I Put a Spell on You

November 1, 2008
Gr 5-7-The annual spelling bee at Gordon Liddy Community School is a big deal. The local newspaper and television stations cover it and the whole town shows up. This year, the hoopla is even bigger than usual. There is a new, formerly homeschooled, student in sixth grade who some people fear may win. A student's father broke into the school and attempted to steal the master word list. Tensions are running high. Sixth-grader Chrissie works for the principal, gathering dirt on her classmates, but when information she gathers is used to prevent an innocent student from participating in the bee, she realizes that the administration may be corrupt and she uses her detective skills to get to the bottom of the big buzz. Framed as Chrissie's case notes, interview transcripts, and emails, this funny, light mystery covers the weeks leading up to the competition. The characters are set typesclass clown, stressed-out brainiac, bad boy with a heart of goldbut they grow and change by the book's end as the kids try to do the right thing, avoid the adult corruption, and just enjoy the bee. This is a fun, silly read with a casual, conversational tone befitting all the different characters' voices. The hijinks may be wacky, but kids will want to keep reading to find out what happens at the climactic event."Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
When tattletale-detective Chrissie Woodward realizes adults are "fixing" the spelling bee, she transfers her loyalties and starts collecting evidence from fellow students; the chapters, told from rotating perspectives, are presented mainly as the kids' testimony. The story's wit is directed almost entirely against grownups, in a scathingly funny indictment of a shady principal and insanely competitive parents.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2008
When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence. The chapters, told from rotating perspectives, are presented mainly as testimony gathered from the students, each of whom is distinct and breaks stereotype (such as the boy who will eat anything for a dollar, but only in hopes of discovering new taste combinations that will further his future career as a chef). New arrival Mutual Scrivener, attending school for the first time to participate in the spelling bee, retains a sweet naivet as he tries to decode the mysterious behavior of his fellow classmates, and his outsider perspective provides humor but also some interesting insights. The wit in this school story is directed almost entirely against the grownups in a scathingly funny indictment of a shady principal and insanely competitive parents. Sly references to a famous case of misused authority may lead readers to look up the Watergate scandal, but even if they never catch on to some of the jokes, they will still laugh out loud as the students band together to fight corruption and triumph in their own ways.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)