Something Wicked (Horatio Wilkes Series #2)

by Alan Gratz

Overview

A wickedly gripping follow-up to the critically acclaimed Something Rotten. Horatio Wilkes has come to the Scottish Highland Festival with his childhood friend Mac for games, girls, and gallivanting. But before the Celtic festivities can get under way, Mac?s grandfather and founder of the games, Duncan MacRae, is brutally murdered. All signs point to Duncan?s son, Malcolm, as the killer, but Horatio has his doubts. Between Mac, his controlling girlfriend Beth, and their parents, it seems like everyone has something to hide. Set against the vivid backdrop of the Tennessee mountains, Something Wicked is a thrilling adventure with all the sinister twists, turns, and tragedies of Shakespeare?s Macbeth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440652639
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/16/2008
Series:	Horatio Wilkes Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	331 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Alan Gratz was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. After a carefree but humid childhood, he attended the University of Tennessee, where he earned a College Scholars degree with a specialization in creative writing and later a Master's degree in English education. In addition to writing plays, magazine articles, and a few episodes of A&E's City Confidential, Alan has taught catapult building to middle schoolers, written more than 6,000 radio commercials, and lectured as a Czech university. Currently, Alan lives with his wife Wendi and daughter Jo in the high country of western North Carolina, where he enjoys reading, eating pizza, and, perhaps not too surprisingly, watching baseball.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

ôGratz challenges readers, keeps them turning pages, and makes every word count." ùChristian Science Monitor

Editorial Reviews

Gr 10 Up

Horatio Wilkes, the teen sleuth from Something Rotten (Dial, 2007), takes on another case in this contemporary reworking of Macbeth . He's attending a Scottish Highland Fair atop a mountain in Tennessee with his old buddy Mac, Mac's controlling girlfriend (named Beth, no less), and their families. Horatio doesn't like Beth, and his friendship with Mac becomes even more strained after a palm reader predicts that Mac will win the Highland decathlon and become "king of the mountain." When Mac's grandfather Duncan, the mountain's owner, is murdered, Horatio gradually discovers that Mac has slipped into madness and resorted to violence to make the prophecy come true. The insane obsession of Shakespeare's character doesn't translate well into modern times here because Mac's motives are weak, and the insanity they cause seems a bit of a stretch. Horatio talks and acts more like a 30-something P.I. than a teenager, and it's hard not to wonder where his parents are when he is severely beaten up and works with police to solve the murder. This story has some fun aspects, but the literary references will be lost on all but those well-versed in Macbeth . The narrative is riddled with sexual innuendo and smart-alecky metaphors that will soon become tiresome to even the most sarcastic teen readers.-Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School Library, Loveland, CO

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