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Summary
Summary
"The invention never flags." -- Booklist (starred review)
In this third weird and wacky installment of National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series, Jasper Dash and his friends must unravel a terrible mystery.
It is a land of wonders. It is a land of mystery. It is a land that time forgot (or chose specifically not to remember). Cut off from the civilized world for untold years by prohibitive interstate tolls at the New Jersey border, this land is called: Delaware. It is into the mist-shrouded heart of this forbidden mountainous realm that our plucky and intrepid heroes, Jasper Dash: Boy Technonaut, and his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan, must journey to solve yet another a mystery. Come along on a tale of grand adventure that includes in its pages: Lost cities! Tentacles! Monks! Dinosaurs! Cheap suits! Eye Doctors! And, of course, the fabled Curse of the Jaguar!
Author Notes
M.T. Anderson is the author of the Pals in Peril series; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation series, the first volume of which won the National Book Award; The Norumbegan Quartet; Burger Wuss ; Thirsty ; and Feed , which was a finalist for the National Book Award, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book, and the winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adults. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Visit him at MT-Anderson.com.
Kurt Cyrus has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books celebrating the natural world, including What in the World?: Numbers in Nature by Nancy Raines Day; Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler; and his own Tadpole Rex and The Voyage of Turtle Rex . His art also appears in the middle grade series Pals in Peril by M.T. Anderson. Kurt lives with his wife in McMinnville, Oregon. Visit him at KurtCyrus.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Jasper Dash is his school's last hope in the all-important Stare-Eyes Championship against their archrivals. Alas, the Boy Technonaut's concentration is interrupted mid-match when he receives a telepathic cry for help. His team blames their defeat on Jasper's loss of focus, but he is convinced that there is something unnatural about the opposing team. With his fellow sleuths Katie and Lily, he follows the Stare-Eyes squad back to the wild realm of Delaware. Long cut off from civilization by exorbitant toll-road charges, it is a dangerous region of lofty mountains, impenetrable jungles, and exotic cities, ruled by a crazed military dictator. In the hidden monastery where the man once studied, Jasper and his friends find that his old teachers are hostages. The crooks are using the monastery's arcane powers to create an indestructible army. What can our heroes do to stop a horde of thugs-especially when the monks are vowed to nonviolence? Detailed black-and-white illustrations, reminiscent of slightly skewed medieval woodcuts, add to the exotic atmosphere. Like the chums' previous exploits, this off-the-wall parody of Stratemeyer-style series fiction features mock-heroic dialogue, breakneck chases and battles, hairsbreadth escapes, and fiendish (if rather inept) villains. Along the way, there are lots of sly digs at rah-rah sports novels, gangster pulps, and even travel guidebooks. The author frequently "breaks page" to address readers directly with side comments, hints, and suggestions. Beneath all the absurdity, there is also a quiet message about loyalty and self-acceptance.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) This spoof of foreign adventure novels is Indiana Jones on overload. While friends Jasper, Katie, and Lily -- stars of previous series entries Whales on Stilts (rev. 3/05) and The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen (rev. 5/06) -- go about their usual business of saving the world, Anderson stuffs every scene with exotic setting details: dark cobblestone alleys, colorful street vendors, six-armed acrobats, chattering monkeys, "the snakes with women's heads, the women with snakes' heads, that whole thing." That the mystical locale described is the state of Delaware, which the author/narrator confesses never to have visited except for a brief stint on its tollways while driving to New Jersey, gives the story an added layer of absurdity. A contest between high school "competitive staring" teams begins the nonsense, setting off a chain of events in which throwback adventure-series hero Jasper convinces Katie and Lily to accompany him to "the ancient, eldritch mountains of Delaware" to help monks retrieve stolen artifacts. Young readers might not see through the swirling mountain mists to Anderson's sharp critique of how Western writers tend to exoticize other cultures. Nevertheless, they'll enjoy journeying deep into the heart of darkest Delaware -- and they won't even have to pay the tolls. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Metafiction at its most weirdly satisfying. Anderson began his Thrilling Tales in 2005 with a slight not-quite-200-pager called Whales on Stilts, then followed it the next year with the rather longer Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen. Each was populated by the trio of Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, star of his own adventure-book series (that no one reads any more), Katie Mulligan, star of the Horror Hollow stories, and Lily Gefelty, "who observed things constantly and thought complicated things about what she saw." This far longer tome finds Jasper returning to save the mountaintop monastery where he learned martial arts in deepest Delaware. There is no way to summarize a plot that includes shards of and snarks at Eragon, Tom Swift, chick lit and sports novels, Galaxy Quest and Indiana Jones movies and so on. Extremely funny, it's for adults, who will get at least half the references, and for children, who will get the other half. Cyrus's illustrations are integral and pretty darn amusing, too. (Fiction. 9-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Great Pyramids of Snefru, chums, they're back! Yes, Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, and his intrepid pals the venturesome Katie and the retiring Lily return for yet another thrilling adventure (following Whales on Stilts, 2005, and The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen, 2006). This time around the gang are off (via Jasper's Gyroscopic Sky Suite) to exotic Delaware in search of a ruthless band of art thieves who are plundering priceless artifacts from the monastery of Vbngoom (that would be the one that's hidden in a mountain range in northern Delaware). A mountain range in Delaware? Yes, readers, this is Delaware as you've never known it, replete with towering mountains, icky squid monsters, levitating monks, and the like. After all, as Katie notes, Jasper does have a penchant for finding places that most people can't find. Come to think of it, so does Anderson, as he drolly demonstrates in yet another relentlessly imaginative and laff-filled adventure that is his own sui generis marriage of Indiana Jones and Tom Swift (is that legal in Delaware?). The invention never flags from an opening Stare-Eyes competition (Jasper can stare like nobody else) to a thrilling, concluding encounter with the Technonaut's archenemy, the interdimensional criminal Bobby Spandrell. And don't miss Fair Delaware, the appended state song (words and music by M. T. Anderson, of course!).--Cart, Michael Copyright 2009 Booklist
Excerpts
Excerpts
1 TO JASMINE JULIA AND ALISON'S REVENGE WAS COMPLETE. They'd taken out the biggest threat at school. Jasmine King had been expelled from Canterwood Crest Academy. I'd been standing in Jasmine's empty dorm room for a long time. Just staring. I leaned my back against the wall and drew my knees to my chest, lowering myself to the bare wooden floor--shaking my head in amazement. It had happened so fast. I'd gone to the indoor arena to practice and had been using Mr. Conner's camera to film my session. Jas hadn't known the camera was on and she'd started to brag about how she'd framed Julia and Alison by making it look as if they'd cheated on their history test. I'd texted Julia and Alison about the tape and they'd taken it to the headmistress. I'd just left the Trio's suite after a this-close-to-tears Heather had thanked me for saving her friends. Jas was gone. I remembered her moving into my dorm and how I'd felt--I'd hated that she had transferred from Wellington Prep to Canterwood. It felt like she'd done it just to torture the Trio and me with her presence. Now, there was no trace of her in her old room. It was as if she'd never existed. Part of me felt a little sorry for her that she'd been yanked away to a new school, but mostly, I didn't care. She deserved what she got for everything she'd done to us. I reached for my phone to text Julia, Alison, and Heather. Everything had happened in an instant--Heather probably had no clue that Jasmine had been expelled. But before I could start a text, my phone buzzed. Come 2 r suite & celebrate. ~H That almost made me laugh out loud. Of course Heather knew. I should have known that. She was aware of everything that went on at school. K. B there in a sec. I sent my text. I got up and stuck my head of out the doorway and looked down the hallway toward my room. I'd planned to spend the rest of the evening with Paige, my BFF and roommate, but I couldn't say no to celebrating Jas's departure--something I'd hoped for since the day she'd arrived. I stepped out of Jas's old room and left the door wide open behind me. I left Winchester and walked back toward Orchard. I hurried, then caught myself. I surely wasn't excited about hanging out with the Trio--it was just glee over Jasmine. Right? But maybe a tiny part of me wanted to hang with them. We still weren't friends, but things had sort of changed. I walked across campus and marveled at how gorgeous it was, especially with the fiery orange-red sunset. The manicured lawns were trimmed like golf course grass and the dark lacquered fence rails gleamed. Every inch of the winding sidewalks looked as if someone had just swept them. No matter how many times I crossed the campus, it never felt any less prestigious. There was a reputation to uphold as one of the top East Coast boarding schools. When I got to Orchard Hall, I stared at it for a minute. The brick building was four stories tall and each window had a stark white frame with a small ledge underneath. Black shutters on either side contrasted with the frames and the rooms on the top floor had peaks over the windows. Two chimneys rose from the back of the building. A black old-fashioned street lantern was on each side of the front of the building. Soon, their light would illuminate the heavy wooden door that led into the dorm hall. I took a breath before opening the door. Callie, my ex-BFF lived here, and the last thing I wanted was to run into her. But I pushed the thoughts away--tonight wasn't about Callie--it was about celebrating Jasmine's exit from Canterwood. I walked down the glossy wooden floor and stopped in front of the Trio's door. I'd barely knocked when a bouncy Alison pulled the door open. "Sasha!" she said, grabbing me in a hug. "I'm so happy for you," I said. She let me go and I walked into Julia, Heather, and Alison's living room. "You can start riding tomorrow." From her spot on the couch, Julia smiled at me. "Yeah, I bet we can." She took a breath, glancing down before looking back up at me. "Thanks." I nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before." Julia shook her head. "Don't be dumb. You're the one who saved us--you don't have to apologize for anything." Heather appeared from her room and motioned for me to sit on the couch. On the coffee table in front of us, there was a bottle of ginger ale and four plastic champagne flutes. "Let's toast," Heather said. She tossed her long blond hair over one shoulder and sat beside me. Julia poured ginger ale into all of our flutes and we raised them. "To Jasmine," Heather said. "To Jasmine," I echoed with the Trio. © 2010 Jessica Burkhart Excerpted from Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware by M. T. Anderson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
