Chris Rylander

Carson is a prankster. He justifies it this way.

“Someone had to make life interesting around here, to break up the routine of a North Dakota existence. And I guess that someone was me. So, yeah, a day filled with goats and glued doors and staplers and pens would be totally worth it compared to just another day.”

The day he is about to pull off one of his best pranks ever, a mysterious man gives him a package to deliver to Mr. Jensen. He is given direct instructions not to open the show more package. He opens the package. A voice recording informs him that he has 48 hours to enter a code before the device self-destructs. Betsy, as he names the device, gives a reminder every 15 minutes. This is a problem because anyone within earshot of the device also hears the reminder. He must A) cough, shout, or create some other diversion like peeing in his pants to get out of earshot, and B) figure out which Mr. Jensen is the intended recipient.

This is, without a doubt, my favorite spy book. I love Carson. Rylander has done a fantastic job giving loads of detail to create a fully formed, 3-demensional character. Example:

“Right now in my bag next to my desk was a device that apparently carried information vital to the safety of our whole country. And I was supposed to worry about some test on a book so boring I hadn’t even made it past page four? I mean, hundreds of kids had probably failed this very same test over the past twenty-five years and what had happened to them because of it? Nothing, that’s what. Now those kids were doing the same things that kids who had passed the test were doing.”

I love the absolute candor of this kid. I love his stream of consciousness. It’s hilarious as heck, in a subtle kind of way. Most of the kid spy books I’ve read shove the humor down your throat to the extent you gag. Not Rylander. He’s a pro. Even Carson’s friend, Dillion, is a great character with his off-the-wall conspiracy theories. This book has been way overlooked. show less

Psst! Hey, YOU. Yeah you. Come over here…
Do I have a story that you’re gonna be glad YOU heard.

Picture it. Sixth grade. Just last week.
There were these kids you see, but mind you not just any kids. Kids with a mission and the means to accomplish them. The brains…Mac. The brawn…Vince. Together they were one unstoppable duo, but in a good way…at least for most of us. They could be depended on to get you outta a jam JUST like that. No problem. That was until Staples and his goons show more showed up. Whew. Let’s just say they got a run for their money.

What’s that?
Who ended up on top?
Whadda I look like, some sorta snitch?
I gave you the pieces…you put them together.
I’m out.

-- resumes normal voice --

So, need I say that this book was enjoyable? It was…it most certainly was. As a matter of fact, when I first heard about it a while back, I wasn’t too interested. I know, shocking right? It took coming across a copy in our local bookstore and a breeze through both the synopsis and first few pages to convince me, but then…I was hooked. Hooked I tell you! Let’s investigate this case of bookish hook-age a bit further (that sounded wrong, but you know what I mean)…

Starting with the cover, one can see where this book might carry at least a few laughs. I mean come on…really, look at it! It’s a play off the old classic, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, while adding its own unique charm with a roll of toilet paper replacing the obligatory puppet strings, but really…that’s a way to control a situation as well as anyone knows that has been in the “Oh-dear-goodness-there-is-no-paper-in-this-stall!” issue before. *ahem* Anywho, book covers work to artistically portray the story within, and this is no exception. The events…or as we Italians like to say the bus-i-ness ( show less

Thanks to the publisher and Goodreads for a fere copy of Clash of the Worlds!

Clash of the Worlds is one of those books that makes me remember what I love about middle grade fiction... and makes me wonder why I don't read it more.

There are larger-than-life, lovable, snarky, and terrifying characters. There's a heck of a lot of genre hopping (zombies! aliens! cowboys!). There are plot twists and turns left and right. And most of all, there's a sense of adventure and reckless abandon. It show more reminds me of Indiana Jones in a lot of ways, but less archaeology, and more... everything else under the sun.

I will admit that I didn't read the first two books, so I spent the first few chapters feeling a little confused. But I got the gist of what was going on, and now I desperately want to check out the first books in the series.

So, if you love middle grade books -- and especially the sort of middle grade that's a wild romp through fantastical situations -- then I highly recommend the House of Secrets series. show less

Chris Rylander knows how to write funny. I think humor is probably one of the hardest things to write, maybe because I'm not all that funny, but Chris Rylander must be, because I was laughing all the way through The Fourth Stall, even when I was trying not to. Even my very hard to please kids (12 and 15) laughed at the lines I read out loud to them. And when I told them how Mac and Vince got their "office" in the bathroom in the fourth stall under the high window (I know it's a mouth full, show more but in a bathroom, isn't next to the window important?), they snickered a little. It had to do with a bottle of superglue, a toilet seat and the principal's extremely regular visits to that particular stall, but it's not exactly what you might think. There was a whole lot of glue involved and Mac and Vince had nothing to do with it. Anyway, you know I enjoy my middle grade fiction, but this one, was better than most of the YA I've been reading!

I was so tired of reading about angels and saw that The Fourth Stall II (the boys and I got a kick out of why they didn't call it number two, I do live with all boys, even the dogs I have to laugh at bathroom humor), was coming out in just a few days and I hadn't read it yet. So I figured I'd better read the first one. I could hardly put it down last night. I even picked it up before my morning coffee so I could finish the last few pages of it, it's that good.

As you can probably tell from the front of the book, Mac named for MacGuyver because he gets things done and Vince run a business somewhat like the Godfather. My husband noticed the resemblance. He doesn't read much and tunes out on book discussions. But if it's the Godfather he perks up. "Hey, that looks kind of like the Godfather," he says after I've been reading all day. "Yes, honey, because these two sixth graders have a business kind of like that, they get things done for kids and if the kids can't pay, they owe favors." "Wow that's a great idea for a kids book." "Yes, that's probably what the author thought when he wrote it." "So what happens?" "I don't know. As you can see, I'm still reading." "Oh, I'll let you finish. Tell me tomorrow. Anybody named Sonny?" "No!" So , yes Mac and Vince run a business during morning and afternoon recess and lunch in this very far away bathroom that no one uses. Mac has a desk and people come to him with their problems and he solves them. Vince keeps the books. And they have muscle at the door, Joe the biggest kid in the school who only lets one person in at a time and keeps the crowd low so it doesn't look suspicious . Mac and Vince are the biggest Cubs fans in history and they are saving to go to a World Series game. And this year looks like it could be their year. This was another fact my husband was interested in because he told me the Cubs were the worst team"in the history of the free world." When he tacks that phrase on, I know they must be pretty bad. Anyway, I figured, this is fiction so why couldn't the Cubs go to the World Series. I was keeping an open mind about the whole thing as I'm sure Cubs fans do every year!

Things are running smoothly until their worst problem in years comes in, a pint sized third grader who has been placing bets with the fabled Staples. Until that day, no one even knew that Staples was even real, he was just a rumor. Staples is sending The Collector after the third grader, Fred, and he's afraid of what The Collector might do to him. As Mac and Vince make plans to take down Staples who has infiltrated their school and therefore their business, they find they have a spy in their midst, a thief, they have to meet and work with the schools nine biggest bullies (reading about Kitten alone is worth the price of the books) and their World Series funds begin to dwindle. What ensues is a systematic take down of Mac and Vince's business and friendship and a backfiring and double cross of all the plans Mac makes to take Staples down. And as is always the case, the best laid plans of mice and men go awry and Mac has to step back and get his priorities straight before he loses everything.

The ending couldn't be more perfect and I wish I could tell you about it. But I don't want to spoil it. It is absolutely fabulous and not something I would have imagined in a million years but can picture with such clarity and I'm still laughing! The mental image is hilarious except for Kitten, I might have nightmares of him. There is a set up for the next book, kind of like the old detective movies something along a sixth graders version of, "I knew the dame was trouble the moment she walked in." And I'm getting ready to dive into The Fourth Stall (number two) Part II. (Barnes and Noble will never accept this review with that in there. I'll have to write a whole different review, but maybe that's for the best.) But it's my blog, and I can write my review, here, how I want it!

As I wrote in the beginning, the book is peppered with humor from Vince's crazy Grandma's sayings to the boys trying to trip each other up on Cubs trivia. Rylander's writing style is easy for any middle grader to read, though some of the subtle meanings may be harder for younger (8-9) readers to pick up on. It just depends on the reader. None of the situations are inappropriate for anyone in the MG age group. I loved the friendship that Mac and Vince had. They had been best friends since Kindergarten or even before, when Mac moved in to the trailer park where Vince lived. Vince is quirky, but Mac gets him and loves him, really, they love each other. They don't say it, but you know they do and they aren't afraid even to cry in front of each other. That's a true testament to a boy's friendship with another boy. And I loved that Rylander showed that even in 6th grade, it was okay to cry, because when you get the snot beat out of you, you might feel like crying. And during an emotional time, like when your Dad dies, you might also feel like crying, and your best bud says, hey it's okay and he doesn't think any less of you. That's what I hope kids will take away from this book when they read it. Kudos to Chris Rylander for and outstanding novel!! show less