Overview
Grdankl the Strong, president of Krpshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize-even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka "The Armpit," a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee, who seem to think that the Harrison Ford signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.
Synopsis
Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl’s cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize—even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka "The Armpit", a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.
VOYA
Eighth grader Toby Harbinger finds evidence of cheating at an annual science fair, but no one wants to believe him when he points to the wealthiest students in the school. Instead teachers and administrators decide that Toby is a liar whose goal is to disparage those who always win the contest. Their projects, however, have been purchased from a mystery person and include dangerous and classified information. Through a series of offbeat adventures, Toby learns that the plans are really part of a larger terrorist plot orchestrated by the dictator of fictional Kprshtskan, whose leaders are hapless buffoons with inflated egos and no awareness of their irrelevance on the global stage. Middle readers will enjoy the heroic depiction of a young person who challenges unreasonable adults for what he believes. Plenty of humorous moments will also appeal to younger readers. Older readers, on the other hand, will question the wildly improbable premise. Some may also bristle at the farcical portrayal of Kprshtskan. The ridiculousness of its leaders (and by extension, its citizens) is overworked and ultimately condescending. Even though it is a fictional country, for example, one still feels embarrassed when the President of the United States refers to it as a "dirtbag little nation." Most perplexing, however, is the odd juxtaposition of humor and terrorism. The incorporation of terrorists, even if their motives are ridiculous, injects a stark reality into the story that weakens the plot. This book is best as a secondary purchase. Reviewer: Christina Fairman
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Grdankl the Strong has concocted an ingenious, insidious plan to achieve world domination. If all goes well, the president of far-off Kprshtskan will infiltrate the Hubble Middle School science fair, sell the rich kids virus-laden software and wait until the entire U.S. of A. crumbles in total computer freeze. The only thing that Grdankl had counted on was the honesty and savvy of regular kid Toby Harbinger, a middle schooler on a mission. High adventure; nice light tone. Now in paperback.
VOYA -
Eighth grader Toby Harbinger finds evidence of cheating at an annual science fair, but no one wants to believe him when he points to the wealthiest students in the school. Instead teachers and administrators decide that Toby is a liar whose goal is to disparage those who always win the contest. Their projects, however, have been purchased from a mystery person and include dangerous and classified information. Through a series of offbeat adventures, Toby learns that the plans are really part of a larger terrorist plot orchestrated by the dictator of fictional Kprshtskan, whose leaders are hapless buffoons with inflated egos and no awareness of their irrelevance on the global stage. Middle readers will enjoy the heroic depiction of a young person who challenges unreasonable adults for what he believes. Plenty of humorous moments will also appeal to younger readers. Older readers, on the other hand, will question the wildly improbable premise. Some may also bristle at the farcical portrayal of Kprshtskan. The ridiculousness of its leaders (and by extension, its citizens) is overworked and ultimately condescending. Even though it is a fictional country, for example, one still feels embarrassed when the President of the United States refers to it as a "dirtbag little nation." Most perplexing, however, is the odd juxtaposition of humor and terrorism. The incorporation of terrorists, even if their motives are ridiculous, injects a stark reality into the story that weakens the plot. This book is best as a secondary purchase. Reviewer: Christina FairmanSchool Library Journal
Gr 5-8
When Grdankl the Strong, president of the small, but extremely unhappy country of Krpshtskan, declares war on the United States, no one is safe. Its agents are en route to Hubble Middle School where an operative has been working for several years to create award-winning science-fair projects for underachieving children and their overinvolved parents. This is the year that the top projects will be designed to work in concert to bring down the United States in one enormous, electromagnetic pulse strike. All that is standing in the way of this diabolical plan are three students, a science store operator, a handful of bumbling FBI agents, and a giant Weinermobile. Barry and Ridley have created a wild story of danger, espionage, stinky cheese, exploding vats of Coca-Cola, and one floating frog. This nonstop, action-packed novel will appeal to every kid who has ever had to do a science-fair project.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK