Perry's Killer Playlist

Starred review from October 15, 2012
Following the literally explosive events of Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, 18-year-old Perry Stormaire’s life has both settled down and markedly improved. His band, Inchworm, is on the rise, and he has a new, well-connected girlfriend, Paula, who has just helped book Inchworm on a 12-city European tour. Too good to be true? Oh, yes, it is. No sooner do Perry and his bandmates arrive in Venice then he’s reunited with Gobija Zaksauskas, the lethal and gorgeous Lithuanian assassin-for-hire who Perry attempted to take to prom in the previous book. The story deploys like machine-gun fire in clipped, feverishly paced chapters (each named after a rock song) as Gobi and Perry race across Europe with a trail of bodies and destruction in their wake. Schreiber has a way with similes (“A third blast, and all of Europe jumped and shook itself off like a wet dog,” narrates Perry under rocket-propelled grenade assault in Switzerland), and the nonstop action, romantic intrigue, and everyteen haplessness on Perry’s part remains an incendiary combination. Ages 14–up. Agent: Phyllis Westberg, Harold Ober Associates.

May 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Perry's prom-night-from-hell with assassin girlfriend Gobi is barely a blur before history repeats itself. As in Schreiber's Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (2011), each chapter in this sequel (2012, both Houghton Mifflin) is a hit song mimicking Perry's current situation, but the missing title, "If it wasn't for bad luck" by Ray Charles, is most apropos. At first it appears that Perry has finally gotten a lucky break. Recently accepted into Columbia, his band, Inchworm, has just scored a summer European gig, courtesy of his gorgeous new girlfriend Paula who works in the music industry, actually a cover for the family's illegal international arms dealing business. Paula's plan is to lure Gobi, "the best mercenary around," out of hiding, using Perry as bait, and offer her an invitation to join the family. Gobi's refusal means Perry's recently kidnapped family will die. However, Gobi has her own hit list, and Paula is a target. Perry, stuck between two hot chicks with killer looks-and killer instincts-must help Gobi. In short order, Perry's whirlwind European tour turns into a cyclone leaving a trail of exploding boats, bombed buildings, and dead bodies in its path. Narrator Steven Boyer is fabulous as Perry and more than holds his own with various foreign accents. This witty, adrenalin rush, page-turner novel is a top pick.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.