Ignatius MacFarland: Frequenaut! by Paul Feig

Ignatius MacFarland: Frequenaut! Reviews

• 
  Library Lady

  To put it bluntly, this book read like a children's book on acid. The weird description of the "frequency" Iggy ends up in, the constant running away from danger, and the toilet humor! Ugh. I wanted to like it because the concept is so great, but I just couldn't. The book needed major editing and character development. I'm not sure kids will like it, simply because it's so weird. Yes, it does have a lot of action, but action isn't everything. You have to have a decent story with a good villain and a likable hero. Iggy is likeable, but there appear to be two villains and only one is really developed. I think the author/publisher was going for a Percy Jackson meets a little bit of the intrigue of His Dark Materials and The Mysterious Benedict Society. But with several unnecessary instances of swearing (the relatively minor "d-word" but watchful parents will take note!) and confusion about the audience for the book--Iggy begins to develop a relationship with a girl and mentions some of his, erm, physical sensations as a result, while later lamenting a cat's constant tendency to urinate on him-- I don't see this making it very far beyond its initial hype.
  
  Sure, boys who like potty humor will like it, but are they *that* into girls at this age? I can tell you that of the boys between 10-13 that I've known well personally-- and at this point, that's around 20-- most weren't that into girls yet. (And these are boys who are into fantasy and reading and quite mature for their age while still liking the occasional toilet joke.) So while the potty humor may tickle their funny bones and pique their interest, I think the romance, chattiness of the main character-- he over explains EVERYTHING!--, and the scattered plot will have them putting the book down almost as quickly as they pick it up. I suspect, though, that those who are fans of Paul Feig's television work, will be at least curious. And I know that some will like this book. I unfortunately did not.
• 
  Paul

  I had high hopes because it's Paul Feig, but his strengths are in teleplays and personal essays, not young adult fiction.
  
  Ignatius Macfarland: Frequenaut is good in places, and the main character is well-written. But the overly-described action sequences really bog the story down. And the book is too long, but the ending still feels abrupt (it sets up the sequel, which I don't plan to read).
• 
  Amy

  I liked a lot about the story but there was weirdness that counterbalanced what I liked. I liked that Iggy is a nice guy who struggles to fit in. I didn’t like that he felt uncomfortable in his own world. I liked some of the humor and it had lots of action. The aliens/giant babies/potato bugs/praying mantis things made it harder for me to like all the characters. A few mild swears and some mild violence. 5th grade and up.
• 
  Julie Christen

  Iggy’s voice and constant inner monologue is so great! He will make you laugh and shake your head. Bizarre and crazy, this is a fun one. I could, however, have lived without so many chase scenes! Lol
• 
  LeAnn Suchy

  Originally reviewed at
  Minnesota Reads.
  
  I’ve been a big fan of Paul Feig’s since 1999 and I didn’t know it until the summer of 2008. If you loved the short-lived TV show “Freaks & Geeks,” since Feig created it, you’ve been a big fan, too. If you didn’t like “Freaks & Geeks” (we can’t be friends), you’ve probably seen episodes of “Arrested Development,” “The Office,” and “Weeds” that Feig has directed.
  
  In the summer of 2008, walking through the hundreds of vendor booths at the American Library Association Conference, I heard someone promoting a new book scream, “It’s from the creator of ‘Freaks & Geeks’!” I didn’t know who created “Freaks & Geeks” and I didn’t know what book they were promoting, but I had to get in line.
  
  Meeting Feig that day, I know I acted like a fanatic moron before I walked away with my signed copy of Feig’s children’s novel, Ignatius MacFarland, Frequenaut! On the back of the book there were statements about his two earlier books, so I bought and read those memoirs first. They were hilarious and it’s easy to see that “Freaks & Geeks” was inspired, in part, by his life. He’s a fellow geek.
  
  It should come as no surprise that the hero in this book, middle schooler Ignatius (or Iggy) MacFarland, is also a fellow geek. Sick of being teased, Iggy actually feels so out of place in this world that he sits on his rooftop at night hoping aliens will come snatch him.
  
  Since aliens seem to be bypassing his house, Iggy decides to take matters into his own hands. Using trash cans, duct tape, and gunpowder taken from tons of fireworks, Iggy and his friends create a makeshift rocket. When they test the rocket, after the loud explosion and tons of smoke, Iggy crawls out of it expecting to see his house and friends, but instead he sees nothing but grass and weird looking trees. He was still on Earth but had jumped frequencies.
  
  In this other frequency, animals are huge, strange, and can speak English, and they’re being ruled by an evil dictator, an English teacher from Iggy’s hometown. The dictator doesn’t like other humans in the frequency, so throughout the novel Iggy is chased by the dictator’s army.
  
  Ignatius MacFarland, Frequenaut! is part science fiction and part fantasy, and I wanted to absolutely love it, but I only liked it. There is a lot of action throughout the book, but during it, Iggy thinks too much. We are in Iggy’s mind and are constantly told stories from his past that relate to what he’s doing at the moment. The side stories are funny and witty, and at times fit in with what he’s doing, but sometimes they just take away from the action at hand. I still enjoyed the book, and I will be reading the sequels that are in the works, but I hope Feig does more editing in them than he did in this one.
• 
  Sam

  You don't even have to visit another frequency to see how amazing this book is. This is one of the best 300+-paged novels I've ever read. It has dense humor, picturesque writing abilities and perspectives, and it has lots of scenic drama that makes the book that more intensifying and exciting to read. Ignatius is one of those books that fall under the radar but actually have lots of quality and shining elements. And I'm glad I was able to walk on this moon and discover this frequency's intelligent life. (In case you're confused, that's metaphorically speaking.) I once described as Hugo Cabret as this: "...knocks me down, helps me up, and then knocks me down again, and only few have ever done this kind of trick on me." Well, Ignatius is one of those few. The only shortcoming this book had--what, do you think I'd stay in the bright side?--was that it didn't properly define its scenery. When I came back to the book while I was reading it, I had lots of trouble trying to remember where I was in the story. Kinda like with--oh, let's save that for another review. Also, even while I am reading it, the book's scenarios are still very incomprehensible. But then again, this story is mainly at another frequency. But still, just because you have matchless theme doesn't mean you have matchless plot lining.
• 
  E. Anderson

  Ignatius MacFarland is fed up with Earth. He doesn't fit in at school, in town, or even in his home. He really likes UFOs, mostly the idea that maybe someday aliens from another planet will come and take him away from this place where he is bullied and unappreciated. Iggy decides to build a rocket ship of his own to go find the aliens that clearly haven't come for him yet. But there is an accident during the test launch, and Iggy gets trapped in the rocket when the fuel ignites. There's a massive explosion, and the next thing he knows, he is in a world that almost looks like our own, but is far from it. And everything is named after some guy named Arthur - some guy who turns out to be an evil dictator. And Iggy recognizes him - he used to be a teacher at his school. Iggy's adventures in this alternate frequency are hilarious and action-packed. While sometimes Feig tries a little too hard with the jokes in the narrative, this is the sort of stuff that a 5th grade boy will eat right up. The creatures Iggy meets are both fascinating and charming, and his cohort Karen turns out to be a real kick in the pants. Ignatius is definitely one to watch for this fall.
• 
  Lorie

  After building a home made rocket with garbage cans and gunpowder from fireworks, Iggy and his friends only succeed in sending him to another frequency not space like they hoped. He finds a world similar in topography to his town, while the creatures of this frequency are like nothing of his own. He meets another teen who has sent herself there as well and also a former teacher from their school. The teacher has created "Lesterville" making all it's inhabitants slaves to his attempt at recreating his version of home. Can Iggy save the creatures he befriends and send himself back to his own frequency?
  Paul Feig has written an enjoyable fantasy novel that I think most teens and tweens would like. You can easily identify with Iggy as he struggles with many common problems: bullying, parents, questions about where he fits in, etc.
  
  
  
• 
  Jill

  I think this might be a good one for boys--what with all the weird creatures that Iggy finds in the alternate "frequency" he lands in after accidentally blowing himself up while trying to make a rocket. Which he was doing because he wanted to get away from the bullies at school, where he feels like a misfit. He's sure he belongs with the aliens. A lot of crazy stuff happens in the new frequency which is why I think it would be a good draw for reluctant boy readers.
• 
  Chelsea

  A funny and very imaginative book, though the writing itself was nothing special. Ignatius Macfarland, called Iggy (and what a fabulous name), is an engaging character that middle reader boys will love, and Karen, the kick ass high schooler who enlists him in her crusade, will appeal to girls of the same age. Not one of my favorites, but kids will love it.
• 
  Teen

  From the writer of Freaks & Geeks--great for tween guys. Ignatius, sick of being bullied, builds a rocketship in hopes of escaping to outer space. Not being an expert rocketship builder, he instead sends himself to a different frequency in the same spot, populated by strange creatures seemingly controlled by--a teacher from Ignatius' school? A sci fi/fantasy adventure with lots of fart jokes.
• 
  Lisa

  I didn't completely finish this book. I read to about page 250 and then I skipped to the last chapter. I was expecting a funny, engaging read, however, what I got was a tedious story about flat characters with the occasional weak attempt at humor, filled with editorial errors. Needless to say I was disappointed.
• 
  Carissa

  meh. the creatures in this book were too bizarre for me to keep track of and the storyline was relatively weak. i enjoyed the illustrations scattered throughout the book, but occasionally, they didn't exactly match the text (which was frustrating).
• 
  Christopher

  I'm loving this book so far. The writing is elegant enough to charm grown-ups, yet with enough irreverence and ick-factor to draw in the young'uns. Reading this book takes me back to the days of Judy Blume, Encyclopedia Brown and "Choose Your Own Adventure". Fun, fun, fun stuff.
• 
  Peggy P

  Both my kids (girl 10 & son 13) just finished this book. Could be a classic like Gulliver's Travels. Fun, funny, kids kept saying one more chapter before I could turn out the lights. We are hoping for a sequel.
• 
  Deb

  Another YRCA 2011 nominated book. This one by the creator of Freaks and Geeks! I have high hopes.
  Okay perhaps my hopes were a little too high as this book is in thr category for 8-12 year olds. However, the voice of the narrator Iggy is well handled and believable.
• 
  Sarah

  Battle of the Books 2011.
  
  I'm not sure how exactly this got on the list. If it wasn't part of our battle, I would have abandoned it. Far too much running from weird creatures described at too much length, but not well.
• 
  Laura

  This was ok, and I love Feig's adult books, but I guess I'm just not the target audience for the humor in this book. Still, I can see the appeal for middle school kids who enjoy humorous books about outsiders.
• 
  Angela

  Very "Yellow Submarine" and weird. Obviously intended to be the first of a series where two kids travel to different parallel worlds through being out-of-frequency. I don't plan to continue with the series.
• 
  Joyce

  A funny sci-fi adventure, but I was a bit disappointed by the ending. Summary: Bullied in school and called "Piggy MacFartland," twelve-year-old Iggy longs to travel to another planet and live among extraterrestrials, until an explosion transports him to a scary alternate reality.
  
• 
  Paul

  I'm a big fan of Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Kick Me, Superstud), but this book came off as very average compared to his other work - it lacked all the humour and strong characters I'd come to expect, and seemed very formulaic.
• 
  Brendan Creecy

  Fun tween book by the genius that is Paul Feig. I really enjoyed it and the illustrations inside really add to it. This would have been my favorite book if I had read it in 5th or 6th grade. Can't wait to read the next one!
  
• 
  stillme

  Hilarious. I'll recommend this to everyone.