Worst. Principal. Ever. And plenty of potty humor, dialed up to 11.
Prankster Russell Sprowt bites off considerably more than he can chew in a bid to get him and his friends off his ultramean principal’s “manure list.”
Cazet, a former school librarian, really has the ax and grindstone out. There’s been a spate of disappearances at Russell’s school, most notably fave teacher Miss Mabel Butters, suddenly replaced by Jim Beam–sucking sub “Smiling Sally.” Against this backdrop, the theft of a prized Mud Wrestling Champion of the Century trophy prompts hulking principal Ms. Krunchensnap (formerly Big Mama the Eye Popper) to extort vows from Russell, her favorite victim, not only to find the trophy, but to expedite a rematch with retired rival Torpedo the Atomic Midget. Fortunately, Russell has a loyal and resourceful posse with a valuable new member in Lou, a weirdly flexible drainpipe and sewer dweller. Unfortunately, the young detectives have a short deadline, storm drain monsters, and a pair of requisite bullies, Butch and Slow Eddie, to cope with. Nonetheless, highlighted by gloriously mucky bouts of mud wrestling, all comes round right. Though too small to determine his oddball characters’ ethnicities, the author’s chapter head vignettes provide amusing peeks at upcoming incidents.
Worst. Principal. Ever. And plenty of potty humor, dialed up to 11. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-939547-32-3
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Stronger in character than plot but spooky in parts.
An old Colorado hotel with dark secrets and a brooding horror novelist as its caretaker make a properly atmospheric setting for a young filmmaker’s latest project.
Fresh from the cinematic escapades of Shark Summer (2021), teenage documentarian Elijah Jones arrives in Estes Park thinking he’s been invited to record a rare interview with famous recluse Jack Axworth—but he’s actually been summoned to make a biopic of the novelist, who has young-onset dementia. Once again, the footage Elijah ends up with tells more than the story he set out to make, as Axworth’s poignant reminiscences and increasingly erratic behavior become inextricably mixed with a portrait of a struggling town whose history and very survival center on the nearby Underlook Hotel, a closed-up resort haunted by tales of supernatural evil and slated for imminent demolition. Is there time to save it? The storyline struggles to advance through thickets of subplots and hints, but the Underlook’s deadline adds enough suspense to keep readers interested, and the hotel turns out to have hidden levels and treasures to be discovered when the action flags. Also, Marcks trots out such an engaging supporting cast, led by local teen engineering whiz Suzy Hess and including colorful characters like a ghost hunter with a truly creepy crow, that watching the ensemble in action is pleasurable enough. Finished art was not seen, but Elijah and another significant character present as Black in the otherwise White cast.
Stronger in character than plot but spooky in parts. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-27806-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An intense referendum on football’s dangers and glories.
A star 12-year-old quarterback has a championship to win, a developing family tragedy to cope with, and a life-changing decision to make.
Barely disguising the autobiographical elements contained here in the wake of his own diagnosis of ALS, former Atlanta Falcons player Green places his protagonist, Ben Redd, in a football family and on an upstate New York team coached by his dad and two older brothers—all former gridiron stars themselves. Ben’s anticipation as he looks forward to a season that will be capped by a game against archrival Penn Yan battles with his terror as he watches his father’s NFL injuries come home to roost in slurred speech, loss of physical coordination, and, eventually, a frantic trip to the hospital for an emergency tracheotomy. But as Ben’s parents, both iron willed, clash over whether he should be allowed to follow the family career path (and one of his brothers even announces that none of his kids will ever play), the sport’s allure comes through in a series of exciting clashes, with Ben and wonderfully hard-nosed new teammate, Thea Jean, leading the on-field heroics on the way to a last-yard, smash-mouth finale that leaves him dazed and exultant, with a broken finger, a probable concussion…and a choice of futures. Though the cast is mostly male and mostly White, between them, Thea and Ben’s mom add strong female representation.
An intense referendum on football’s dangers and glories. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-248595-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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