Class Is Not Dismissed!

September 28, 2009
Imagine a humorous middle-grade novel by a less self-absorbed Woody Allen to get an idea of this intelligent and witty children’s debut. Daneshvari assembles a precocious cast of 12- and 13-year-olds with outsize fears, including Madeleine, whose obsessive fear of insects keeps her drenched in bug repellant; Theo, “the most dramatic, hysterical, and neurotic boy in the borough of Manhattan”; brazen Lulu, with crippling claustrophobia; and hydrophobic Garrison. Desperate families entrust these kids to Mrs. Wellington, the snarky “deranged beauty queen” of a headmistress at the secretive and fairly terrifying School of Fear (“Perhaps when the summer is finished you’ll write a letter to the board of camps to complain,” Mrs. Wellington tells the children when they learn they are the sole campers. “And please do not let the board’s hypothetical status deter you”). What ensues is tautly paced, spine-tingling and quite funny, as the children overcome their fears and learn to work as a team. The ending proves as clever as the premise and shows that while everyone is afraid of something, tremendous achievements can be won by facing fear head-on. Final art not seen by PW
. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2010

The four phobia-afflicted friends who bonded in the Marx Brothers–style School of Fear (2009) face a worse threat than backsliding (though there's plenty of that too) in this equally manic sequel. With solid mutual bonds generally hidden beneath layers of sharp repartee—"I think you need help...and I don't mean that in a kind or caring way"—Lulu, Madeleine, Theo and Garrison reunite for a second summer at the isolated Massachusetts institution run by wacky ex– (except in her own mind) beauty queen Mrs. Wellington and her long-suffering octogenarian cook/caretaker Schmidty. Joined by an aggressive new student, Hyacinth, whose lack of social skills is only matched by her hysterical fear of being alone, the crew first looks into a series of house burglaries, then learns that a reporter is planning to publish an exposé that will certainly force the school to close. Staving off this catastrophe turns into a continuing plot that will run into at least one further episode. Making sense of the setting, wild antics and over-the-top characters requires reading the opener, but Daneshvari expertly keeps the humor fresh and the pacing frenetic. (Farce. 11-13)

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September 1, 2010

Gr 4-6-Fine print in their contracts brings the four students introduced in School of Fear (Little, Brown, 2009) back for another summer at the secret, exclusive institution created to eliminate extreme phobias. Though the students profess that they are completely cured, headmistress Mrs. Wellington reveals how each one has regressed, necessitating more time with her. Joining Madeleine, Garrison, Theo, and Lulu is a new student, Hyacinth, who is desperately afraid of being alone and friendless. But the unusual phobia-conquering curriculum is put on hold when the children must help Mrs. Wellington and her loyal caretaker discover who is behind the string of recent burglaries-a discovery that leads to even more trouble for the school and its inhabitants. Filled with an eclectic, and often eccentric, cast of characters, this sequel uses the wry humor and outrageous situations that characterized the first book and makes for an entertaining read. Kids may be slightly disappointed in the lack of resolution to the major conflict and hope the story will continue in another volume.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2010
Grades 4-7 Have no fear: school is back in session, with the phobic young protagonists of School of Fear (2009) returning to reinforce what they learned the summer before. It seems there has been some regression amid all visible signs of progress. A fifth student has also enrolleda 10-year-old with a ferret whos afraid of being alone and who calls the others her new best friends, giving each of them an annoying nickname. Daneshvaris plot is as farfetched as ever, but her dialogue is full of amusing putdownsI think you need help, and I dont mean that in a kind or caring way. Somehow, and satisfyingly, all five become best friends in the end. Ed: cap is in the title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)