Kid vs. Squid

by Greg Van Eekhout

Overview

Thatcher Hill is bored stiff of his summer job dusting the fake mermaids and shrunken heads at his uncle's seaside Museum of Curiosities. But when a mysterious girl steals an artifact from the museum, Thatcher's summer becomes an adventure that takes him from the top of the ferris wheel to the depths of the sea. Following the thief, he learns that she is a princess of the lost Atlantis. Her people have been cursed by an evil witch to drift at sea all winter and wash up on shore each summer to an even more terrible fate-working the midway games and food stands on the boardwalk. Can Thatcher help save them before he, too, succumbs to the witch's curse?

With sharp, witty writing that reads like a middle-grade Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Greg van Eekhout's first book for young readers is a wild ride packed with as many laughs as it has thrills.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599907949
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/10/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

This is Greg van Eekhout's first middle grade novel; his adult fantasy novel based on Nordic mythology - NORSE CODE - came out from Bantam in June. Publishers Weekly praised it: "Short story author van Eekhout makes a successful leap to long fiction with this thrilling urban fantasy. The compelling prose and epic blend of mythological and modern elements make it clear that van Eekhout is an author to watch."
Pronunciation guide: "emphasis on the EEK. The HOUT part rhymes with OUT, as in, 'Hey, I'm going OUT for some guacamole.'"
GREG VAN EEKHOUT is the author of the middle-grade novel Kid vs. Squid and the adult novel Norse Code. His last name is pronounced like this: van, as in the thing you drive, eek, as in, "Eek, killer robots are stomping the rutabagas!" and hout, like "out" with an h in front of it. The emphasis is on Eek: van EEKhout.
www.writingandsnacks.com

Editorial Reviews

Kid vs. Squid is my favorite book of the year. The peril is real, the adventure is intense, but the best thing about this sea-soaked story is smart-alecky Thatcher's hilarious voice. I laughed aloud on almost every page. This book is un-put-downably compelling and fun.” —Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief

“[Greg] van Eekhout chivvies the plot along at a lively pace to a hold-your-breath climax and a deftly choreographed resolution. He also leaves the main characters around for sequels-which in this case, at least, could be a Good Thing.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The internal logic of the story is joyfully convoluted and not even close to airtight, and although the book is better at being funny than being exciting, it does offer a fair share of both en route to the showdown promised by the title.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

Gr 4–6—Thatcher is reluctantly sent to spend the summer between sixth and seventh grades helping his great-uncle Griswald run his Museum of the Strange and Curious on the boardwalk of the fictional coastal tourist town of Las Huesas, CA. When a girl, Shoal, breaks into the museum and steals a witch's head, Thatcher pursues her. He soon finds himself in a world of maritime monsters that might—just might—be plotting to destroy civilization. He allies himself with Trudy, a girl with the tools and the talents of a detective, and eventually with Shoal, to save the world. (The Squid doesn't appear until the end, but it's worth the wait.) Van Eekhout carefully balances his tongue in his cheek with some really creepy situations, and the result is a humorous fantasy that will rush over young readers like a tidal wave.—Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX

School Library Journal

A lad goes from dusting the exhibits in his great-uncle's decrepit museum of oddities to saving the coast of California from watery doom in this wry crossover debut. Thatcher's sleepy vacation takes a sharp turn toward the exciting when he discovers that the oddball barkers and vendors along the local boardwalk are actually remnants of the last outpost of Atlantis-returned to life each summer thanks to the curse of Skalla, a beheaded witch. Actually, Skalla is still around, or at least her head is, delivering curses and transforming human victims into giant lobsters and other sea creatures. After centuries of preparation, she is also finally poised to raise up her own Atlantis with a massive tsunami. Drawing together a memorable supporting cast that ranges from a half-human Atlantean princess to a genial shark-man ("Howdy-do. Swim with us to shore or we'll eat your legs"), van Eekhout chivvies the plot along at a lively pace to a hold-your-breath climax and a deftly choreographed resolution. He also leaves the main characters around for sequels-which in this case, at least, could be a Good Thing. (Fantasy/humor. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews