believed them either. Then, a year later when the movie came out, everyone finally did. Mom and Dad were flabergasted. They had a great time at the movie.This settled the book down at the end and ended all the action. My thinking on this was the reason they added this part was to show the reader that everyone ended up believing them. -
Conclusion- Andddd Cut!
Overall, I thought this was a great, thrilling book that kept me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely watch the movie if there was one, and I would watch the movie created in the book as well. I would only recommend this to a friend who likes action packed books. It wasn't believable at times like where they were in the mountain filming a movie, but otherwise it was. I honestly was hoping for a little more than just Cameron and Melanie almost the whole book. Overall, it was a great book.
