School of Fear

Originally reviewed for and published at www.readerviewskids.com
as a Free Review. (See Disclosure in Accordance with FTC Guidelines)

School of Fear
by Gitty Daneshvari

ISBN 978-0-316-03326-8 - September 1st, 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

There’s fear and then there’s a phobia, as the family, friends and even minor acquaintances of Madeleine Masterson, Theodore Bartholomew, Lulu Punchalower and Garrison Feldman have found out the hard way. With few options left, their parents elect to send them to the top-secret and extremely exclusive School of Fear, run by the more than slightly batty Mrs. Wellington. When their treatment turns out to be far more terrifying than their fears, the foursome realize that they are in for a very frightful summer indeed!

From the first page, this book has all the dry wit of Lemony Snicket and the delightful wackiness that you can imagine a children’s novel by Terry Pratchett might have. Though the story was slow to take off, I was enchanted by Gitty Daneshvari’s clever writing and her endearing, albeit highly caricatured, protagonists.

One bone to pick, though, was how detached the story felt—I was never racing through it like I did for “A Series of Unfortunate Events” even though in some ways it’s a better book (certainly less depressing). However clever a book is, it needs some empathy to make it work, and despite how cute and funny the characters in “School of Fear” were they were not as likable or relatable as the ones in Snicket’s series. It also could have done with some editorial streamlining to get rid of the long and mostly irrelevant buildup to going to the school. I would have rather seen more action within School of Fear’s walls than hear about the foursome’s escapades outside of them.

Despite those relatively minor flaws, fans of the emerging genre of creepy-crawly comedy will definitely not want to miss this one. After reading the back cover blurb I was anticipating a much more frightening read than it actually was, so horror fans will probably be disappointed if they pick it up in a bookstore; but scaredy-cats like me will be able to laugh at the protagonists’ predicaments almost 100% scare-free. The fear factor certainly doesn’t approach the levels of the “Harry Potter” novels or even some of the tamer list toppers like “Twilight” and Rick Riordan’s “Olympians” series. I’d say that kids as young as eight or nine would be able to enjoy it.

All in all, it’s a witty, funny and extremely enjoyable read for the phobic within us all that is sure to be a huge hit with the middle grade and younger teen crew. Gitty Daneshvari is definitely an author to watch!

The Final Verdict: Not particularly engrossing for older teens, but fun and giggles for middle grade readers abound in this offbeat, witty novel. Three and a half out of five stars.

The Seven

Originally reviewed and published at www.readerviewskids.com as an Express Review, for which I received a small monetary stipend. (See Disclosure in Accordance with FTC Guidelines)

The Seven
by Sean Patrick Little

ISBN 978-160844-066-5 - August 19th, 2009 by Dog Ear Publishing (print-on-demand)

Shortly before their eighteenth birthdays and legal adulthood, tensions are building among the Subjects—seven kids torn from their families to be part of a top-secret genetic experiment at age seven, they can’t help but wonder what, exactly, the experiments are supposed to prove. But when their powers suddenly manifest in horrifying ways, escape becomes a matter of life and death, love and the destruction of all that they hold dear. If only they could figure out who they’re supposed to be fighting against…

This book is absolutely one of the best books in the genre I’ve read this year, period. I always pick up a self-published book with some trepidation, but honestly I’ve found more flaws in spelling and grammar in the paperback copies of major publishing houses’ chart-topper novels than existed in this one! The formatting and presentation are flawless and the writing is (almost) beyond reproach.

To put it simply, this book is a comic book in novel form, and the author makes no secret of his inspirations. However, he takes it a step beyond shoot-em-ups and cheesy romance to bring us characters that we genuinely care about, even if right and wrong aren’t always clear and their motives are less than admirable. Here are teens that anyone can relate to! While I occasionally struggled with the dialogue and the pace was a little uneven, this book was a truly refreshing excursion out of the norm.

Perhaps because it is self-published, this book has a sort of nonchalant freedom about it that is a joy to read. Without caring who’s reading, the author is free to make pointed statements about the true value of human (and inhuman) life, and is surprising philosophical for something so fun and entertaining to read. The government is especially portrayed in an unforgiving light, but it never crosses the line into angry justification or righteousness. Teens will most likely especially enjoy this book due to its anti-establishment feel, as the feelings of rejection experienced by the seven have been felt on some level by every adolescent as they struggle to metamorphose from the child they were to the adult they will become.

I think I have found a new favorite to pore over, and against all odds I am dying to read more!

The Final Verdict: Despite some overstatement, this book is a thought-provoking and fun read for the rebelling adolescent in all of us! Four out of five stars. 

Follow this author on Twitter: @seanlittle75