MMGM: Wired for Fun: A Review of Hertz Gets Fused

 

My heart sings when I find middle grade books that capture the boy voice well. Like here and here. Last summer I discovered Hertz Gets Fused by Suzanne Purvis. Hertz reminds me of the characters in Gordon Korman books: a kid who loves being a kid and fun is his ultimate goal.

Unfortunately, having fun (in Hertz’s case, video gaming) gets him in a bit of trouble and turns his whole summer upside down.

Synopsis:

Tech-obsessed twelve-year-old Hertz Zindler gets into Godzilla-sized trouble when he accidentally starts an electrical fire in his bedroom. Bad enough, all his tech stuff is ruined, but worse—Avis, his mom’s guide dog, gets grazed by a fire truck leaving the scene and the poor dog is traumatized and unable to guide.

Hertz’s mom heads to Texas to train with a new guide dog, and Hertz and Avis head to Show Low, Arizona where an unconventional great-uncle has agreed to babysit Hertz. Not what Hertz planned for his summer. He’s stuck in an Airstream trailer park for retirees, struggling to squash his shame and hide his boredom.

Then a flicker of hope. The town-sponsored scavenger hunt provides the means—a cash prize! If Hertz wins, he can buy a used laptop at the local pawn shop and get reconnected.

But Hertz’s past, along with a string of dumpster fires, have him labeled as the sheriff’s number one arson suspect.

Now Hertz must build a team, win the scavenger hunt, avoid the sheriff, and expose the real fire starter or he could end up in juvie jail. (from Amazon)

Highlights of Hertz Gets Fused:

1.    A novel in verse. I don’t read many novels in verse, but this one worked on so many levels. It’s perfect for Hertz’s voice and is infused with humor and heart. Also, the sparse text will appeal to reluctant readers. One of my favorite lines (although it’s hard to pick) is when Hertz sees his house on fire and debates about telling his mom:  “I delay my launch/of the truth starship.” 

2.    A realistic boy protagonist, who happens to be a gamer: Reading about Hertz reminded me how many of former students love to game. Hertz’s voice was authentic, and kids will relate to his dilemma. My younger son didn’t like Hertz because he was so self-centered at first, but trust me, stick with him, and he grows on you.

3.    Memorable characters: Hertz, his mom, Pops, Hertz’s great uncle, and his scavenger hunt partners, Fey and Allen, leap off this page. This is in part to Suzanne’s memorable descriptions, like this one about Pops: “The rodent over his left eye twitches. / Might be a wink.”

4.    A fun plot: For a fairly short (207 page) novel with sparse text, Suzanne packed in a lot of plot. I really enjoyed reading about the Scavenger Hunt, the zany people of Show Low, and how Hertz always managed to get himself into the craziest situations.

5.    A perfect ending. The ending was filled with action (and peril for Avis the dog!), and Hertz proves in more than one way that he’s really truly changed.

Max, the Reading Dog*

 

 

 

Max’s Take ( on a five bone scale): 🦴🦴🦴🦴

Finally, a book with an interesting dog! Avis is a survivor and my hero. He’s not just a minor character either. Woof! Woof!

 

 

About the author:

I'm Suzanne Purvis, a writer and artist transplanted from Canada to the often unnoticed, and sometimes forgotten coast of the Florida Panhandle. Wedged up against Alabama and Georgia, the Deep South oozes into this corner of Florida, and once you visit you won't want to leave. That's what happened to me. Hard to resist the sweet tea, sweeter accents, the sugar white beaches, and turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 
I write poetry and fiction of the long, short, and flash variety for both children and adults, usually with a touch of humor. (from https://www.suzannepurvis.com/) 

 

*If you're a dog lover, check out her page all about her dogs! 

Suzanne has another book coming out next year: 

 

Your Turn:

Do you like novels in verse? What are your favorite reads this summer?

 

MMGM: Breaking the Fourth Wall: Richard Ayoade’s Hilarious Ode to Unloved Books

 

After reading The Fairy Tale Fan Club, I wanted to check out other books by Richard Ayoade. When I discovered he wrote a book with a very intriguing title, The Book That No One Wanted to Read, of course I had to check it out.

If you like whimsical books that break the fourth wall, are a little zany, and of course, don’t take themselves too seriously (as all books should), you will love this book!

Synopsis:

From actor-author-broadcaster-comedian-filmmaker Richard Ayoade comes a book narrated by . . . a book. Quirky, smart, and genre-busting, this is the saga of a book that nobody wants to read—until the day it meets YOU.

The life of a book isn’t easy, especially when people judge you by your cover (not every book can be adorned with sparkly unicorns!). And this narrator should know—it’s the book itself, and it has a lot of opinions. It gets irritated when readers bend its pages back, and it finds authors quite annoying. But it does have a story to tell. Through witty direct address and charming illustrations, readers meet a book that has never been read, with a cover the boring color of a school lunch table and pages so dry they give bookworms indigestion. But what happens when this book meets you, a curious reader.  (excerpted from Amazon)

Highlights of The Book That No One Wanted to Read:

 
1.    A book as the narrator/main character. I’ve seen a trend of more middle grade books being “written” by inanimate objects. And I even wrote a short story told from the point of view of a book. I think readers who enjoy the asides of omniscient narrators like Lemony Snicket or the narrator in Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place will enjoy Ayoade’s book narrator.

2.    You are a character in this book too! Second person is not often done in middle grade, but it really works here. I really enjoyed the dialogue between the book and you (the child)—and I think kids will too.

3.    Illustrations and diagrams. From "Invisibility Problems," to "How to Control a Camel," to comics entitled “Getting a Book to Admit It’s a Book”—there are delightful illustrations by Tor Freeman throughout. These, of course, add to the fun and whimsy of the book that no one wants to read—yet. 

p. 55 The Book That No One Wanted To Read

4.    An ending that is funny and touching. I wasn’t sure where the story was going through most of this book, but it ended on the right note—giving kids something to do and giving the book as a character an arc. Is that even possible for a book to grow? Maybe it is.

5.    Lots of learning about story in a humorous way: Ayoade touches on stock characters, plot structure, libraries, and other book elements in a fun way. Kids—and adults—always learn best with some laughter thrown in.

6.    And of course, tons of laugh out loud humor!

Max, the Reading Dog*

Max’s Take (on a five bone scale):🦴🦴

Lots of animals in this story: donkeys, worms, louses, alligators, chickens, but no dogs. Dogs like to read too! Instead of a book worm, why not a Reading Dog? Ugh!

 

 

 

Your Turn:

What is the funniest book you've read lately? Do you like unusual narrators or books that break the fourth wall?

 

MMGM: Travel to the Past on The Cargo of the Madalena

 

Don't be fooled by this cover. The book is more exciting. I promise!

When my boys were younger, we loved reading historical fiction together, especially if it was immersive with a lot of details of the time. Adam of the Road, The Birchback House, and The Door in the Wall were a few favorites that live on in family yore.

When Valinora Troy, another MMGM blogger, recommended Ring Out Bow Bells, I thought it might be a similar read. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on that title, but I discovered another by Cynthia Harnett: The Cargo of the Madalena (originally published as The Load of the Unicorn in 1959). 

If you like immersive reads with a lot of historical details and illustrations and maps galore, you will love this book!

Synopsis:

Bendy, whose family runs a scrivener's shop in fifteenth-century London, solves the mystery when the master printer, William Caxton, fails to receive the paper shipped to him aboard the cargo ship "Madalena." (from Goodreads)

Highlights of The Cargo of the Madalena:

1.    A relatable main character. I’m always excited to find middle grades, especially historical fiction, with a boy main character. I totally felt for Bendy, who’s caught between his half-brothers who are  running their father’s scrivener business and his father, who’s trying to stick up for Bendy, but being pushed out by his older sons. Not to mention that his brothers are anti-printing press and Bendy and his father and intrigued by this new invention.

2.    Authentic period detail. This is not a time (London in 1482) that I know a lot about, but I learned so much about the scrivener business, the early printing press, life at Westminster, and the English countryside. A lot of the characters, like William Caxton, the printer, are also real historical persons.

p.132, illustration by Cynthia Harnett

3.    Illustrations by the author. I have heard that illustrations in middle grade are making a comeback. Yay! I enjoyed Harnett's drawings  of buildings, important items in the story, characters, and actions. These and the map in the back of the book really helped me to understand difficult concepts and visualize all those unfamiliar parts of the story. 

 

4.    An interesting mystery surrounding Le Morte d’Arthur. While the mystery of the missing paper was intriguing—and an attempted kidnapping gripping, I especially enjoyed the part of the book that dealt with how the most famous English version of King Arthur legends came to print.  

5.    An interesting theme that relates to modern times. Throughout the novel, as I was reading how the scriveners didn’t want the printing press to take off and ruin their business, I thought of all the transitions I've seen of an invention taking over an industry. (Remember video stores?) Of course, I couldn’t help but see the parallels with current debates over AI.

Max’s Take (on a five bone 🦴scale): 

Max, the Reading Dog*

 
Other than Bendy’s horse, there are no animals in this story! If Bendy had had me with him on his journey, he never would’ve gotten kidnapped. But it was an exciting story!

🦴🦴

Your Turn:

Have you read The Cargo of the Madalena or Le Morte d'Arthur ? What are your favorite historical fiction books or Arthurian legends?

 

ISWG: What’s Really Stopping You from Writing in a New Genre?

 

Photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash

What genre would I like to try but haven’t yet?

Does it count that I’ve dabbled a little in this genre? It’s not that I’ve never tried it. I’ve just stopped at one story: a picture book. But this summer I’ve had a few more picture book ideas fly into my brain.

My one picture book is a project I don’t quite know what to do with. My husband loves it. I’ve gotten some critiques and recently entered a SCBWI grant for it. 

But I keep thinking I’m a middle grade writer. What business do I have writing a picture book?

Yet, at one point middle grade was a great unknown. I had to learn about voice, the market, the genre, etc. I read and continue to read a ton of middle grades. Being a teacher and having to read 100 children’s books to get my degree did give me a good start.

Why don’t I do the same thing with picture books?

I tell myself the market is crowded, so I won’t be able to stand out. At our SCBWI events in Oregon, there’s always ten times as many picture book writers as middle grade and YA. I have heard that agents/editors are not interested in the type of picture book I’ve written. (And, no, it’s not rhyming.)

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

But all this is self-rejection. 

An unfortunate character trait I often display with my middle grade work too.

Why do we do this? We let ideas languish in notebooks and manuscripts waste away in our computer files.

But maybe after I finish this never-ending revision on my current middle grade manuscript, I’ll see if I can turn some of those ideas into picture books.

Maybe instead of self-rejecting or staying in the place where I’m a picture book newbie, I could take a class or read more picture books. I could do what I did to make middle grade come so easily to me now: 

Learn as much as I can.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

What about you? Is there a genre you haven’t tried yet? What is holding you back?

If you'd like to read more ISWG posts or sign up, please go HERE. You won't be disappointed.