Evil Genius

Jinks, Catherine. 2007. Evil Genius.

Cadel Piggott is a genius. There’s no denying it. But that doesn’t always mean he makes smart decisions. The reader first meets the hero, Cadel, when he is seven years old. Already placed several grades ahead, he is a genius when it comes to everything but people. Alone. Isolated. Cadel rarely makes the effort to make friends. After all, his classmates have always been older than him. Significantly older than him. But luckily, Cadel has one person in the world he can talk to. One person who understands him. That person is Dr. Thaddeus Roth. This “counselor” who helps troubled youth takes a special interest in Cadel. But all isn’t what it seems as the story unfolds. Secrets. Lies. Half-truths. Plots. Schemes. Manipulations. Betrayals. Cadel isn’t always a likable hero, but his story is full of one adventure after another.

Read the rest of my review in May's issue of The Edge of the Forest. Also of note: I made the 'best of the blogs' section as well!

How To Save Your Tail

Hanson, Mary. 2007. How To Save Your Tail: If You Are A Rat Nabbed By Cats Who Really Like Stories About Magic Spoons, Wolves with Snout-Warts, Big, Hairy Chimney Trolls...and Cookies Too.

Do you like fractured fairy tales? Do you love new retellings of old favorites? Do you like Arnold Lobel’s Mouse Soup? How To Save Your Tail might be the book for you. It had me from the very beginning: “Once upon a time, in a grand castle, there lived a rat named Bob, who was fond of baking and wild about reading” (1). While baking has obvious hazards, it is his love of books which leads Bob into the most dangerous experience of his life.

Read the rest of my review in May's issue of THE EDGE OF THE FOREST. (Middle grade Fiction).

The Neddiad

My review of The Neddiad is now available in April's issue of The Edge of the Forest.

Here's a sneak peek:

Pinkwater, Daniel. 2007. The Neddiad.

This is the story of how Neddie, three good friends, a shaman, a ghost, and a little maneuver known as the French substitution determine the fate of the world.

In Daniel Pinkwater’s latest novel, The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went To Hollywood, And Saved Civilization, we meet a young hero seeking a life of adventure. He didn’t start out a hero. And he wasn’t born into a great adventure, but by the time we’re through--his mission will be accomplished.
Meet Neddie. He was just your ‘average’ boy born in obscurity in Chicago. But all that changes when his father announces the family is moving to Los Angeles.
“You might think that a kid suddenly taken away from the only home he had ever lived in, his friends, his neighborhood, his school, would be a little sad, or worried, or have some kind of regret. I didn’t. I didn’t at all. And this was not because I wasn’t happy where I was. I was very happy..."

Did you know that you can read the first thirty-nine chapters of The Neddiad online? Daniel Pinkwater is doing an online serialization of his novel, adding one chapter each week. Visit the links below to find out more.

http://www.pinkwater.com/theneddiad/
http://www.pinkwater.com/theneddiad/book.html