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GO BIG OR GO HOME by Will Hobbs

GO BIG OR GO HOME

by Will Hobbs

Pub Date: March 1st, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-074141-9
Publisher: HarperCollins

Extreme sports and extraterrestrial bacteria that thrive in extreme environments are the ingredients for Hobbs’s latest adventure. A meteorite plunging through 14-year-old Brady’s bed begins an exciting summer in South Dakota for Brady and his visiting cousin Quinn. Bike riding up and down the mountains, exploring an unknown cave, fishing for lake trout from a flimsy rubber boat and watching a full-size catapult hurl a discarded toilet bowl are all part of the action. The long-dormant extremophile bacteria from the meteorite revive to infect Brady. The first symptoms are positive—he can bike faster and longer than ever before. But soon he has disturbing episodes of total paralysis. On top of that, his long-time enemies, the Carver boys next door, get possession of the stone. The Black Hills setting is well drawn, including interesting details about the Crazy Horse Memorial, where Brady’s father is a construction worker. With convincing, first-person narration, a fast pace and plenty of suspense, this is a welcome addition to Hobbs’s extremely reader-pleasing work. (Fiction. 10-15)