Villain's Lair

February 9, 2009
Van Draanen (the Shredderman books) sets a madcap new series in motion, introducing 13-year-old Dave and Sticky, a talking gecko he rescues from the clutches of a neighbor's cat. The lizard drags the boy to the "maniacal mansion" of a "dastardly demented" scoundrel to retrieve ancient ingots which, when placed into slots on an Aztec wristband, give the wearer superhuman abilities. Though Dave is hoping to snatch coins that bestow invisibility or flying powers, he instead grabs an ingot that enables him to scale walls gecko-style (explaining the possibly confusing title of the series), best the villain and become a hero. Peppered with exaggerated alliteration and the excitable lizard's Spanish-tinged "Stickynese" ("Freaky frijoles!"; "Holy tacarole!"), the wisecracking narrative bounds from one slapstick scenario to another. Gilpen's halftone illustrations add to the good-natured inanity, and a glossary collects Sticky's vocabulary. Dave reappears-and, courtesy of another ingot, disappears-in The Gecko & Sticky: The Greatest Power, due in May. Ages 8-12.

June 1, 2009
Gr 3-6-Dave, 13, and a kleptomaniac gecko named Sticky team up to stop an evil treasure hunter, Damien Black. They visit his haunted mansion and battle mariachi bandits and Komodo dragons to retrieve ingots that give the wearer invisibility, flight, and wall-climbing abilities. Good prevails. Fans of Chet Gecko or Geronimo Stilton may like this series, but it could use some polish. The series title seems to refer twice to Sticky, which doesn't make sense, and it is unclear why he speaks Spanish. It is as though the Taco Bell and GEICO mascots merged. Besides characterization issues, the story has continuity problems. Readers are thrown into 100 pages of nonstop action, then have a strange pit stop for exposition, and finally speed up to a rooftop chase scene. Lastly, the style veers toward the campy. However, the repetitious humor is good for emerging chapter-book readers, and the dialogue is funny. Gilpin's drawings are a definite bonus."Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Grades 3-6 Thirteen-year-old Dave Sanchez is deep within the dank tunnels of the evil Damien Blacks mansion, plotting with his talking gecko, Sticky, before readers even get a chance to react. Damien who?A talking what? Van Draanen establishes an enjoyable crime-fighting duo with the dorky Dave and his motormouthed gecko, both of whomwere introduced in the authors Shredderman: Meet the Gecko (2005). In this series starter theyre after some of Blacks magical Aztec ingots to go with the wristband theyve already stolen from hima wristband that gives Dave the ability to scale walls, which leads the media to dub him The Gecko (which explains the confusing series title). Its never especially clear whats going on in the story, or why; part of that is due to a lack of character and plot development, and part of itrelates toVan Draanens wacky sequencing of events. But younger readers will enjoy the short chapters, constant action, author editorializing, and transliterated Spanish accent of Daves lizard (or leeezard, as Sticky would say).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)