High Score

by Destiny Howell

Overview

Oceans 11 goes to the arcade in this wildly entertaining heist adventure that is perfect for fans of Gordon Korman, Varian Johnson, and Celia Perez.

We do this my way.

No one gets hurt.

And if I call it off, it's off.

Got it?

My name's Darius James-but everyone calls me DJ. At my old school, I was the go-to guy for all kinds of tricky problems that needed creative solutions. But at my new school, Ella Fitzgerald Middle, I'm just trying to blend in.

Well, I was, anyway, until my best friend, Conor, got himself transferred to the Fitz too. Now Conor owes 100,000 arcade tickets to the biggest bully around-and he only has two weeks to make it happen. Impossible? Not with my head in the game.

Praise for High Score:

“A fast-paced adventure packed with cunning twists.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A gleeful middle school spin on Ocean’s Eleven.” —Booklist, starred review

“An exciting and entertaining heist story.”—Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781546119739
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,082,828
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Destiny Howell was born in Florida and decided to become a lawyer to learn all the rules before she quit to write novels about clever kids who break them. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she is pursuing an MFA in creative writing and trying to get together a weekly Dungeons & Dragons group (which is proving much trickier). Visit her at destinyhowell.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for High Score:

“A fast-paced adventure packed with cunning twists.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review“A gleeful middle school spin on Ocean’s Eleven.” —Booklist, starred review“An exciting and entertaining heist story.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 04/25/2022

Months after his last “job” sparked unintended consequences, mastermind DJ, this book’s seventh grader narrator, is lying low at his new school, retired from a life of cons, heists, and schemes. That is, until his best friend and former partner-in-crime Conor transfers to be with him, and promptly runs afoul of the lottery kingpin who controls the school’s underground economy of Starcade-brand arcade tickets. Now, DJ has two weeks to acquire 100,000 tickets, or both he and Conor will be “rocket boosted”—socially disappeared. To achieve the impossible, DJ goes straight to the source, planning to lift the tickets from the Starcade itself by any means necessary. But even after he recruits actor Audrey Valentine and intimidating but soft-spoken Monty LaCroix to round out his new crew, it’ll take every trick in the book to pull off a caper of this caliber. Expertly filtering a bevy of familiar heist elements through a middle school lens while maintaining the genre’s spirit and lingo, debut author Howell writes a fast-paced adventure packed with cunning twists. DJ is Black; other protagonists read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

2022-03-16
A 12-year-old mastermind concocts a multifaceted plan to thwart the school’s underground kingpin.

DJ is new to Ella Fitzgerald Middle School and has done a good job of staying off the radar and not running any scams since his transfer. That is, until Conor, the best friend he’s ghosted all summer, shows up in his new classroom. In less than a week, Conor has managed to get on the bad side of Lucas “Lucky” Ford and his sidekick, Mariposa Diaz, the two students responsible for every school racket. Now, in order to save Conor from being socially exiled, DJ has agreed to help him procure 100,000 tickets to Starcade, a nearby video game arcade/pizza parlor that is a favorite destination for the students, even if it means returning to the very life he tried to leave behind. The boys set their sights on the Mega Starcade across town. However, a project of that magnitude means putting a crew together. They need to find someone charismatic to provide distraction and another who’s imposing for the muscle, as well as plan for every pitfall in case things go awry. DJ’s inviting first-person narration will make readers feel like they’re in on the action, making this Ocean’s Eleven–esque page-turner even more engaging. Clean, straightforward dialogue and charming characters increase the appeal for readers looking for a satisfying story. DJ is Black; Conor and most of the cast are assumed White.

An exciting and entertaining heist story. (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews