  | What we found in the sofa and how it saved the world Author: Clark, Henry | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Finding a rare zucchini-colored crayon leads twelve-year-old River Monroe and his friends on an adventure with their eccentric neighbor to save Earth from invading interstellar storm troopers.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.10 Points: 10.0 Quiz: 159631 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 4.50 Points: 17.0 Quiz: 61099 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (06/01/13)
School Library Journal (06/01/13)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (09/13)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 06/01/2013 Gr 6–8—Freak, River, and Fiona assume that the sofa sitting near their bus stop one morning is just a discarded piece of furniture from the creepy old Underhill mansion. Soon, though, they learn that it's sentient, self-propelling, and nourished by dust bunnies. The junk they find between the cushions (an old crayon, a weird coin, and a single domino) holds the key to saving the world from evil invaders from another dimension. The children are skeptical at first, but Alf, the eccentric person living in the mansion, convinces them that the couch is connected to the coal-seam fire that has been burning in their town for 12 years. He also explains that the strange flash mobs that almost everyone seems to be participating in-a roomful of people stand up and sing show tunes in unison, then go about business as usual and deny that anything strange has happened-are, in fact, experiments in a sinister mind-control plot. Fast paced and entertaining, this sci-fi novel strains credulity but is still an exciting, suspenseful adventure with many unexpected twists. Commentary on both corporate interests and middle-school social dynamics adds depth without seeming heavy-handed. This debut novel may be a hard sell to reluctant readers, but those willing to take a chance on something odd will be rewarded.—Kyle Lukoff, Corlears School, New York City - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2013 A mysterious sofa appears on the country road outside the Underhill Mansion where Fiona, Freak, and River wait for the bus on the edge of Hellsboro, the coal-seam fire that haunts the outskirts of the small town of Cheshire. Further exploration reveals that the mansion’s eccentric owner, Alf, is a visitor from another universe named Indorsia, the couch is part of a seven-piece sentient computer system-slash-furniture set named Guernica, and Alf is trying to entrap Edward Disin, the Indorsian CEO of a corporation that has been sneakily introducing mind control devices to the citizens of Cheshire to eventually take over the universe. Fiona, Freak, and River band together, chasing down a cat who ran off with a domino to which Alf’s dead sister’s memories have been downloaded, commandeering a hot-air balloon shaped like a toilet to get to an abandoned chemical plant in the center of Hellsboro, and knocking out a few minions wearing dog-shaped hats on their quest to shut down Disin’s portal between Indorsia and Earth and save the world. This clever story self-consciously and irreverently follows in the footsteps of classic quest tales, quietly dropping homages to The Lord of the Rings and A Wrinkle in Time along the way. A deus ex machina conclusion makes the explosion-filled ending significantly weaker than it could be, but compelling backstories make readers root for the characters, and the gang’s good-natured bickering and sharp perception will make budding science fiction fans feel like they’ve been welcomed into a circle of friends for this whirlwind adventure. TA - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
