Story Time

The New York Times

This is satire of a high order. Bloor knows how to load on outrageous twists with a trowel while retaining just enough verisimilitude to maintain credibility and interest. Like Lemony Snicket, he's adept at sketching adult villains with an amusing soupcon of sadism … As for Bloor (who, like Clements, earned his school stripes in the trenches, teaching), he's certifiably brilliant, too. Despite occasional violent excesses, he has spun an ingenious, intricate tale that's as astute as it is entertaining. — Sandy MacDonald

Publishers Weekly

"In the sprawling, satirical tradition of his Tangerine and Crusader," PW wrote, "Bloor delivers a no-holds-barred, deeply subversive tale about modern education." Ages 12-up. (Aug.)n Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

Take two bright middle school students, add a school that promises high test scores, blend in a mystery, top with a satirical look at education, and the result is the recipe for the newest offering by Bloor, author of Tangerine (Harcourt, 1997/VOYA August 1997). George and his niece, Kate, who is actually two years older than George, are invited to attend the prestigious Whittaker Magnet School. The school, which meets in the basement of the town's public library, prides itself on the achievements of its students who score higher on tests than any students in the country. Visits from the president and first lady to the Whittaker School are being planned as Kate and George become students. Kate, dismayed to discover that seating in each class is arranged by students' test scores, resigns herself to sitting in the last seat in the last row. Simply being made to feel inferior, however, is not the only bad thing happening at Whittaker. Kate and George soon learn that the tradition of "Story Time" carries with it some awful events from the past. The two must combine forces to unearth the deadly secret of Story Time. Bloor successfully combines humor, mystery, and fantasy in this satire about the pitfalls of education. The satirical aspect of the novel might appeal more to teachers than to students. Middle school students will appreciate more the librarian who speaks only in nursery rhymes, the spirits who wreak havoc with what should be a peaceful story time, and the efforts of two powerless students who manage to solve the mystery at the core of the story. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, Harcourt, 432p., Ages 11 to 15.
—Teri S. Lesesne

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2004: When George and Kate are admitted to the elite Whittaker Magnet School as part of the county's "Leave No High-Scoring Child Behind Program," they have high expectations, as the school has the highest test scores in the country. Their hopes are quickly dashed, though, when they realize that the students do nothing but practice test-taking in windowless rooms and that the administrators and their offspring are pompous, vain and uncaring. Worse still, there seems to be an evil spirit loose in the building, with mayhem and murder in mind. It's up to George and Kate to trap the spirit and enact some serious school reform in this combined ghost story/broad satire of modern educational practices. Bloor, author of Tangerine and Crusader, weaves in many other plotlines as well, such as Kate's search for her lost father and her mother's search for self-confidence, and offers some darkly humorous portraits of educational administrators and local bigwigs. A funny, offbeat, often Gothic tale. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Harcourt, 431p., Ages 12 to 15.
—Paula Rohrlick

Children's Literature

Former high school teacher Edward Bloor obviously holds an opinion or two about the emphasis on testing in modern education. In this novel, sixth-grader George, and his niece, Kate, who is two years older than him, are enrolled in the Whittaker Magnet School. While George is excited about the opportunity to attend the prestigious school, which boasts some of the highest test scores in the nation, Kate feels out of place and misses her friends and activities from her old school. And Kate is less than thrilled about the school's "Test-Based Curriculum." The only reason Kate was invited to Whittaker is because she shares an address with George. Worst of all, the library's books seem to be inhabited by demons. Open the wrong book and the demon could possess your body, making you behave in strange and sometimes dangerous ways. People have even turned up dead. With the First Lady of the United States scheduled to take a tour of the school, something wild and wicked is sure to occur. The story, even with its wild twists and turns, takes a back seat to Bloor's scathing satire on the state of education in the United States. The host of characters representing the school's establishment is in turns vain, pompous, and wrong-headed. 2004, Harcourt, Ages 12 up.
—Christopher Moning

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-A book filled with social satire, black comedy, fantasy/humor, and extreme situations. Eighth-grader Katie and her brilliant Uncle George, a sixth grader, find themselves mysteriously redistricted and assigned to Whittaker Magnet School, which focuses entirely on excellence in standardized testing. The regimented kids are taught by regimented teachers in the basement of a haunted old library building and the school is run by a strange family obsessed with its own achievements, whether they are earned or not. All sorts of things are amiss at Whittaker, where elitism reigns; where dramatic deaths are hidden nearly as carefully as the dark secrets involving the building, the town, and the people who live there; and where appearances are paramount. Back at home, Kate lives with her agoraphobic mom, who has mysterious ties to the library, while George lives next door. Kate wants only to return to Lincoln Middle, where she could play Peter Pan and be with friends, while George tries to make the best of what is a monstrously warped situation. The Whittaker family goes to extremes to impress the visiting First Lady, creating an atmosphere ripe for catastrophe-as well as for redemption. This expansive and engrossing tale has elements of Roald Dahl, J. K. Rowling, and J. M. Barrie (the Peter Pan subtheme is not coincidental), but with a decidedly American flair. The many seemingly unconnected threads do eventually come together, but it is hardly worth the effort as this overly ambitious author has spread himself way too thin.-Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

George and Kate Melvil have won acceptance to Whittaker Magnet School, where they will be exposed to the finest teaching methods in the US and subjected to a test-based, "Leave No High-Scoring Child Behind" program. Classes take place in windowless rooms in the basement, where Kate and her fellow students, the "Mushroom Children," drink protein shakes and use treadmills to stay in shape for the standardized tests taken every day in every class. Students memorize the prefectures of Japan and GRE vocabulary words, and children's books are read at Story Time for the phonics lessons they inspire. Kate hates the school and wants nothing more than to be at her old school, singing and acting in the upcoming production of Peter Pan. Adults will relish this wild satire on modern education; young readers will enjoy the horror-story trappings of ghosts, bizarre occurrences, demonic possession, and the big, dark school that looks like Dracula's castle. A creation with wide appeal. (Fiction. 12+)