Two junior high boys lose their "uncool" status when they kiss girls and foil some football team thugs in this comedy set in the 1950s. "Joyfully unconventional thinking and quirky writing," said PW. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)

Gr 4-8A slapstick novel about friendship set in Minnesota. The book includes autobiographical elements from Paulsen's own life (alcoholic parents, a stint in the army, running the Iditarod). Both the first-person narrator and his best (and only) friend, Harold Schernoff, are 14-year-old social outcasts. Harold also is a science whiz, complete with slide rule, who devises theories to solve all sorts of problems, from dating to dealing with bullies and learning to ski. The chapter on his solutions to first-date awkwardness is hilarious. Perhaps the best chapter is the one in which the boys, although underage, buy their very first car and drive it for a glorious eight miles before the engine explodes. Paulsen captures adolescent feelings perfectly; indeed, the novel becomes a survival story with a twistsurvival of adolescence. Asides are interjected parenthetically comparing then and now. An afterword lets readers know what happens to the characters so memorably drawn in the story. Simplicity of style, humor, and great characterization make this another winner from a popular author.Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

A rollicking tale that's dressed up like a novel but reads more like a memoir, from the new comedian on the block, Paulsen (Worksong, p. 304, etc.).

The never-named narrator, whom readers are led to believe is Paulsen himself, is a nerd just like his friend, Harold Schernoff; together they are "easily the most unpopular boys" in their junior high. But if Harold is a brainy geek, with theories about everything from girls to fishing to bullies, the narrator operates under a somewhat dimmer star, willing to help Harold test his theories and come up with results that are just short of disastrous. Under Harold's leadership they find a surefire way to meet girls—by enrolling in home economics—until the football team finds out and Harold has a bigger problem to solve. Other adventures involve skiing and fishing—spectacular failures; the job they get as pinsetters in a local bowling alley results in one of the funniest episodes in the book and, incidentally, leads to the narrator's small triumph over the bully Dick Chimmer. It's all flat-out goofy and great fun, as well as an inspiring story of shared experiences that, weird as they are, form the basis of a strong and affectionate friendship.

Fourteen-year-old Harold Schernoff has a scientific theory for just about everything—from skiing and playing sports to illegally purchasing a car. With close friend Gary, Harold navigates the social minefield that is high school and tests his theories (many of which often end in disaster) in Paulsen’s novel about friendship. MacLeod Andrews delivers a pitch-perfect performance in this audio edition. The novel is told from Gary’s point of view, and Andrews narrates in a high, nasal voice, sounding like a boy on the verge of puberty, but regulating his pitch so that his reading never becomes cloying. Andrews also excels at other characters’ voices, deftly differentiates between Gary and Harold, and creates such a natural rapport between the two boys that listeners may forget he’s the only narrator. Ages 10–up. A Yearling paperback. (May)

Gr 4–8—Paulsen's charming novel (Delacorte, 1997) is full of schemes thought up by the first-person narrator's friend, Harold Schernoff. Harold has a high IQ and uses his scientific genius to discover ways to get back at bullying football players and to find all the golf balls that fall in the river since they get a dime for every one found. However, the results of the boy's plans often go awry. The car the two 14-year-olds purchase, sure to raise their popularity, doesn't run long enough to get them back to town. The skis they borrow to be part of the "in crowd" don't quite follow the trajectory Harold expects. Listeners will be cheering for the boys when the neighborhood tyrant gets what's coming to him. MacLeod Andrews narrates with a youthful cadence during the action scenes and a wistful nostalgia in the sections where the writer looks back on a hard-earned, if not misspent youth. He does an excellent job of giving the boys distinctive voices, especially Harold's condescending whine. While the anecdotes related are always amusing, some period content may be unfamiliar to today's kids. However, all listeners will relate to the themes of bullying and pining after the popular girl.—C. A. Fehmel , St. Louis County Library, MO