Loved this! Great initial concept of the “Baku” but the battles made it even more interesting. It would have been a definite favorite of mine growing up. I’ll be booktalking this one for sure once it comes out. Just wish the sequel was ready!

A fun read! I didn't know what to expect when I started this one, but I liked the cover, and the blurb sounded fun. I really enjoyed it, though, and am glad I got the chance to read it! I enjoyed the characters, and the story was well written!

Jinxed by Amy McCulloch is a middle grade series starter that is currently scheduled for release on January 7 2020. Lacey Chu has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the “baku”—a customizable “pet” with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she’s crushed. One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After Lacey repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she’s ever seen…He seems real. As Lacey settles into life at school, competing with the best students in a battle of the bakus that tests her abilities, she learns that Jinx is part of a dangerous secret. Can Lacey hold on to Jinx and her dreams for the future?

Jinxed is ba well written start to a new series. Lacey is a smart and determined middle school girl, who has her faults and makes mistakes but tries to to the right and best thing. The world and character building is well done, feeding readers the information they need at a good pace, neither overwhelming them with too much information at once or making them wonder if they missed something. I liked Lacey's character and the relationships she maintains or builds with those important to her- even if she makes some mistakes along the way. I liked the premise and the execution of it. I thought that the technology in the story is well done, and not unrealistic when the story on how and why it was developed in considered. I would not be surprised if someone was already working on something of this nature. The implications of the technology is also well thought out and positioned in the story to be game changers.The characters are all complex, and even the ones we only see in passing feel complex and multi layered- leaving them plenty of room to play major roles in the upcoming books. My only complaint with the story is that it does end with a cliffhanger. The majority of the story is wrapped up and crisis managed, but there is a big new problem to deal with. I cannot wait for the next book so I can read all about what happens next.

Jinxed is a very well written middle grade novel with great series potential. I am eager to see where Lacey and the other characters go from here.

Recibí una copia de este libro de Netgalley para reseñar.

Creo que fue la portada lo que primero llamó mi atención, me gusta esta estética y el gato me convenció de leer la sinopsis. Últimamente me ha gustado leer middle grade así no le pensé dos veces para pedir Jinxed. Dentro de sus páginas encontré una historia atrapante que se siente como una de esas películas donde un niño encuentra un compañero especial muy diferente a los demás donde se desarrolla una fuerte relación entre ambos y hacen todo por estar juntos.

Lacey siempre ha querido entrar a la secundaria Profectus porque sabe que ese es un camino seguro para entrar al trabajo que desea: ser un companioneer de Bakus. Estos seres mecánicos se han convertido en parte intrínseca de la vida de las personas. Son compañeros que funcionan mejor que un celular inteligente. Fueron creados por la ídolo de Lacey y quiere trabajar en esa empresa creada por ella. Encontrar a Jinx fue toda una suerte y pronto se crea ese vínculo entre la humana y su gato cibernético.

La narración y la historia son sencillas y y lo mejor es la relación entre Jinx y Lacey. Creo que haber hecho que compañero fuer aun gato le da un toque travieso a la historia y al ser mis animales favoritos ayudó a que disfrutara de mi lectura.

No estaba segura de si iba a ser una serie pero al llegar al final supe que sí lo será. No puedo esperar a leer el segundo volumen.

Lucy Chu is a smart girl with her while future ahead of her. Only issue is that dad is gone and they didn’t have enough money for her to attend the school she wants without a scholarship. Fortunately, she finds a way into the fancy engineering school. But is everything what it seems?

I did enjoy this world, although not sure Lucy and friends are quite written like middle school kids. Definitely they are written a little older, but it works anyway. There is definitely an audience for this even though it ends on a complete cliffhanger.

Jinxed by Amy McCulloch. 4 stars

This is the first book by Amy McCulloch that I have read and it will not be the last. The is the first book in a new series; meet Lacey Chu a talented tinkerer who lives in a company owned complex. MONCHA is the largest tech company in the world. Their main products are robot animals that are leashed to their owners - think smart phones that are personal companions. Eagles, cats, dogs, tigers, etc. Lacey is obsessed with getting into the top school as a gateway to being an engineer at MONCHA. She is rejected and getting ready for her alternative path when she encounters a broken robot. She fixes the robot cat and starts an adventure that is reminiscent of a mash up of Harry Potter and Ready Player One.. The themes in this book are similar to other popular books, but have a unique spin that makes this book an exciting read. The only reason it is 4 stars instead of 5 is Lacey’s interaction with her old friends or lack of. Her obsession with her new life affects her relationship with her best friend Zora. There is also a mystery involving Lacey’s father, one of MONCHA original engineers. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebook Kids for this ARC.

Lacey Chu is twelve years old living with her mom. She lives in a “mini corporate city.” The city has grow up around the Moncha Corp., developer of baku which are robotic companions that blend companionship with a smartphone utility. Lacey has applied to the Moncha Corp. school as she wants to become a companioneer. As a companioneer, she would develop, innovate and build bakus. Lacey finds a destroyed baku and decides to take it home to “fix” it. It’s a cat that she calls Jinx. Jinx is unlike any other baku in that it is independent— thinks and does things without any instruction from Lacey. This causes Lacey some problems but also helps her. Jinx gets her into this school after she has been rejected. Why does Jinx do this? How is he able to do this? Will Lacey get to meet her idol — Monica Chan, the owner and first companioneer of Moncha Corp.? Jinx is kidnapped and Lacey must get him back. Who kidnapped Jinx? Why? Will Lacey be able to find Jinx?

The novel reminded me of how people today are so addicted to their cell phones. It appears that cellphones have replace one-on-one interaction. There is a sense of wonder in this first novel of a series. It made me think of women in the STEM fields. This story is more than about cellphones, it has mystery, challenges and surprises. There is a little romance thrown in.

How would you feel If your pet was also your phone, a computer, a map, and even your friend? Thanks to the MONCHA, the largest tech firm in North America, you can have just that. MONCHA is the company that has created the "baku", a customizable smart pet. You can get a a simple level 1 up to a rare and exclusive level 5. Lacey Chu wants to be a companioneer for this amazing company. The only way her dream will come true is if she can make it into Profectus, the elite academy for cutting edge technology. Lacey is one of the tops in her class and is sure she will be accepted. When she gets her letter that she has been rejected, she thinks her hopes and dreams are over. She doesn't have a lot of money, so she has to settle for a level 1 beetle. On the way to buy her beetle baku she and her best friend, Zora, encounter a nasty kid from their school. Carter and his friends with their level four bakus cause Zora's baku, Linus, to tumble down an embankment towards the railroad tracks. Lacey went over the metal railing and down the ravine to rescue Linus. While she is down there she finds a level three cat baku that has been badly damaged. Lacey takes him home and suddenly she is accepted into Profectus with her registers level three cat baku. Lacey works on her baku, Jinx, all summer and has him ready right before she starts to school. Lacey soon finds out that her baku is not like other bakus. Normal bakus obey their owners and only do what they tell them to do. Jinx rarely does what Lacey tells him to do and makes many decisions on his own. Another shock for Lacey is when she, as a seventh grader, is chosen to be on a battle team. She proves very worthy for her team until Jinx does something to cause her to get kicked off the team. Will Lacey lose the friends she has just started to make at her new school because of Jinx? What will Lacey do when she finds out that some very important people are searching for the lost prototype baku? And what will happen when Jinx is stolen from her? Read this fast-paced novel to find out what happens to Lacey and Jinx!

This story Is so Incredible and it keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. There are also those moments in the end where your mouth drops open from shock. When this book ends it makes you crave book two!! Do not miss this one!!

This was a very entertaining page-turner! I know I'm already too old for middle grade books, but I've always had the affinity to books that make you wish you read when you were younger.

Jinxed offers a world that you can twist your imagination and an adventure that makes you root for more. And can we talk about that cliffhanger ending? What a way to end the book! I truly recommend this to readers of all ages.

The book will be released this month, so watch out for it!

This book being billed as "Golden Compass" like is a little bit off. I feel like it is more digimon meets battle bots. There were times I thought that Lacey was a little older than her 12 years but I didn't find it to be too much of a problem. On the other hand, I loved Jinx, he was such a cat in all the best ways. I appreciate the level of realism put into the tech so that this book is basically a middle grade speculative fiction.

I'm very interested to see what the follow up book will be like and what Baku would fit my personality.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy McCulloch, and Sourcebooks Kids for the opportunity to read Jinxed in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read a riveting middle-grade page-turner in quite some time; this book has left me on the edge of my seat, breathless, and extremely eager for the second installment.

Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2018, Jinxed makes its debut in the United States in January 2020. Sure, this book has some elements seen in many middle-grade and young adult novels, but it brings just the right blend together to make something fun, intriguing, and absolutely unique.

Told in the perspective of Lacey Chu, a seventh-grader with the dream of being a companioneer at Moncha Corp, this world has cell phones, sure, but also something much greater. Monica Chan, the founder and head engineer at Moncha, had a brilliant idea. What if people had all the same capabilities as smartphones--calling, texting, net searching, etc.--in the shapes of animals? They can move around with their intricate structure and form the basis of this society's lifestyle.

Lacey wants to get into Profectus, a school that Moncha takes all of its new-hires from, a school for only the most advanced students. It's more like a university than a middle/high school. Lacey has the highest grades of anyone, but for some reason she didn't get accepted into the school of her dreams. She can never become a companioneer, someone who builds bakus, for her favorite company if she doesn't go to Profectus. Bakus are the name for the smart animal tech that accompany many of the people in society. When Lacey doesn't get accepted to the school of her dreams, she doesn't get the scholarship she was hoping for in order to buy a higher level baku. Instead, she's stuck with a level one baku, which is all she can afford.

On her way home from the store, her school rival picks on her and her friend, and she goes down into a ravine to save her friend's new baku. Out in the trees, she finds the remains of another baku. When she takes it home, she sees that it is a high-level cat baku. This level three baku allows her into Profectus. After spending the whole summer repairing the cat baku (and waiting to see if someone was looking for it), Lacey finds out her baku isn't quite normal. It has a will of its own. Jinx, as she calls it based on its serial number, can speak to Lacey telepathically, is a master hacker, and does not follow directions.

Lacey must hide these strange features from everyone around her, or people might start asking questions that may lead to her expulsion from Profectus.

There are also the baku battles, a secret competition between selected teams to battle their bakus against each other. Part of the challenge is being able to not only control their baku in battle, but to be able to efficiently repair the mechanics if they seek a job at Moncha. It's these battles that might ultimately expose Lacey's secret about Jinx.

There's a whole lot more going on in the story than that. Monica Chan hasn't been seen in some time, causing suspicion from Lacey and others. The corporation is currently being run by a potential tyrant with sinister motivations for the direction of Moncha. A rival corporation called BRIGHTSPRK seeks to steal Moncha's tech secrets. Lacey has been caught up in the middle of this intense corporate scandal. Let's not forget the basic struggles of a seventh-grader building both romantic and friend relationships...

An absolutely fantastic novel packed with excitement from page one. The cover for the U.S. release is a perfect fit for the target audience as well. A book I will highly recommend to all ages that explores potential ideas that we may just see in our own technological future.

I love this book! So entertaining! Just a fun book to read!

Lacey Chu dreams of working for MONCHA Corp, a large tech firm that makes digital pets called Baku. She's 12 and her biggest goal in life is to be a companioneer, creating Baku. Lacey's plans are in jeopardy when she is turned down for a spot at the Profectus Academy in Toronto. Just as she thinks her life is over before it really got started, she finds a damaged Baku. As she repairs it, the little digital cat somehow gets her a spot in Profectus. As she gets involved in school and learns more about Jinx, she finds out the little cat is part of a dangerous secret....

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It kept my attention from start to finish. It's definitely written for middle grade readers, but adults can definitely enjoy this story too! The story is age appropriate and interesting enough to tempt even reluctant readers.

I had such fun reading this book that I'm giving it full stars. I ordered a copy for my keeper shelf. There is a second book in the Jinxed series, Unleashed. I added it to my wish list, and I'm definitely eagerly awaiting another book. Such a fun story! Wish I had a digital cat instead of an iphone! :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Sourcebooks Kids via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

This was a fantastic book that kept me entertained from start to finish. The battles and the Baku kind of reminded me of Pokémon so I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves that. I particularly liked Jinx as his sass was really enjoyable to read also, I just really want a Baku. I would highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read the sequel.



Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Kids, Simon and Schuster UK Children's and to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jinxed has an absolutely fascinating idea in the bakyus – robot animal replacements for our phones – that enchanted me almost immediately. I could see the bakyus, see how they’d work with us in real life, and I loved it. When you add in a STEM environment where kids are encouraged to learn to be better inventors? Oh yes, please, I will read it all and I would like a bakyu of my own please. (Though, truthfully, I wouldn’t want Jinx. Jupiter sounds more my style.)

Except… I kind of feel like I wasn’t given enough to read. I don’t normally care about not having a lot of world-building, but there’s almost none present in this book. No sense of what the outside world is really like that would make you understand how something like Moncha Corp came to be. I mean, we geeks are fierce in our geekiness, but we’re not that obsessive/possessive that we would shut ourselves off from the outside world for no reason except ‘oh, look, cool robots!’, right?

There’s also so little time spent on the school stuff itself that it seems like wasted potential. I mean ask anyone who loves the Harry Potter books what they think of Hogwarts. I almost guarantee you that they have an opinion of the castle itself because it has character. It’s more than just stones and classrooms. You can’t just tell readers that this school is very cool and then just gloss over it – which is very much what it felt like.
The first three-fourths of the book I was completely engaged. However, it lost me at the end. It went from feeling fresh and innovative to oh, yeah, I recognize this plot (and I’ve seen it done better). The end isn’t a fulfilling end at all. Technically, the arc of the first book is complete, but there’s a big difference between completing it and completing it well. You get a couple paragraphs of glossed-over, semi yawn-worthy closure, and then get flung immediately into a cliffhanger. It really disappointed me because the rest of the book I felt had set everything up for something amazing.

I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to read the book ahead of publication, and I cannot stress enough how much I love the idea of the bakyus, but ultimately I’m left feeling a bit adrift and can’t say I’d continue with the series even if the second book was immediately available.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

This tense, smart middle grade book establishes a near-future Earth where only the poorest people have smart phones. Anyone who’s anyone has a baku, which is a companion robot, computer, and accessory all in one. Lacey Chu is a brilliant young engineer with her hopes set on getting into an elite school that fast-tracks graduates to the Moncha corporation, where Monica Chan invented bakus. Lacey is devastated when she isn’t accepted, and embarrassed when all she can afford is a measly level one scarab baku. But when she finds a piece of junk and hauls it home to her workshop, she’s stunned to find it’s a cat baku unlike any other. She fixes it up. Suddenly, her school rejection is undone. She’s in! But as she starts her dream school, she realizes her baku, Jinx, is truly unique. He doesn’t obey orders, as if he.... is alive.

This book is so much fun. You can’t help but love Jinx. He’s such a cat. Lacey is a great heroine, a kid with dreams and genuine drive. I found the book breathless in pace. I didn't want to put it down! My only complaint is that the book ends on a tortuous cliffhanger.

I liked the concept of this book but ultimately I think the middle grade level was maybe not the best decision for it. There were a lot of holes and just flat out weird things in the world building from my point of view.

Everyone in this world uses bakus - robotic animals that are basically like your cell phone / computer - and the bakus are supposed to also be like pets or friends but then Lacy gets into the school run by the woman who invented the bakus and a huge part of it is making the bakus fight sometimes to the point where they are completely ruined and have to be replaced. I know they're not real animals and are 'just robots' but it seems weird to be like 'these are made to be life-long friends and last forever' and also 'make them tear each other apart!' in basically the same breath.

Overall I don't think the dystopian aspect of this society was really brought to the forefront as much as it should have and it would have probably been an easier topic to tackle if this book was young adult instead of middle grade. I really liked Jinx as a character but at this point I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.

ARC Copy...I did like that yes the narrative contain magic of the solid world building kind revolving around speech and one's ability with speech with a turnips on the side but the narrative is about rivalries.envy between friends but also within the political landscape of the world.

Holy. This was amazing from start to finish! And that ending!! I wanted to scream!
It was just so wow. It kind of gave me metabots feel, but with school, golden compass and more!

Well. This is unfortunate.

I really, really wanted to like this book. It sounded like a great concept and I was so excited to read it.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into Lacey as a character, nor any of her friends and the story just seemed to drag for me.

Will I be purchasing in January? Probably not.

That being said, fans of Netflix's NEXT GEN would enjoy this book.

The future has never felt closer in this fun novel for teens and tweens.

Lacey's world is dominated by Moncha, the creators of the baku; a robotic pet that functions as a smartphone. She's desperate to join their ranks and become a companioneer, dedicated to creating newer, more lifelike baku. But things are rotten in Moncha and it will take all her skills and all her friends to help her figure out what's gone wrong.

This is a wonderful read, set just a few steps away from our world. Instead of going for sleek flat phones, Moncha went for robot animals, from insects right up to boars and eagles. Naturally, the larger animals are most expensive, but that's only fair, isn't it?

I liked the characters, they were well done, but I struggled with the idea of the baku battles. With something explicitly designed to be your best friend, and expensive to buy and repair, why would you risk it in all out battle? And in one of the battles, a competitor is explicitly causing damage for damage's sake, his opponent is already down and out. Why wouldn't the teachers stop him?

I love the idea of the baku, and I will definitely read the second part because that cliffhanger! Gah! And hopefully the reasoning behind the battles will become clearer to me in the second one. Maybe I just missed something!

Overall, a really great read. Off to hunt down the second one!