  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 03/01/2019 Fifth-grader Oliver’s divorced dad is headed for prison (for unspecified financial chicanery), but of course he must be innocent. Who better to consult on an escape plan than pro wrestler and action film star Tito the Bonecrusher, whose movies all involve rescuing hostages or captives? With this line of reasoning, Oliver and his capable best friend Brianna, aptly nicknamed Brain, launch a complex scheme to crash a charity ball that the always-masked hero is scheduled to attend, while, unsurprisingly, keeping parents, stepparents, and school officials in the dark. It would be fair to say that everything proceeds to go amiss, though help from unexpected allies and one humongous coincidence balances the scales. Thomson endows her protagonist with an emotional intelligence that plays uncomfortably against both his naïveté and his unappealing habit of cheating on tests, copying homework, and lying to teachers without more than passing flickers of guilt. Still, his mishaps, his intense hero worship, and the multiple elements of wish fulfillment in his quixotic agenda will strike sympathetic chords in middle-grade readers. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. Loading...
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