SAT-preparation story is too juvenile, unchallenging

THE MARINO MISSION: ONE GIRL, ONE MISSION, ONE THOUSAND WORDS, by Karen Chapman, Wiley Publishing, 332 pages, $12.99.

"The Marino Mission" isn't just an adventure story, but rather a learning tool to help high school students prepare for the SAT vocabulary. There are 1,000 "need-to-know" vocabulary words worked into text. Every time a vocabulary word is inserted in the story, a footnote at the bottom of the page has its definition.

While this idea is creative and unique, I found the story to be a little bit boring. I didn't really feel the characters' emotions or see that there is much character development.

The story is also a little too juvenile for a high school student preparing to take the SAT. (SAT is a registered trademark of The College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this book.)

In addition, the words stick out like a sore thumb in some places, and it's distracting having to look down to find out what they mean.

Exclamation points are overused as well. I found myself almost laughing after I had seen one at least three or four times on one page. One sentence for example: "He was still looking at Alexa with a big smile as he started walking . . . right into a wall!"

If the story had been more challenging, the words might have fit better and the book might be more appealing to a high school student. I think this story would be more appealing to junior high students. However, I understand that it was a difficult task to insert 1,000 vocabulary words into a novel.

To the author, I say: Kudos for the effort!

The plot follows a 16-year-old girl named Alexa McCurry. She is spending the summer with her mother on an island off the coast of Nicaragua. She is going to work at the Puerto Marino, supposedly owned by the Navy. Alexa works with dolphins, extracting their DNA.

Soon after coming to the island, Alexa meets Jose. Together they learn that the Puerto Marino employees might have illegally stolen a baby dolphin from the water. Thus their adventure begins.

The author of the book holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics, and we can see her knowledge of the subject throughout the story.

Although the plot might not have caught my interest, some may find this a useful tool for learning vocabulary. There are several quizzes in the back of the book in order to help you remember the words you've learned.

Coryn Cope is a junior at Timpview High School and a member of the Deseret Morning News Pulse team of high school writers. If you are a Utah high school student and have a topic you would like to see covered, please e-mail pulse@desnews.com or write to Susan Whitney at the Deseret Morning News.

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