The Amazing Spencer Gray by Deb Fitzpatrick is an interesting story. The book is written to capture the imagination of a late elementary to middle school students who like suspense. The story takes place in less populated section of Australia. Spencer is a regular 12 year old boy who loves to skateboard and work with his friends on their legos. Spencer is excited because he is now old enough to go up in his dad’s glider with him. Spencer and his dad love going up with the silence and the beauty of the sky and land. Until one day a rogue storm came in and flipped the glider. Now Spencer is alone on the side of the mountain with his father badly injured. He needs to make a plan and try to save his dad.

The story spent more time than needed building up the beginning of the story. Once the plot line started to ramp up the story became very interesting. I liked Spencer’s thoughtful approach to the danger. I liked the building of suspense and the characters in the story.

The Amazing Spencer Gray by Deb Fitzpatrick is a good read for late elementary and early middle school students who like adventure.

It was okay, but not a must-read by any means. It's hard to say exactly why, but I just couldn't get into the story. I think the writing just wasn't that great overall.

I read this book as I was considering it as a gift for my nephew, who likes stories that involve survival and has already exhausted Gary Paulsen's <i>Hatchet</i> series, but I found it really didn't compare. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what was wrong with it, but I think it was that the pacing was all wrong. The "beginning" seemed to drag on forever (at least half the book), incuding a lot of detail about Spencer's family and friends, school, neighborhood, etc., and then when it *finally* got to the point where the glider crashed, the pace seemed too fast, without enough detail and tension building up to the final rescue. It isn't terrible, but I won't be buying it.

The Amazing Spencer Grey is a book sure to please any middle schooler, boy or girl. (My 11 yr old grandson will be reading it soon and I’ll give you his opinion.)

When trouble finds Spencer and his doctor father, Spencer is able to draw on the things his parents and cross country coach have taught him. He finds a way to get help and save the day, just as any young boy would dream of doing!

The story is fast paced yet easy to follow. Spencer and his family have their series of ups and downs but stay bonded as a family. Totally appropriate scenarios for this age group.

The only issue I had with this book was one cuss word. In my opinion it was totally unnecessary and out of place in this otherwise clean book.