Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower

July 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Phoebe Lane lives in a world where the boys wear letterman jackets, the girls don poodle skirts, her mother continually moves her from town to town fleeing massive monster attacks, and her father is an invisible titan in the sky. When her mother goes missing, Phoebe must contend with small-town police, shady government agencies, and of course, the troubles of high school. If that wasn't enough, then she begins to transform. Heidicker has written a wonderful send-up of the B-movie genre. It's entertaining, sardonic, and covers themes of teenage confidence, independence, friendship, and justice. This is a wonderful and wholly unique entry in teen horror fiction. VERDICT Purchase where snarky and horror-focused titles are popular.-Kasey Panighetti, Indianapolis Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
In a world where 1950s matinee horror films are as real as Wonder bread, Phoebe Lane and her mother have a trick for avoiding the monsters.Before 15-year-old Phoebe was born, her mother, Loretta, was an actress, an actress who caught the eye of a giant ape, Ook. That ended at the top of a tall building. Now, mother and daughter work their way across the country with a carnival, making a little money off Loretta's encounter with Ook. They keep their eyes on Daddy, an invisible (to others) giant man in the sky, because his gaze foretells the coming of a Shiver--violent incidents such as pink goo's taking over a diner or the appearance of a giant, radiated Rhedosaurus. Phoebe and her mother vamoose if the man in the sky, who Phoebe learns is her father, looks their way. She just wants to be a normal '50s teenager, but that seems less likely when her mother vanishes and the police are no help. Phoebe's life takes a turn for the weirder when her search for mom turns up a half sister who knows the truth about Daddy and the fate of their black-and-white world. Phoebe is a plucky, snarky heroine, and her fantastic adventure will entertain teens, though they may miss topical references and clues to what's really going on. Major characters are white.A fluffy romp with heart and action. (Science fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* It's the 1950s, a wholesome, idyllic time when right and wrong were easy to identify and small towns were routinely besieged by giant grasshoppers, ooze from outer space, and colonizing pod people. Wait, what? In Heidicker's funny, feminist send-up of B-movie cinema, selectively blind nostalgia, and TV binge watching, a teen girl living within a mysteriously connected string of monster movies learns to control her own narrative. Phoebe Lane and her famous mother (you know, the one who was kidnapped by Emperor Ook) stay ahead of the monsters by keeping their eyes on the sky. Or, rather, the giant man in the sky, who sits in a bathrobe with his remote control watching destruction rain down on their world with a smile. When his eyes fix on their location, it's time to move. Phoebe wishes for a normal life, where her mother can stop starring in roadside attractions and they can move to a monster-free location, but strange is the norm here. When her mother disappears, Phoebe launches an investigation that uncovers an underground lab studying the giant man, and becomes ensnared in their experiments. This high-concept meta-narrative works on multiple levels, from its good-natured ribbing of common tropes (like the gay girl always dies ) to its commentary on female agency, but, more importantly, it's frightfully fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)