instruction:
In this task, you are given books product reviews in English language. The goal is to classify the review as "POS" if the overall sentiment of the review is positive or as "NEG" if the overall sentiment of the review is negative.
question:
Did a six year old write this? . This is the first Patterson novel I have ever read, and it is certain to be the last.  Most good authors draw the reader into a story by offering vivid descriptions and in-depth characters, but Patterson does none of that.  The author's writing style is akin to that of a small child's, as he uncermoniously plunks the reader in the middle of boring locales populated with one-dimensional characters.  Patterson then holds the reader's hand as he matter-of-factly recounts the explosion or gunshot du jour and then moves on without explanation, presenting a book written by a Ralph Wiggums-like child for immature children to enjoy.  How does the reader know Alex was scared? The reader knows because Patterson clumsily beats him about the head and shoulders with writing similar to the style: "The man pulled out a gun, Alex was scared, Alex shot the man and he was happy, and the man was dead."    Don't believe me? Simply graze through the book and find where the hero handily dispatches an arch-nemesis in a scene so brief and without fanfare I had to read it twice to make sure the protagonist killed who I thought he killed, or skip to the end if you prefer and painstakingly wind your way through a series of forgettable characters each deadpanning that he or she is responsible for the antagonist's evil deeds.    Quite simply, this author shows a complete lack of imagination and creativity and this book should be avoided at all costs
answer:
NEG


question:
Not quite what I was expecting . A Journey to the Center of the Earth did not turn out to be quite what I was expecting; I can't say quite why, however, because I'm not entirely certain what those expectations were.  I hadn't read the novel previously, but I thought I knew what it was about.  As a result, I think I was expecting more drama than Verne delivers, or perhaps I simply wanted the book to be more than it is.  Most likely I was conflating Verne's novel with other texts: movie adaptations of the novel itself, for instance, in which considerably more in the way of actual antagonism--as opposed to the perils of nature itself--occurs; or hollow world stories, in which entire societies thrive on the inside of the earth's crust beneath the rays of a sun that lies at the planet's center.  A Journey to the Center of the Earth is neither of these things, of course, and if I underwent any disillusionment, it was purely of my own making.    Understood on its own terms, the novel is, at the very least, interesting, but, truthfully, not much happens.  The narrator's speculations (as well as his fevered dreams during times of travail) suggest a much wilder adventure than actually takes place.  Much of the action involves the trio of explorers stumbling around in caverns and tunnels, and much of the impediment takes the form of hunger, dehydration, or equipment loss.  In fact, as best I can judge, they really don't approach anywhere near the center of the earth, although they do travel quite a distance laterally before resurfacing.    The real joy is the interactions between the characters, primarily the trio of protagonists: the young narrator, his scientist uncle, and their silent, idiosyncratic guide.  The expedition leader is an archetypal nutty professor, whose words and actions seem nonsensical to those not privy to his thought processes; his nephew, the narrator, alternates between sheer wonder at his surroundings, and sheer terror at the likelihood of spending the rest of his short life surrounded by them; Hans, the guide, says almost nothing but performs his duties in an exemplary manner, and insists on being paid weekly rather than all at once, even while under the earth (a square deal, in his eyes).  Their interactions with each other, and with the variety of Icelandic folk they encounter on their way to the volcano which is their means of ingress, are wittily and cleverly depicted.  These character moments are the high point of the novel; one wonders how much of their clever interplay originates with Verne and how much is an invention of the translator (who, in this edition, remains sadly anonymous).  Whether the novel's tone in its English version is added or simply preserved in translation, full marks to whomever this perceptive soul is.    Though one reflexively considers Jules Verne a "science fiction" writer of a primitive sort, this is really more of an adventure tale and, taken as such, it is generally successful.  The adventurers don't explore a strange new world so much as become more intimately acquainted with the world they already know, but if the reader doesn't go in expecting flights of pure fancy, the novel is rather satisfying.    Postscript: I should point out that this review refers to the Signet Classic mass market paperback edition of the novel, which features an afterword by Michael Dirda.  Knowing Amazon, it's possible that this review will surface under several different versions, and without clarity, we have nothing.
answer:
POS


question:
Did not engage my 10-year-old . This was required reading for my son going into fifth grade.  He is not a strong reader, and neither he nor I enjoyed it.  The combination of a large amount of flowery language and very little action made it a struggle to get through.  What little humor there was, was too sophisticated.  It was hard for us to identify with this foppish married mouse who ate caviar and champagne.  While I can appreciate that many (I guess most!) find it literary and delicious, my son found it boring, and looking at it through his eyes, I have to agree
answer:

NEG