Author Event: Writing Adventures with Gordon Korman (Milton, ON)

Middle grade readers LOVE author Gordon Korman's books. His books range from the silly to the dramatic, to adventures and fantasy. There are suspenseful reads, and humourous ones, standalones and multiple series. There's something for every middle-grade reader out there, and the opportunity to hear from this award-winning author is a unique opportunity. So, whether you're a teacher or a parent, a school librarian or an administer, I encourage you to get your Gr. 2-8 students registered for one of two presentations Gordon Korman will be making with the Milton Public Library in the early new year. Details follow.

 

• • • • • • •

 

Gordon Korman 

 

will be presenting

 

WRITING ADVENTURES WITH 

GORDON KORMAN

 

on

 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

 

 

at

Mattamy Theatre

 FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton

1010 Main Street E

Milton, ON

 

• • • • • • • 

 

Two sessions will be held at

 

10:30 AM for Grades 2-4

and

12:30 PM for Grades 5-8

 

Each session will last between 45 and 60 minutes 

and  

will be followed by a Q & A.

• • • • • • •

Special price for schools: $15 per ticket 

(note: all attendees must purchase a ticket)

 

Links to register schools and purchase tickets may be found at 

the Milton Public Library site here.

 

 • • • • • • •

 

Author visits are always a treat and catching a youngCanLit star like Gordon Korman is a one-of-a-kind event. Don't miss your opportunity to be inspired and learn more about his writing and his books.

Faker

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic

978-1-338826753

224 pp.

Ages 8–12

July 2024

 

As Dad always says, the intersection of too much money and too little know-how is the sweet spot of our family business. (p. 2)

That family business is conning rich people out of their money and Trey and Arianna's father is a master. The con always changes, just like their names and locations, but the kids, Trey who is now 12 and Arianna who is 10, have always been part of the operation. It's often Trey who makes the connections with worthy marks when he is sent to exclusive boarding schools, but Arianna is desperate to prove her worth too. Although Dad and the kids are a strong unit–Mom left when they were very young–Trey is always sorry when they must do a "Houdini" and disappear. He likes having friends and being part of something other than a family scam.

After returning from their latest Caribbean holiday after a necessary Houdini, Dad takes them to Boxelder, Tennessee where they become Davis Kirkwood II (Dad who is known as Junior), Trey is Davis Kirkwood III (get it? - Trey for three), and Arianna is Aryana Kirkwood (same first name, different spelling). They have a house in the exclusive The Pointe neighbourhood and the kids will be going to regular school. Before Dad has even devised a scam, Trey is making a connection with Logan Romano, a neighbourhood kid whose parents are art dealers. Never to be outdone, Arianna brings home Micah Zabrachian whose parents own the largest home around. Finally, Dad comes up with a scam that may be the Big Kahuna: an amazing electric vehicle that can go 1000 miles on a single charge. He calls it El Capitan and gets a guy he knows–Dad knows a guy for everything–to create El Capitan from parts of a Tesla and other cars. It may not do what he's telling everyone it can, but it's gorgeous and attention-grabbing and people want in on the investment.

Meanwhile, Trey is fitting in nicely at Boxelder Middle School and has even joined YAAP, the Youth Alliance for Albion Pond, an environmental group headed by Kaylee Novak who lives in the less-affluent community of Albion. He's a little smitten with Kaylee, whose father is Trey's social studies teacher, so he's happy to help support the remediation of Albion Pond.

But then things go awry when Dad has incidentally selected the location of Albion Pond as the future home of El Capitan's first, and fictional, factory. Trey may know the company isn't real, but Kaylee certainly doesn't and YAAP's fight suddenly moves in a different direction.

How does Trey support "the family business" and still have a cohort of friends, albeit one that will be abandoned when Dad calls the next Houdini? And what of Arianna whose petulance at not being considered a full partner is becoming exasperating? And then there's the emails from I.C. All that suggest the scam has been discovered. 

What a story! Trey is an average kid who wants to have friends and be liked, play sports and be appreciated by his family. He's often torn by the ethics of what his Dad does but he's not exactly in a position to challenge it. The cons are what feed them and provide for them. But Trey is starting to question things more, mostly courtesy of Mr. Novak's lessons on ethics and Trey liking Kaylee, but he knows no other life than that of the scam. Gordon Korman, the master of middle-grade novels with heart and humour, never makes us judge Trey's family though. The reader knows theft by con artists is wrong, but Faker is less about the criminality and more about the ethics of balancing family and what's right and wrong. Gordon Korman makes us empathize with Trey's dilemma–personally I found his younger sister more of a problem than the con–recognizing the familiar need to fit in. Trey may not realize he's becoming popular in his own right but he's a nice guy and fitting in might just become a problem for a kid who's not supposed to make real connections with people, only fake ones.

Faker is a fabulously real story of a middle-grade kid caught between a rock and a hard place who finds out that things aren't always as they appear. His dad may be responsible for much of the deception but, when you're loyal to a person whose vocation is to rip-off people, it's hard to know what's right or wrong. Fortunately, even at age 12, Trey finds a way to see past the fakery and come out from that uncomfortable position and ascend to a place of decency.

The Fort: Guest Review

 This review was written by Grade 8 student Hasini K.

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press
978-1-338-62914-9
256 pp.
Ages 8-12
June 2022

In The Fort, written by best-selling author of Restart, Gordon Korman, a group of middle-school kids discover an abandoned bomb shelter and decide to turn it into their secret hideout. Keeping a secret isn’t easy; however, sharing your secrets isn't always easy either. But what if that’s the only choice you have? As the fort walls close in, the friends are forced to share crucial secrets with each other to keep the fort safe. What begins as a fun place to escape to quickly becomes a serious refuge for one of the kids attempting to flee a dangerous situation from home.

The story begins with the residents of Canaan waking up to alarming and widespread destruction after Hurricane Leo rips through their town. There are power outages, broken windows, damaged roofs and fallen trees. Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and CJ, four eighth-grade friends, gather to investigate the devastation. However, Evan is forced to bring along Ricky, who has just moved into town and has therefore not made any friends. The rest of the group of friends are less than thrilled about this new addition to their gang. But, can they put aside their differences to do what’s right?

Gordon Korman comes back with another absolutely heart-touching and compassionate story about friendship, family, and especially being there for someone through hard times. I would recommend this book to readers in Grade 4-8; however, it can be enjoyed by any kids from Grade 4 on. Each chapter switches between characters, giving us different perspectives of the unique characters who differ in their personalities and backgrounds making it very interesting to read!

I would rate this book a 9 out of 10, because it really is worth a read! I guarantee that you’ll be able to sympathize with many of the characters. I enjoyed reading this book, especially because although there were lots of different things happening and it was all tied together in the end, and very well at that! I’ve always loved Gordon Korman books, from Restart to Ungifted, and find it easy to relate to the characters and their problems. After reading this book, if you think that small towns have nothing interesting going on, you might have to reconsider! 

~ Written by Hasini K., Age 13

The Fort

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-1-338-62914-9

256 pp.

Ages 8-12

June 2022

 

When is a shelter not a shelter? When it's a secret that is in danger of being exposed. And when four friends and their unexpected tag-a-long discover the ultimate shelter, it becomes their fort and they'll do anything to keep it safe.

The day after a hurricane rolls through the town of Canaan, thirteen-year-old Evan Donnelly is tasked with looking after newcomer Ricky Molina while their families deal with the aftermath of the storm. The boys meet up with Evan's friends C. J. Sciutto, Mitchell Worth and Jason Brax to check out their man-made shower-curtain and plywood fort in the woods but discover that it has been demolished by the storm. But clever Ricky–he may be a year younger than the boys but he's gifted and has come from a magnet school–unearths a newly-exposed trapdoor into a massive underground bomb shelter, fully stocked with furniture, food, chemical toilet, lights, music records, and VCR and videos. A video reveals the shelter was constructed by the now-deceased Bennett Delamere, founder of one of the town's key industries, now closed, in anticipation of an attack during the Cold War. The boys realize quickly the enormity of their find and vow to keep it secret.

But each of the boys has a complex life going on outside the fort. Evan and his seventeen-year-old brother Luke live with their grandparents ever since the boys were abandoned by their parents for their addictions. Mitchell has always struggled with OCD and now cannot get help from his psychiatrist since his mom lost her job, and benefits, at DelaCraft Auto Parts, and has had to take on three jobs to make ends meet. While Jason is enjoying his first relationship with Janelle, daughter of police Officer Jaworski, he's caught in a nasty divorce in which his parents use him as a pawn. Even C. J., who seems to have everything he wants courtesy of his stepdad Marcus, keeps getting into scrape after scrape on his skateboard or hoverboard or pogo stick, calling his exploits "death-defiers." As for Ricky, who is reluctantly allowed to enjoy the fort he found, is determined to study hard and get into the local magnet school and make the best of things until he does.

The fort becomes a refuge for them, to watch classic movies like Jaws and Star Wars, to eat 40-year-old canned food, listen to records and play games like Fort Olympics. It's even a source of funds as the boys learn the blackened cutlery is solid silver and can be pawned for money. But, their fort is in danger of discovery from scary local teen Jaeger Devlin and his sidekick, Evan's brother Luke, who threaten, steal, coerce and worse and would do the same to the boys if they thought there was something in it for them.

The Fort is Gordon Korman's 100th book, an astounding feat. And it's as fresh and meaningful to young readers as his first, This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall!, was in 1978. Think of the movie Stand By Me without the dead body and you'll have The Fort. Gordon Korman has given us a coming of age story about a group of boys with different backgrounds and home situations and personal issues who find a way to come together for each other and become something stronger and cohesive. Because The Fort is told in the alternating voices of the five boys, their perspectives on their friendships, school, families and the fort are unique and relevant. The boys make the story because it is their story. In fact, it's all their stories. Like the fort, it's one thing but it's so many different things too. It's acceptance and anonymity, protection and vulnerability, and it's solidarity and individuality. Gordon Korman has made the fort a foundation for the boys to learn more about themselves and each other and build new bonds of friendship and support. And like a fort, their friendships will be a stronghold against life's inevitable challenges and foibles.

Notorious: Guest review

Today's review was written by teacher-librarian Elizabeth Cook.

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

978-1-44317-592-0

312 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2020

Gordon Korman has written another great book for children and adults alike.  Moreover, Notorious is a great book for both Canadians and Americans, as the story takes place on the island of Centrelight which sits in the middle of a river that bisects these two great nations and through which a border that zigzags through town equally divides it.

The story begins with spunky Zarabeth, known by everyone as Zeebee, and her dog Barney Two.  Zeebee inserts herself into the role of official tour guide to Keenan, the new boy in town, often focusing her tours on the history of the gangsters who used to run the island back in the 1920s and 1930s during Prohibition.  Zeebee’s stories about Al Capone, Myer Lansky, and Tommy-Gun Ferguson always contain a dramatic flair and seem to have direct links to every spot in town.  These gangsters were up to all sorts of criminal activities in their time, but it seems that contemporary life on the island might not be any more innocent.  Zeebee is convinced that her first dog, Barney, who was well-known as a town menace, was murdered by someone on the island several months earlier and it's up to her and Keenan to solve the mystery. 

Each chapter of this novel is written from a different character’s perspective, which advances the story in a fun way.  Gordon Korman uses both Zeebee and Keenan to narrate the majority of the story.  I always enjoy seeing how the different characters view the same event, especially when it is a teenager’s point of view.  Zeebee’s over-the-top nature lends itself well to some hilarious stories, while it was quite fun for me to see how Keenan reacted to his first taste of poutine.

Gordon Korman’s Notorious is a great story for students in the middle grades and up.  It is a story about friendship, fitting in, love of pets and, of course, tales of gangsters and lost treasure!  This story will keep you guessing from start to finish with many laughs along the way.  I do have one lingering thought however: if Zarabeth is a Canadian, shouldn’t her nickname be Zedbee? 

n.b. Teachers, you will find a character analysis of Barney One to be quite a fun endeavour with your class!

~ Elizabeth Cook is a teacher-librarian in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature. 

Level 13

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-1-338-28620-5

241 pp.

Ages 8-12

July 2019

Cameron Boxer is a middle-grade slacker. He acknowledges this and is happy with a life style that allows him to play video games, hang with his friends Chuck and Pavel, and eat junk food. Of course, most parents and schools aren't supportive of slackers and so Cam has had to find a way to appease them with a façade of effort (see Slacker by Gordon Korman; Scholastic 2016) and he's done this by establishing P.A.G. a.k.a. Positive Action Group. But things tend to get out of hand when Cam is involved and his community service club has ballooned to 874 kids who think Cam, president of P.A.G., is a stand-up kind of guy who wants to do good work. So while all the paggers are working on a fundraiser for the public library, Cam is trying to avoid getting involved in anything that would take him away from his gaming and potential money-making endeavour as a live streamer.

Being the slacker he is, Cam comes up with a plan that would give him all the time needed for gaming and still look good. He lies to all, except Pavel and Chuck, that he's failing in his schoolwork because of his commitment to P.A.G. and allows Chuck's new girlfriend Daphne to take over as an interim president. To cover up his gaming, Cam creates a new account as GameFox229 and wears a disguise of an old Zorro mask and stuffs gummy worms in his mouth. When Chuck brings Elvis, the beaver the kids helped out in Slacker, over to Cam's house–Daphne is worried how thin he is–the number of followers and subscribers watching Cam explodes. Seems the rodent is mesmerized watching Cam play, getting into the game with sounds and expressions that suggest he knows exactly what's going on. Moreover, when Cam discovers an old version of the Guardians of Geldorf game with a banned Level 13 and is determined to make history with it, Elvis is all in.

But the Awesome Threesome, Cam, Pavel and Chuck, are struggling to stay a cohesive group while Chuck tries to balance his commitment to Daphne and Pavel struggles to keep up his stellar grades while always helping to transport Elvis to join Cam for his streaming sessions.

You know things have to go wrong. Soon all the paggers, without letting anyone else know, are taking over Cam's schoolwork to ensure that his marks improve so he can once again lead them in P.A.G. Elvis is not getting any fatter and Daphne is starting to worry about his health and the frequency of his absences from his habitat. Chuck and Pavel, knowing the truth of Cam's successes, are dismayed to see him held up as a hero of good works and marks. Even Cam's sister Melody gets into things by blackmailing him. Cam and his schemes are a runaway train and he has to get things back on track before he loses everything: his reputation, his friends, and even his health.

When he got mixed up in things–even dumb things–they could balloon to Hindenburg size in the blink of an eye.

     Then again, remember what happened to the Hindenburg. (pg. 122)

Gordon Korman gives kids a story they'll laugh at while envying Cam. Think about how many children would admire Cam for his artful scheming, continued luck, and ability to avoid scandal. He may call himself a slacker but he puts so much effort into his plans and their realization that he becomes a slave to his hobby. Level 13 could be considered a cautionary tale about the dangers of addictive behaviour and taking advantage of others but it's more a laugh on how the best laid plans can go wrong, even for those like Cam who were born under a lucky star. Regardless of the glitch in Cam's plan to becoming a professional gamer, he keeps leveling up, learning more about himself and others and appreciating a life beyond that of a slacker. For the Win!

The Unteachables

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-7016-1

279 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2019

I can always rely on Gordon Korman's books to make me laugh. But, with The Unteachables, for the first time, Gordon Korman has made me cry too. Maybe it's because I'm a teacher. Maybe it's because an injustice is righted. Maybe it's because a motley group of kids steps up in a big and meaningful way. Whatever the reason, The Unteachables delivers more than expected, just like the students in Mr. Kermit's SCS-8 class.

In a comedy of errors or even negligence, Kiana Roubini who has moved in with her father and stepmom and baby brother while mom is off shooting a movie ends up inappropriately and unregistered in class SCS-8, a self-contained special grade eight class at Greenwich Middle School. The only other students in the class are the angry Aldo Braff; Elaine ("Rhymes with pain") Ostrover; Barnstorm Anderson, an injured jock who had been passed year after year but did no work; quirky comic-movie-TV fan Mateo Hendrickson; Rahim Barclay who sleeps all day; and Parker Elias, farm boy for whom reading is just an endless barrage of confusing anagrams. Their teacher is Mr. Zachary Kermit who, though once a dedicated and inspiring teacher, was ruined by a cheating scandal twenty-two years earlier in which he had no part but for which the superintendent, Dr. Thaddeus, is determined to make the man pay dearly, forever it would seem. Mr. Kermit, or Ribbit as his class calls him, was the teacher of a student, Jake Terranova, who'd stolen and sold copies of the aptitude test, marring the reputation of the school at which Dr. Thaddeus was then principal. Now after years of reassignment after reassignment, Mr. Kermit is coasting until his early retirement at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, Dr. Thaddeus is not going to let that happen.

To the whole school, SCS-8 is the class of Unteachables and Mr. Kermit is happy to accept that. He gives them worksheets that he never grades and works on his crossword puzzle. As long as they don't burn the school down, he's okay with whatever they do or don't. But, enthusiastic young Miss Fountain next door is determined to foist her primary class management ideas on him and his students. Worse yet, she engages car dealership mogul Jake Terranova, the cheating scandal lynchpin, to interact with the kids, hopeful that a reconciliation may return Mr. Kermit to great teaching.

As in life, Gordon Korman's novels are filled with a plethora of characters, all with their own foibles and strengths. By alternating the voice of the chapters between Kiana, Parker and Mr. Kermit, along with Mateo, Aldo, Barnstorm, principal Mrs, Vargas, Dr. Thaddeus and Jake Terranova, Gordon Korman embeds perspective and perception, not always accurate but always telling.

The guidance counsellors say I have anger management problems. They don't know what they're talking about. I manage to get angry better than anybody else in the whole school. No problem. (pg. 39)

Though there is redemption for those who never should have needed to redeem themselves, The Unteachables makes sure to impart positive messages about learning and teaching, and that no one is unteachable.

How can the school know they're unteachable if nobody ever tries to teach them? (pg. 60)

With a dedication "For all teachers who soldier on" Gordon Korman has written a story for the students and their teachers that inspires everyone to do their best because the impact of that choice may never be identified but it will undoubtedly be realized.

Whatshisface

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-1-338-20016-4

231 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2018

There's an anonymity that comes with being the new kid at school that can be refreshing. But most times, and twelve-year-old Cooper Vega knows this well, you're just Whatshisface, the guy no one cares to know. You're not part of the established cohorts or activities and many kids are not going to bother trying to include you in their lives.  Cooper feels like his job is just "to get out of the way." (pg. 1) But, in his new home town of Stratford, where Somerset Wolfson, Shakespearean fanatic and one of the richest men in the U.S., lives, it's looks like it might not work as it always has.

Being in Grade 7, Cooper and his classmates will be responsible for performing the annual Shakespearean play.  This year's play will be Romeo and Juliet, an endeavour supported financially by Mr. Wolfson. As much as Cooper might enjoy playing Romeo–the role assigned to the obnoxious Brock Bumgartner–opposite the incredible Jolie, he is selected for Second Watchman, a perfect role for a Whatshisface.

But when his new cell phone, the GX-4000, starts acting up and connects with the ghost of a young printer's apprentice, Roderick Barnabas Northrop, from 1596 England, staying a Whatshisface becomes a little harder.  This is especially true when Roddy, in his efforts to help Cooper become less of a Whatshisface and win Jolie's attentions, learns that the play they are performing is one he had started writing prior to his death!

Gordon Korman is a writing hero to middle graders. He has the heart of a middle grader or at least he writes like one and that's why young readers LOVE his books. He writes funny stories with great plots, relatable characters and satisfying endings that resolve with honesty and realism. That's pretty amazing considering there's a ghost in a cell phone in Whatshisface. Still the characters, other than Roddy, are real kids who want to fit in or be popular or get the lead role or want to stay under the radar. Most are just trying to survive middle school. Readers will see themselves in Cooper, a boy who doesn't feel like he belongs but does feel like he's always messing up.  He's not a loser but he certainly feels like one at times, not unlike just about everyone in the world. And they'll cheer for him when Roddy whips out insult after insult, in true sixteen-century style, to come to Cooper's defence.

"...had my fat hound thy face, I should shave its hindquarters and train it to present itself rearward." (pg. 81)

 (This is paraphrased by Cooper as "...if my dog had your face, I'd shave its butt and teach it to walk backward."; pg. 81) What child would not laugh uproariously at that irreverence?

While many young readers will be grabbed by the familiar plot of trying to fit in, the subplot related to Shakespeare's alleged theft of manuscripts is a fascinating one. By incorporating that controversy (and there is a history of allegations that Shakespeare may have adapted, if not stolen, the works of others) with the quirky friendship between boy and ghost, finding one's place, whether in middle school or in history, takes on a whole new dimension.

The Dragonfly Effect (Book 3 of The Hypnotists)

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-0-545-50336-5

243 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2015

When readers last visited with 12-year-old Jackson Opus, the kid had major problems and they all stemmed from the evil Dr. Elias Mako who was determined to manipulate Jax, a powerful hypnotist, into doing his mesmeric bidding.  Thankfully, Book 2 of The Hypnotists, The Memory Maze, ended with Mako being sent to jail, and Jax and his parents being whisked away by the military for their protection.  But, while the Opuses are currently safely ensconced at Fort Calhoun and Jax assists the very serious Colonel Brassmeyer in developing hypnotism as a weapon system as part of HoWarD, the Hypnotic Warfare Research Department, life isn’t as rosy as it might be expected to be.

Jax’s Mom and Dad are bored and miserable, not even able to go bird-watching without getting arrested for leaving without their identification. Not surprizing that Dad has become addicted to the FreeForAll website with its myriad of games and activites, not the least of which is tending to his virtual grass in Lawn Master!  Jax isn’t faring much better, having to deal with the humourless Colonel Brassmeyer, the HoWaRD psychiatrist Captain Pedroia, and the other hypnotists including the nasty Wilson DeVries, former thug for Mako, and eight-year-old orphan and powerful though unskilled hypnotist Stanley X.

In addition to their various activities including bending (hypnotizing) soldiers and each other–which is when Jax realizes how powerful Stanley is–and trying to teach hypnotism to ordinary people, Jax has been recruited to participate in Operation Aurora.  Using remote hypnotism, Jax mesmerizes all 753 volunteer inhabitants at an artificial test community called Delta Prime to stop all activity at a set time.  The collateral damage is frightening to Jax, though Brassmeyer’s miliary sense of duty keeps him from being bothered by it.  Not surprising that when Jax suspects that someone is using remote hypnotism via the FreeForAll website and using the newly-adopted Stanley, the teen hypnotist springs into action, regardless of the army’s intentions for him.

If you’ve read the earlier two books in The Hypnotists series, you’ll know that Gordon Korman keeps readers on the edge of their seats, anticipating the next manipulation by an evil one, or joining in on chase or escape from entrapment or worrying about whom to trust.  Jax’s life is an action-packed adventure he hopes he’ll live through.  And Jax is such a decent kid.  He’s concerned about how miserable his parents are at the cost of his safety.  He’s appalled by Brassmeyer’s relentless experimentation with hypnotism to develop it as a powerful weapon, regardless of the consequences.  And he seems to want to watch out for everyone at HoWaRD, recognizing their vulnerabilities, even the vicious Wilson.

But Gordon Korman is the master of tongue-in-cheek and keeps the reader smiling with his quips and barbs at everything from the military and online games, to bus drivers, and traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel.  

…he noticed Ashton Opus was still playing Lawn Master.  It was almost four hours now!

       In Lawn Master, you could plant, water, fertilize, weed, cut, top-dress, spray, and aerate your virtual lawn.  Dad had just spent the last four hours literally watching grass grow.  It wasn’t even real grass! (pg. 97-8)

But amidst all the skirmishes and problem-solving, Gordon Korman has Jax finding a way, even manipulating it, for himself to lead a “normal” life, and that “happy” ending in The Dragonfly Effect–even though it is important to recognize that, as Jax does, that “It was impossible to command someone to be happy” (pg. 22)–is worth the price, all costs included.

Masterminds

by Gordon Korman

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-443428726

323 pp.

Ages 8-12

February, 2015

Don't be fooled by the 185 cheerful residents and the social perfection–no poverty, no crime, no unemployment–of Serenity, New Mexico, with its mandate of honesty, harmony and contentment. Behind all that sunniness hides a darkness of secrecy that would shatter the town's status as #1 in the USA for the standard of living.  And it all starts to fall apart with a simple, innocent bike ride beyond the town limits.

Eli Frieden is the only son of the town mayor and school principal, Felix Frieden, and best friend of Randy Hardaway, a less-than-perfect thirteen-year-old who is definitely not a poster-boy-for-the-town. When the two ride out, Eli succumbs to a blinding headache and nausea and the police, the Surety a.k.a. the Purple People Eaters, the security force for the Serenity Plastic Works, miraculously fly in by chopper and rescue the two boys. And then Randy is sent away.

Meanwhile, twelve-year-old artistically-inclined Tori Pritel, a girl with whom Eli finds it really easy to talk, is drawn into supporting Eli while her own best friend, Amber Laska, the school's overachiever and list-making teacher's daughter, is secretly asking her own questions.  When two arborists come into town, Amber notices a newspaper in their truck and, with permission (she is a perfect Serenity student), she reads about things with which she is totally unfamiliar: murder, terrorism, power, war, homicide. On the other hand, her nemesis, the annoying Malik Bruder, the doctor's son, has always been negative about the town and its rules, determined to leave as soon as he is old enough.  His pint-sized sidekick Hector Amani, whose parents generally pay little attention to him, is happy to follow his supposed best friend.

A secret letter from Randy, a fiasco with the WiFi, and some late-night reconnaissance at the Serenity Plastic Works, the largest employer in town, have the kids demonstrating all the negative behaviours that have been eliminated from Serenity: lying, cheating, sneaking around, breaking and entering, stealing, and opposing authority.  And, I have to tell you, readers will be completely supportive of their actions!

Where does Gordon Korman come up with his ideas?  Masterminds is yet another completely unique series from the master of middle-grade plotting.  No way will the reader see what's coming.  There are so many subplots and threads of characters' experiences that need to come together to provide that exclamation of understanding.  And writing Masterminds in the voices of the five kids allows Gordon Korman to make it all mesh so perfectly.  With humour and suspense, too.

While this first book in the new series ends well-that doesn't mean a happy ending, though–Gordon Korman flawlessly sets the kids up for their next adventure in Book 2, a book already on my radar.

The Memory Maze: The Hypnotists, Book 2

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada
978-0545503297
240 pp.
Ages 9-14
August, 2014

Prolific award-winning author Gordon Korman hit last year's awards lists with the first book in his newest series The Hypnotists, the story of Jax Opus, a teen in middle school who learns he has inherited the ability to bend minds i.e., hypnotize others. Unfortunately the manipulative power-hungry Dr.  Elias Mako attempts to use Jax's gift to manipulate an election and Jax and his parents are forced to flee NYC to the relative anonymity of Connecticut, where The Memory Maze begins.

Now known as the Magnus family, Jax and his parents are living in a rundown house with  Jax's ally, Axel Braintree, whom they refer to as his uncle, but is the head of the Sandman's Guild of New York City. But giving up everything, including others' memories of them, is tough on the Opus family.  Mom is no longer working as a chiropractor but stays at home and endures Axel's endless array of exercises. Dad has gone from a Bentley dealership to a used car salesman. And Jax is now Jack and is trying to control his mesmeric abilities and not draw attention to himself, which becomes impossible when he starts winning chess games and even a tri-borough championship.

In fact, it's through his chess-playing that Jax is introduced to billionaire Avery Quakenbush, a 96-year-old man, who knows Jax's real identity. Quakenbush enlists Jax's services to stave off his imminent death by hypnotizing him so deeply that his body would enter statis, essentially hibernation, until a cure was ready to save him. With $500,000 being offered to his family who'd given up so much for him, Jax accepts Quackenbush's offer readily.

Axel knows that only Jax is gifted enough to take on Mako but, until he learns to control his mind-bending ability, he is a danger to himself and others.  Axel takes on the role of mentor to Jax, teaching him about the history of mesmerism and how to control his gift, while keeping tabs on his Sandman's Guild.  However, when some of the Sandmen start disappearing, Axel has yet another worry to occupy his mind.

Everything becomes muddled when Jax begins his regular hypnosis sessions with Quackenbush, reliving all of the billionaire's memories from his war experiences on the beach at Normandy, the hardships of the Great Depression, and his financial triumphs,  often emphasizing his relationship with his brother Oscar.  What begin as short, targeted mind-bending attempts become frighteningly real episodes of tragedy that last hours.

With the FBI on the hunt for the Vote Whisperer (i.e., the moniker they've given Jax; see The Hypnotists, Book 1 for details), a lip-reading neighbour questioning Jax's family dynamics, Quackenbush reliving 96 years of reminiscences, Sandmen disappearing in New York City, and, most importantly, Jax discovering memories of a brother named Liam, The Memory Maze is aptly titled.

The farce that is Jax's attempt to not bring attention to himself is balanced well with the realism of Quakenbush's life, having lived through many historical milestones and significant events.  The hilarity of the mind-bending that Jax and others perform, both innocently and deliberately, adds a lightness that is necessary when juxtaposed against tricking death and the burden of guilt.  Gordon Korman has always successfully introduced drama into humourous situations and humour into dramatic storylines, so that his young readers are able to enjoy a little bit of everything.  The Memory Maze accomplishes that as well, drawing the readers in with the amusement of mind-bending and Jax's own comic failings, but showing them the downside of that ability and the consequences of manipulating others.  If Gordon Korman didn't have a sense of humour, it would be rather frightening.

Luckily, one thing we do know at the conclusion of The Memory Maze is that Jax and his parents are on their way to a new adventure and we'll need to wait until Gordon Korman shares that one before we know whether our heart or funny bone will be aching.


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Gordon Korman will be in attendance at Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair in November.

Jackpot: A Swindle Mystery

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-0-545-56146-4

200 pp.

Ages 8-13

January 2014

Jackpot is Book 6 in Gordon Korman's Swindle series which began with Swindle (2009), Zoobreak (2010), Framed (2011), Showoff (2012) and Hideout (2013), all sporting covers with the quintessential Luthor.  And if you don't know who Luthor is, I recommend you read Books 1 through 5 first.

Darren Vader is a career bully (for a kid in middle grade), showing up in each of the previous Swindle books and causing untold grief to Griffin Bing and his friends Ben, Pitch, Logan, Melissa and Savannah. But things take a turn when Darren's mother, a lawyer, begins helping Griffin's father apply for a patent for his invention, the SweetPick.  When Darren gets up to more mischief, Griffin takes the blame for it, all to prevent Mrs. Vader from getting off track and Griffin's dad from becoming more anxious.

Feeling the need for getting even, Griffin enlists the help of his friends to prank the money-hungry bully with a news story about a missing lottery ticket (true) being lost in the garbage of their town (not true).  In an unforeseen twist, garbage hunters flock to Cedarville in search of that lottery ticket and wreak havoc, and Griffin and friends are given community service for their mischief and Darren warps himself into the role of the victim.

Griffin's moniker goes from "The Man With The Plan" to bully, even raising the ire of new student Victor Phoenix who has an answer for everything and becomes the new Man With The Plan.  No matter how Griffin tries to resurrect his friendships and reputation, he ends up looking more and more like a bully, just as Doberman Luthor does when around Victor's cat Penelope who is temporarily housed at Luthor's house.  Not surprising that Griffin and Luthor find themselves teaming up to try and make things right, even if it does include Darren Vader and that lottery ticket again.

Gordon Korman has long been successful at getting children reading, from his adventure (Dive, Everest, and Island), thriller (On the Run and Kidnapped) and humour (Macdonald Hall) series. In the Swindle series, the emphasis is on the farcical nature of friendships and perspective and Jackpot is no exception.  From the kids' views on themselves and others,

"No offense, Griffin, but stuff a sock in it," muttered Logan.  "I ought to have my head examined for following you and your cockamamie plans.  It's only a short step from community service to community theatre.  My talent belongs to the world, not some podunk playhouse." (pg. 32)

to  the fantastic imagery

The interior made the chaos of the porch seem neat.  Griffin had never been to the rain forest, but he'd always imagined it looking like this.  Long macramé planters and hangings dangled so low from the ceiling, and random stuff was piled so high on tabletops, that barely any light penetrated from the windows. (pg. 108)

the text oozes with atmosphere of levity and colour.  Coupled with the brisk dialogue and plotting, Jackpot is a fun and accessible read for young people, another example of Gordon Korman's knack for enticing new readers.

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I see Unleashed, Book 7, is set for release in January, 2015 so, if you haven't already, it's best to get caught up on your Swindle reading now!

The Hypnotists

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic

978-0-545-50322-8 (hardcover)

978-0-545-60272-3 (audiobook)

240 pp.

Ages 8-14

August 2013

Reviewed from audiobook

Just like his earlier series—Macdonald Hall, On the Run, Everest, Island, Dive, Kidnapped and most recently Swindle—Gordon Korman will easily snag young readers with The Hypnotists if they're looking for his characteristic droll humour, kids vs. adult conflict, suspenseful thrills and unique plotting. 

Jackson Opus, 12, has always known that his eyes change extraordinarily from violet to blue then green, but it takes a few perplexing interactions with a bus driver, a basketball rival, his ophthamologist, a psychiatrist and a hypnotist at a vaudeville show for Jax to have his hypnotic ability identified.  (Come on, that's not really a spoiler.  What did you think The Hypnotists was going to be about?)

Selected to attend the Sentia institution of Dr. Elias Mako who,

"has devoted his life to New York City education and is an inspiration to every single one of us" (pg. 34)

Jax is taught how to control his ability to mind-bend (i.e., hypnotize) and challenged to mesmerize volunteers.  As an Opus, a family line well-known for its mind-bending talent, Jax is taken under Dr. Mako's personal tutelage, attempting greater challenges than ever imagined, including attempting post-hypnotic suggestion (i.e., producing a specific action after waking from hypnosis) via video.  But after making the acquaintance of the elderly, hippie-esque Axel Braintree, the head of the Sandman's Guild, a guild of "reformed" mind-benders, Jax learns more about his heritage and the extent of his own ability, as well as about Dr. Mako's true reputation.

It can't be surprising to readers of Gordon Korman's middle grade books that The Hypnotists has a couple of boy in their tweens trying to make sense of bizarre circumstances and erroneously interpreting others' actions, embedding laughs and dynamic surprises with each new development.  Imagine making a passing comment to a bus driver that "You have to get us to Ninety-Sixth Street as soon as possible" (pg. 3) and transforming the transit man into an Indy driver who refuses to stop for passengers, lights and traffic!  Or mesmerizing the lunch lady to provide more gravy for his friend Tommy's Salisbury steak ("Make sure you give him as much as you can" pg. 68) resulting in enough gravy to create a hazard on the floor and Tommy being stalked by the lunch lady.

With the pen (word processor?) in Gordon Korman's control, the main plot of The Hypnotists–Jax attempting to thwart an evil mastermind–is embedded with the boy's introspection of his conscience and motives while others are drawn in, demonstrating their own views on hypnotism and its uses, good or evil. Always enhancing the action with a peppering of pre-teen humour

"Aw, I don't want to see inside my mother's brain.  All those private thoughts and lady stuff.  I get skeeved out just looking at her eyelash curler" (pg. 186)

Gordon Korman will have readers anticipating Book 2 in this series, undeniably set up with Jax's final thought and the last eleven words of The Hypnotists.

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Author Gordon Korman will be attending the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) on Saturday October 26, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at Toronto's Harbourfront.  Don't miss this opportunity to see one of Canada's legendary youngCanLit authors.