Hunter Moran Hangs Out

August 15, 2013
Rising sixth-graders Hunter and Zack make the most of the last four days of their summer vacation, attempting to stave off a kidnapping, performing rescues and welcoming yet another sibling. Continuing the TV-fueled adventures begun at the start of their summer and chronicled in Hunter Moran Saves the Universe (2012), the twins leave a surprising trail of destruction at summer's end. They trample their father's newly seeded lawn and try to cover the damage with an enormous rock they claim is a coyote's gravestone. They take lumber and nails intended for a workroom to build a watchtower high in a tree. They break into basements, and Hunter falls out a second-story window. They survive near-drowning in the pond in Werewolf Woods. As reported by Hunter in a breathless first-person, present-tense narration, the chaos in the Moran household sometimes seems a little far-fetched, but it can be excused by the arrival of K.G., the new baby and seventh child (whose real name is not "Killer Godzilla"). Throughout the book, the boys continue to feed and replenish the worm farm they've established in a kitchen-cabinet drawer, a running joke that seems likely to offer possibilities for more sequels. For summer reading or dreaming of summer, this satisfying sequel can be a good starting point for middle-grade readers. (Fiction. 9-12)

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September 1, 2013

Gr 4-6-In this madcap mystery, Hunter and his twin, Zack, try to save their five-year-old brother from being kidnapped. It all begins when shakedown artist Sarah Yulefski demands $1.26 in exchange for a muddled account of what she overheard about the kidnapping of someone small enough to fit into a cage. The boys become convinced that the intended victim is Steadman. Who else of the family's six kids is that small and isn't always watched by their mother? The twins decide that the best vantage point to look out for kidnappers is in a tree, across the street from their house. The trouble is, they have other things on their minds as well. They haven't done any of their summer reading (school is four days away), they have a new sibling (whom they would like to call K.G. for Killer Godzilla), the school is getting a new principal, a pet gymnastics competition is taking place at the health club, and their dog seems to be missing. Does all this seem like a lot? It is. Some seeds of great ideas are here, but they aren't given the time to grow into a fully fleshed-out and well-plotted story, and an unevenness in the narration leads to a problem in pacing. Better stories for the target audience include Graham Salisbury's "Calvin Coconut" series or Leonore Look's "Alvin Ho" books (both Random).-Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2013
Grades 4-6 It's Doomsday (the beginning of school) minus four, and twins Hunter and Zack have just remembered they're supposed to read and report on three books that have changed their lives. Then they learn from a classmate that their younger brother, Steadman, may be the target of a kidnapper. Although their source is annoyingly vague, the boys take her seriously. They construct a tree-house lookout and search for clues, noting suspicious strangers in an abandoned house, the neighborhood bully poking at something hairy in the pond, and a mysterious letter intended for their mother (who is in the hospital giving birth to sibling number seven). This sequel to Hunter Moran Saves the Universe (2012) combines mystery and farce in a wild-goose-chase romp that includes late-night rendezvous in Werewolf Woods, tumbles from classroom windows, and and skateboard rides down Suicide Hill. The characters are reminiscent of Hilary McKay's Cassons, and readers will appreciate Giff's gentle message that even exasperating relatives (including Fred, the family's untrained pooch, who is kidnapped) are worth defending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)