School Library Journal
Gr 5-8
When Grdankl the Strong, president of the small, but extremely unhappy country of Krpshtskan, declares war on the United States, no one is safe. Its agents are en route to Hubble Middle School where an operative has been working for several years to create award-winning science-fair projects for underachieving children and their overinvolved parents. This is the year that the top projects will be designed to work in concert to bring down the United States in one enormous, electromagnetic pulse strike. All that is standing in the way of this diabolical plan are three students, a science store operator, a handful of bumbling FBI agents, and a giant Weinermobile. Barry and Ridley have created a wild story of danger, espionage, stinky cheese, exploding vats of Coca-Cola, and one floating frog. This nonstop, action-packed novel will appeal to every kid who has ever had to do a science-fair project.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
Kirkus Reviews
Eighth-grader Toby Harbinger and his outcast friends would look forward to the science fair if it were a fair competition. However, every year the rich (and obviously brainless) kids submit wonderful projects they had about as much to do with as they did the creation of the Parthenon, and one of them always wins. Toby discovers how they're doing it, but no one will believe him. Suddenly, someone is framing him for cheating. He's suspended, then grounded, then arrested for terrorism. There's more going on at this year's science fair than anyone (except Toby and his friends) knows: Turns out fixing the fair might just save the country! Barry and Pearson, co-authors of numerous Peter Pan-based novels (Cave of the Dark Wind, 2007, etc.), turn their attention to our reality (sort of) with laugh-out-loud results. A wildly unbelievable page-turner that's all the more fun for its over-the-top silliness, this is Carl Hiaasen's Hoot (2002) on suspect mushrooms. The short chapters plus the promise of a sequel will please reluctant readers as well as those seeking laughs, suspense and floating amphibians. (Science fiction. 10-14)
FEBRUARY 2009 - AudioFile
Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have collaborated on a farcical story of a third-rate power that aims to bring the U.S. to its knees by infiltrating a middle school science fair. Hubble Middle School is located in suburban Maryland, within shouting distance of the nation’s capital. Phil Gigante does an admirable job bringing this comedy of the absurd to life. He navigates the minefield of vowel-challenged proper nouns common to the fictional country of Kprshyskan, giving President Gradankl the Strong and his four brothers/vice presidents the middle European accents one would expect of Kprshyskanians. At the same time, he captures a middle school environment peopled with bullies, victims, and clueless adults, bringing this hilarious story to life. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
