The Rat with the Human Face

February 1, 2015
The Qwikpick Adventure Society files another official report on its members' derring-do.In their previous adventure, Lyle, Marilla and Dave visited the poop fountain just before the Crickenburg sewage plant was updated; that was one smelly escapade. Now, when they hear an electrician speak of a rat with a human face at the Bent Mountain Biological Station, they think they've found their next expedition. However, transportation is an issue, and their parents would never approve. They sign up for a rec-center trip to a hotel near Bent Mountain and make their way on foot to the station, which is closed for the season. When things go awry and all is revealed, Marilla's strictly religious parents forbid her from participation in the Qwikpick Adventure Society. Could this really be the end of the society (and Lyle's budding romance with Marilla)? Set in the year 2000 and presented as a typewritten report by Lyle, Angleberger's second tale in a trilogy is less engaging and much less amusing than his Origami Yoda series. (The trilogy's first volume also predates the folded-paper sage, having been originally published pseudonymously in 2007.) However, narrator Lyle and his friends are just as realistic as their origami-folding counterparts, and their adventure is much more true to life. Final art not seen. Slice-of-life exploits mostly for fans of the first. (Adventure. 9-12)

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February 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-This is the second entry in this series about a trio of middle schoolers in small-town Virginia who embark on gross and harebrained adventures. Narrator Lyle has heard rumors of a rat with a human face living in a seasonal research station outside of town. Along with friends Dave and Marilla (on whom he has a crush), Lyle contrives to ride with a busload of retirees to attend a brunch at a nearby hotel so they can sneak into the research facility and observe the rat. There are a few pleasantly quirky surprises-a convenience store crane game with a stuffed Andrew Jackson doll, a layer of social anxiety as Lyle reflects on living in a trailer park with parents who are clerks at the Quikpick, and a running device where the characters compete for points in "rhyme-jitsu." Lyle's story is told in "typed" reports, with sporadic spacing errors, on fake crumpled paper. These are interspersed with "handwritten" marginal comments and "unofficial personal" notes. A key scene depends on the peculiar narrative device of setting the story in the year 2000, meaning, as explained in a cumbersome author's note, that nobody has cell phones and their camera requires time to recharge the flash. VERDICT This series may appeal to reluctant readers, particularly fans of Angleberger's "Origami Yoda" books.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015
Grades 3-6 This second in Angleberger's Qwikpick Papers series tracks two compelling story lines: Lyle, Marilla, and Dave's expedition from the trailer park they call home to find the titular rat, and the catastrophic rupture of their friendship. Presented artfully as a dossierinsofar as a twenty-first century 12-year-old might achieve onethe pages are full of poorly typed (yet legible) manuscripts, Lyle's charming asides about top secret personal details in handwritten notes, and the kids' sketches and snapshots, all of which amplify the story overall. Though there's not much resolution to the tale of their quest to meet that rat, even after they encounter it at a mountain lab, the untimely end to their triowhen they're caught misbehaving and Lyle is pinned as the main troublemakeris palpably important. Meanwhile, the gentle puppy crush between Lyle and Marilla is as spot-on as Angleberger's narrative style and authentic, conspiratorial kid tone. Between Lyle's honesty and the bittersweet realism of this funny tale, Wimpy Kid fans, as well as those who appreciate Angleberger's Origami Yoda series, have much to like here. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Angleberger's middle-grade books are consistently hits. This one likely won't be different.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)