I really liked this story. I bought a couple of Steven Layne's books when I saw him at a teaching conference. He wrote this book as a challenge from one of his students who said he didn't like any books. The story is about a family whose father works with a mysterious man called Mr. Eden and the family must move to Paradise where everyone who works for Mr. Eden lives. Things start getting weird. Mom disappears, and then reappears but is different than her usual self. It is up to Jack, his brother Troy, and their fantastic character of a grandmother to try to figure out the mystery before their family is changed forever.
There are some very interesting themes and events that may be shocking to some readers, like violence towards children but a lot of what Layne uses is things that kids can identify with and some that kids experience. Grandma was definitely my favorite character.

This was a fast read. It grabbed my attention and I had it finished right away. I would have had a different ending but the ride was fun along the way.

I heard that Layne wrote this for the kids who don't like to read. I can see that. While the plot is interesting, the writing is simple. It lacked description and character development.

This book is awesome and I recommend it to all middle schoolers.

This is book was really interesting. It had me at the edge of my seat. It had me fit together the puzzle pieces then gone for a total plot twist! it had many twist and turns ,but you would never believe how it ends! its a fun and exiting book that makes me want to continue the series

Jack Barrett's father has a fixated drive for perfection. He works for a mysterious Eden Corporation, and his is forcibly relocated to a villlage called Paradise, a town that is literally owned by Eden. In tgis town,Jack unwittingly uncovers a secret plot that threatens the lives of everyone he loves. As Jack falls further into the secrets of this remote village, he discovers the lengths his father and fellow villagers are willing to do to achieve perfection. Soon, Jack is confronted with a moral, and ethical decision. Should he expose the terrible secret in this Utopian society and risk loseing his father, or does he expose the secret and reveal to the world the depths and depravity of this disasterous world? Layne raises ethical questions about the drive for perfection and the pacing of technological advances being made by our society. Withing the depths of this novel many questions left unanswered cause readers like myself to question the very society we are apart of today. Is there some small or even a unique possibility that our very own government is run from behind the scenes, and that our elected officials are noting more then a symbol. These were questions that raced my mind as I read this novel.Overall I enjoyed this novel and have made it one of my favorites,and to conclude I would not underestimate this novel for one bitt because "reason is resolved when questions left unanswered are finally understood" Steven Layne

I have met the author and he is an amazing person! I also heard about the inside reason he wrote this book and it was very interesting. So, I was a little worried that I liked him so much as a person that his book would be a disappointment. It, SO wasn't. The writing was great, the plot was interesting (and Sci-Fi really isn't my bag of chips) I liked it because I just didn't know where it was going. I can usually guess where a story is going after 50 pages. Sure, it has it's flaws and left me with some question, but it was still a good read. Mostly for teenagers but I liked it as an adult. I know Steve didn't intend on a sequel and I know the story why he wrote the sequel so I am excited to read "Lost in Paradise."

I don't dislike anything about the characters and the setting. The plot was OK . I would not recommend it because I don't know why though . I think a reader that like books about mysteries .

I remeber reading this. Wow...It's great. Kind of creepy at the end......but otherwise it's GREATNESS!!!!

Really good!

even though I have not finished this book it was still a really good book. I really like it.

When a father becomes too obsesed with being perfect all the time, it takes a wrong turn. His and his family move to a new city for all the people that work at this company. The oldest son trails clues to see what is going on in this eird town, when he finds something that is way too crazy it could be true.