The Unflushables

April 23, 2018
After a nefarious corporation wrests control of Nitro Cityâs sewers, plumbers are banned, and mutant beasts begin emerging from drains. Since the toilets are constantly clogged at Gloomy Valley Middle School, 13-year-old Sully Stringfellow, who works after school as an âoutlawâ plumberâs helper, is recruited to apprehend the âPhantom Cloggerâ before Taco Tuesday, when, the principal says, âI need every stall open for business.â The premise of Batesâs (How to Make Friends and Monsters) satirical romp gives him free rein with potty puns, yet the humor extends further, fueled by Sullyâs wry asides, droll badinage, and a colorful cast that includes a retired super-villain who lives in a secret underground lair; Sullyâs crusty grandfather, member of a posse of crackerjack plumbers that guarded the sewers; and the boyâs parents, off in Fiji, where his mother sells repurposed spatulas, and his poet father searches for a word that rhymes with purple. An explosiveâliterallyâfinale wraps up this lighthearted, swift-paced saga of good vs. evil in a slimy underworld. Ages 8â12. Agent: Brandi Bowles, United Talent Agency.