OPERATION FIREBALL
From the Fish Finelli series, volume 2
by E.S. Farber ; illustrated by Jason Beene
Ahoy. The three intrepid boys from Seagulls Don’t Eat Pickles (2013) are back in a nautical adventure.
When Fish accepts a bet from bully Bryce on who will win the Captain Kidd Classic boat race, his cohorts Roger and T.J. help him fix up his 1970s-era whaler by trial and error. But can his measly 5-horsepower engine have a chance at beating the 9.9 horses on Bryce’s Viper? On the day of the race, right at start time, another kid has engine trouble. Fish remembers that the first law of boating is to help someone in trouble, which he does—but by doing so, he has a late start. Can he still outrace Bryce? Who is the mystery winner? Enter a young femme fatale on the scene. Farber’s characters drive the lively plot, which is filled with zingy dialogue, Roger’s nautical wordplay and puns, and T.J’s constant snacking. The format is the same as the first book’s, with funny chapter headings and sidebars offering interesting tidbits of scientific information or explanations. The book can stand alone but will be appreciated the most by readers of the first one.
The ending sets up the next in the series, which involves another bet: Will Fish enter the one-legged whaler’s haunted house—on Halloween? Go fish! (Fiction. 8-11)