Brass Monkeys

January 15, 2011

Eighth-grader Eugene Wise accidentally knocked the principal off the stage during an assembly; no one believed it was an accident, and he was expelled. He and his single mother move to Grindsville, Mich., following a job lead for her in the hope that he can start over, too. Several kids in town seem to be expecting him and think he'll fix the creepy problems at their school, which center on English teacher Mrs. Mingley. Incense, spies and hypnotic music rob kids of all hope and make them hate education. For the final stage of her plan, "Ming the Merciless" and her army of bad teachers transform kids into monkeys and drag them off to a subterranean anti-school. Eugene is the only hope for kids and schools across the country! Caszatt's debut is a confusing, amateurish mish-mash. From Eugene's unrealistic relationships (he'll "risk everything to have [Harriet] back" after knowing her for all of a day) to nonsensical imagery (Mingley's hair "glows like a nest of red snakes"—radioactive ones, apparently) to inane dialogue punctuated by ridiculous catchphrases (pingeroo, duwang), this feels like it had no editorial oversight. There's no denying it has glimmers of imagination, but they are too few and way too far between. (Adventure. 8-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011

Gr 5-8-Eugene is the new kid at the worst middle school ever, where "confusion, boredom, and fear" rule the day. Teachers lead classes that are literally mind-numbingly dull and their evil principal has an even more devious scheme to control the students. When Eugene learns that he has been chosen to oppose this takeover, he reluctantly sneaks along as Principal Ming transports a trainload of students to the hidden underground city of Monkeyopolis, turns them into monkeys, and prepares to steal the "Amberlight" that gives them spirit. The city and its surroundings set up nice bits of school-related humor. The place is constructed out of "school junk," including "buildings made of ballpoint pens" and band-instrument chimneys; teachers chasing Eugene wield guns that fire deadly chalk and erasers. The boy and his allies try to locate a missing rebel leader, surviving plenty of battles, chases, and narrow escapes along the way. The sometimes-convoluted plot includes mostly unexciting action scenes and too much fretting, followed by pep talks, as Eugene frequently jumps from hope to despair and back again. The hero's growth from timidity to confidence isn't especially compelling, and his friends are generally stock characters. On the other hand, the broad satire of school culture is much more successful, and is right at the level that this audience will get and appreciate. For most, however, the funny moments may not be enough to keep kids involved in the drawn-out story.-Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Eugene quickly discovers that something is terribly wrong at his new school--and that he has been prophesied to save all his classmates. He reluctantly journeys into an eerie underworld where bad teachers extract the hopes and dreams of students. The story has some imaginative parts, but the writing--especially the dialogue--is stilted and tiresome.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)