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Flinkwater #1
The Flinkwater Factor
Ginger must save her high-tech hometown from robots gone rogue in this hilariously quirky science fiction novel from National Book Award–winning author Pete Hautman.
Welcome to Flinkwater, Iowa, home of the largest manufacturer of Articulated Computerized Peripheral Devices in the world. If you own a robot, it probably came from Flinkwater.
Meet Ginger Crump, the plucky, precocious (and somewhat sarcastic) genius who finds herself in the middle of a national emergency when Flinkwater’s computers start turning people into vegetables. Mental vegetables, that is. In Ginger’s words, they’ve been “bonked.”
When Ginger’s father is bonked, she recruits her self-declared future husband, boy genius Billy George, to help her find the source of the bonkings. Soon they’re up against a talking dog, a sasquatch, and a zombie, while Flinkwater is invaded by an army of black SUVs led by the witless-but-dangerous Agent Ffelps from Homeland Security. Can Ginger get to the bottom of the bonkings, or will computer chaos reign forever?
Welcome to Flinkwater, Iowa, home of the largest manufacturer of Articulated Computerized Peripheral Devices in the world. If you own a robot, it probably came from Flinkwater.
Meet Ginger Crump, the plucky, precocious (and somewhat sarcastic) genius who finds herself in the middle of a national emergency when Flinkwater’s computers start turning people into vegetables. Mental vegetables, that is. In Ginger’s words, they’ve been “bonked.”
When Ginger’s father is bonked, she recruits her self-declared future husband, boy genius Billy George, to help her find the source of the bonkings. Soon they’re up against a talking dog, a sasquatch, and a zombie, while Flinkwater is invaded by an army of black SUVs led by the witless-but-dangerous Agent Ffelps from Homeland Security. Can Ginger get to the bottom of the bonkings, or will computer chaos reign forever?
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2015
5 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Pete Hautman
59 books358 followersPeter Murray Hautman is an American author best known for his novels for young adults. One of them, Godless, won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The National Book Foundation summary is, "A teenage boy decides to invent a new religion with a new god."
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 8, 2015
The story: Smart girl Ginger Crump knows there's something really fishy going on in the high-tech town of Flinkwater. She also knows she's in imminent danger of turning fourteen without having had her first kiss. Which problem should she tackle first? The mysterious "bonking" of people as they sit in front of their computers, or maybe the one about the talking animals, or possibly the one about the missing technology giant? Or should she just concentrate on getting her future husband, Billy George, to notice her enough to lay one on her? Decisions, decisions.
(NYP: September 1, 2015) June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; substance abuse G; magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes G; overall rating PG (techno-speak makes this better for the MS crowd, although good 4th-5th grade readers could enjoy it too.)
Liz's comments: I have to love a book that makes me laugh out loud, and they're harder to find than you might think. So go, Ginger! Her snappy, sarcastic style, her frank acceptance of the fact that she's a smart girl, and her ability to be in the right place at the wrong time make her a funny and fantastic narrator. Highly recommended!
ANNOTATION WITH SPOILERS:
The Flinkwater factor is the idea that lots of brainy people working together makes astonishing things happen. It’s demonstrated in the book’s Five Thrilling Episodes! First thrilling episode: When Ginger Crump goes to see her friend Theo’s new D-Monix tablet computer, she finds him comatose and drooling on the bed. And Theo’s just the first of more than a hundred people rendered senseless by hidden programming in the Brazen Bulls’ high school screen saver (whoops! Screenie). Ginger immediately assumes it’s something cooked up at ACPOD, the giant technology corporation headquartered in their town, whose CEO is George G. George. George has two sons: sociopath JG, and Ginger’s future husband Billy. (Or, this is his destiny, according to her, if he ever looks up from his computer screen long enough to notice her.) The Department of Homeland Security shuts the town down until answers are found, and even Ginger’s dad falls victim to being “bonked”. Ginger eventually figures out that Billy inserted negative subliminal messages about his brother JG into the high school’s screen saver, which causes a neurological glitch in the bonked people; Billy figures out that if he uses the Projac (an upgraded Taser) on those in the comas, they’ll wake up.
Second thrilling episode: Ginger finds Redge, a talking dog. Or rather, similar to the dog in “UP!” it has a collar, with electrodes attached to its skull, that speaks what the dog is thinking. When confronted with an animal problem, Ginger goes to her friend Myke Duchakis, who is president of the local chapter of AAPT: “Animals are People, Too.” He confesses that he’s the one who busted the dog, along with a talking monkey, out of the ACPOD lab, which proves ACPOD is conducting illegal experiments. They get Billy to help them, sneaking through the storm sewers to keep under the radar of DHS, which is still holding the town under martial law, and while they’re in the park, they actually see the local urban-legend Sasquatch. In Billy’s basement bunker bedroom, they de-wire the dog; arriving at home, Ginger sees Agent Ffelps (two Ffs) sitting in her front room waiting to quiz her about the missing animal. She sends them on a wild goose chase, and finds the dog a home with a roofer in the next town.
Third thrilling episode: Ginger decides she really needs to work on scoring her first kiss before she turns fourteen in a couple months. Billy is the only boy on her list of possibilities that actually fulfills all her requirements, so she makes a list of what to do to ensnare him in the right ambience. After a failed practice run on the clueless Myke Duchakis (he’s busy being distracted by the talking monkey he’s managed to re-capture), she invites Billy to meet her in the town’s most romantic spot but is told he’s working with Professor Little at the high school on nanobots. The man has figured out a way to use them to remove moles (of which he has a creepy plethora). The kids save him from nanobot overkill, then follow him to the airport to meet his (never-before-seen) fiancée, who turns out to also have a rather prominent mole. Such things in common! They’re happily getting to know each other as Billy is getting arrested for telling the TSA attendants he knows how to get a bomb into the airport. Ginger has to make a quick getaway, and then settle for getting kissed by her three-year-old cousin.
Episode four starts with Ginger getting home to find her parents sitting in the front room with the Flinkwater Sasquatch! Actually, the Sasquatch is really Gil Bates (based on Bill Gates, no doubt about it!) who’s been missing for ten years since the disappearance of his son and suicide of his wife. Turns out he’s been in touch with Ginger’s parents (and used to DATE her mom, as did Josh Stevens, the CEO of competitor D-Monix). He’s angry that George G. George, the acting CEO, has the company conducting illegal R&D, so he’s getting ready to go denounce him. As Ginger explains her and Billy’s parts in the story, Bates gets interested in meeting the boy. Somewhat later, Billy himself turns up with the Feds hot on his heels (he’s picked the lock at the jail) and they all get arrested.
Episode Five: While they’re in jail, Josh Stevens shows up with Agent Ffelps in tow, announcing that he’s made a hostile takeover of ACPOD, with George George’s help. Billy and Gil have a lock-picking competition (tie) and they all get away with the help of JG, Billy’s sociopathic older brother who, because of his increased popularity due to the embedding of subliminal messages about him, has sort of turned over a new leaf. The group moves to the ACPOD campus, takes a thought collar, and uses it on Ffelps. He can’t help but think about the questions they ask him, which result in a blurted explanation by the collar. Josh Stevens wants to rule ACPOD to make up for his humiliation years ago when the ACPOD Dustbots overthrew his initial invention, the Dustbunny. He’s working with George. He also confesses that he and the other two knew that Billy is the missing son of Gil Bates, kidnapped and then adopted by George George. No wonder he doesn’t look/act like the other two Georges, or that he was stashed in a basement bunker most of his life (not that he minded). All mysteries are solved, and Ginger, after tackling Billy to save him from being fired on by what turns out to be a paintball drone, actually gets her kiss! All’s right with the world.
(NYP: September 1, 2015) June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; substance abuse G; magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes G; overall rating PG (techno-speak makes this better for the MS crowd, although good 4th-5th grade readers could enjoy it too.)
Liz's comments: I have to love a book that makes me laugh out loud, and they're harder to find than you might think. So go, Ginger! Her snappy, sarcastic style, her frank acceptance of the fact that she's a smart girl, and her ability to be in the right place at the wrong time make her a funny and fantastic narrator. Highly recommended!
ANNOTATION WITH SPOILERS:
The Flinkwater factor is the idea that lots of brainy people working together makes astonishing things happen. It’s demonstrated in the book’s Five Thrilling Episodes! First thrilling episode: When Ginger Crump goes to see her friend Theo’s new D-Monix tablet computer, she finds him comatose and drooling on the bed. And Theo’s just the first of more than a hundred people rendered senseless by hidden programming in the Brazen Bulls’ high school screen saver (whoops! Screenie). Ginger immediately assumes it’s something cooked up at ACPOD, the giant technology corporation headquartered in their town, whose CEO is George G. George. George has two sons: sociopath JG, and Ginger’s future husband Billy. (Or, this is his destiny, according to her, if he ever looks up from his computer screen long enough to notice her.) The Department of Homeland Security shuts the town down until answers are found, and even Ginger’s dad falls victim to being “bonked”. Ginger eventually figures out that Billy inserted negative subliminal messages about his brother JG into the high school’s screen saver, which causes a neurological glitch in the bonked people; Billy figures out that if he uses the Projac (an upgraded Taser) on those in the comas, they’ll wake up.
Second thrilling episode: Ginger finds Redge, a talking dog. Or rather, similar to the dog in “UP!” it has a collar, with electrodes attached to its skull, that speaks what the dog is thinking. When confronted with an animal problem, Ginger goes to her friend Myke Duchakis, who is president of the local chapter of AAPT: “Animals are People, Too.” He confesses that he’s the one who busted the dog, along with a talking monkey, out of the ACPOD lab, which proves ACPOD is conducting illegal experiments. They get Billy to help them, sneaking through the storm sewers to keep under the radar of DHS, which is still holding the town under martial law, and while they’re in the park, they actually see the local urban-legend Sasquatch. In Billy’s basement bunker bedroom, they de-wire the dog; arriving at home, Ginger sees Agent Ffelps (two Ffs) sitting in her front room waiting to quiz her about the missing animal. She sends them on a wild goose chase, and finds the dog a home with a roofer in the next town.
Third thrilling episode: Ginger decides she really needs to work on scoring her first kiss before she turns fourteen in a couple months. Billy is the only boy on her list of possibilities that actually fulfills all her requirements, so she makes a list of what to do to ensnare him in the right ambience. After a failed practice run on the clueless Myke Duchakis (he’s busy being distracted by the talking monkey he’s managed to re-capture), she invites Billy to meet her in the town’s most romantic spot but is told he’s working with Professor Little at the high school on nanobots. The man has figured out a way to use them to remove moles (of which he has a creepy plethora). The kids save him from nanobot overkill, then follow him to the airport to meet his (never-before-seen) fiancée, who turns out to also have a rather prominent mole. Such things in common! They’re happily getting to know each other as Billy is getting arrested for telling the TSA attendants he knows how to get a bomb into the airport. Ginger has to make a quick getaway, and then settle for getting kissed by her three-year-old cousin.
Episode four starts with Ginger getting home to find her parents sitting in the front room with the Flinkwater Sasquatch! Actually, the Sasquatch is really Gil Bates (based on Bill Gates, no doubt about it!) who’s been missing for ten years since the disappearance of his son and suicide of his wife. Turns out he’s been in touch with Ginger’s parents (and used to DATE her mom, as did Josh Stevens, the CEO of competitor D-Monix). He’s angry that George G. George, the acting CEO, has the company conducting illegal R&D, so he’s getting ready to go denounce him. As Ginger explains her and Billy’s parts in the story, Bates gets interested in meeting the boy. Somewhat later, Billy himself turns up with the Feds hot on his heels (he’s picked the lock at the jail) and they all get arrested.
Episode Five: While they’re in jail, Josh Stevens shows up with Agent Ffelps in tow, announcing that he’s made a hostile takeover of ACPOD, with George George’s help. Billy and Gil have a lock-picking competition (tie) and they all get away with the help of JG, Billy’s sociopathic older brother who, because of his increased popularity due to the embedding of subliminal messages about him, has sort of turned over a new leaf. The group moves to the ACPOD campus, takes a thought collar, and uses it on Ffelps. He can’t help but think about the questions they ask him, which result in a blurted explanation by the collar. Josh Stevens wants to rule ACPOD to make up for his humiliation years ago when the ACPOD Dustbots overthrew his initial invention, the Dustbunny. He’s working with George. He also confesses that he and the other two knew that Billy is the missing son of Gil Bates, kidnapped and then adopted by George George. No wonder he doesn’t look/act like the other two Georges, or that he was stashed in a basement bunker most of his life (not that he minded). All mysteries are solved, and Ginger, after tackling Billy to save him from being fired on by what turns out to be a paintball drone, actually gets her kiss! All’s right with the world.
October 22, 2015
The Funny, Action, Science Book You've Been Looking For
This is a smart and sophisticated, very crisp and funny, science based high-tech action story that is perfectly aimed at and accessible to an alert middle grade reader.
The burg of Flinkwater, Iowa is home to a super advanced computing/research/science facility and everybody in town is associated, one way or the other, with the weird and unpredictable projects being conducted there. Sometimes that stuff gets out of hand and the chaos spreads through the town. In many ways the underlying feel of Flinkwater, the interlocked stories that make up the book, and the quirky characters, are similar to what was done in the television show "Eureka", which had a similar premise.
Here, though, our narrator is precocious thirteen year old Ginger, a wise, observant, funny, slightly sarcastic, authentic and goodhearted self proclaimed science nerd. Ginger, who is one of the most engaging and refreshing middle grade heroines I've read lately, is the science/geek/tech girl that every cultural commentator has been looking for. She knows her science, is comfortable with computing and engineering, offers a lot of witty commentary on science nerd culture, and totally holds her own as the manic action unfolds.
As her sidekick, Ginger has Billy, the super genius guy on whom she crushes, and who has no idea that he is her boyfriend. That sounds cute or icky, but it's actually a pretty funny and rather charming twist on those old-fashioned romantic conventions about a girl setting her sights on a guy. This isn't a huge part of the book, but it adds a sweet bit of variety and humor to the narrative. More important are the secondary characters. You can't have an exotic and quirky town without exotic and quirky characters, and this book is loaded with mad scientists, nutty professors, sweetly befuddled scientists, villainous conspirators and a wide range of attractively odd sorts. Sort of like having lunch at the Engineering Quad cafeteria.
Interestingly, Ginger's parents, and many other helpful adults, are described and treated affectionately. They, in turn, can be rational, resourceful and patient. For example, every now and then Ginger calls her paranoid, ex-CIA Uncle Ashton for advice, and those conversations are a hoot. Or another example, Ginger's conversations with her mother are insightful and even touching, and reflect their mutual regard and conflict. The author never goes for the cheap, easy sarcastic out, but tries to do new and fresh things with such relationships. And of course Redge, the dog with a collar that broadcasts his thoughts, adds more gentle humor.
While there is an overarching plot of sorts, that mainly serves to string together a number of episodes and sub-plots so that this feels a little bit like an anthology with recurring characters. That's a pretty clever strategy for a middle grade book, because there are natural breaks and the plotting doesn't get too convoluted or tedious. This almost-episodic what-will-happen-next? approach suits the material and the narrator very well.
So, if you've been wondering where all of the funny high tech girl heroine action books for middle graders have gone, here's a really good one. (Two other things: 1) an engaging brief addendum addresses what in the book is real science, what's fiction, and what's in-between; 2) don't be mislead, the book's cover is younger, cuter, and simpler than is the book itself.)
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
This is a smart and sophisticated, very crisp and funny, science based high-tech action story that is perfectly aimed at and accessible to an alert middle grade reader.
The burg of Flinkwater, Iowa is home to a super advanced computing/research/science facility and everybody in town is associated, one way or the other, with the weird and unpredictable projects being conducted there. Sometimes that stuff gets out of hand and the chaos spreads through the town. In many ways the underlying feel of Flinkwater, the interlocked stories that make up the book, and the quirky characters, are similar to what was done in the television show "Eureka", which had a similar premise.
Here, though, our narrator is precocious thirteen year old Ginger, a wise, observant, funny, slightly sarcastic, authentic and goodhearted self proclaimed science nerd. Ginger, who is one of the most engaging and refreshing middle grade heroines I've read lately, is the science/geek/tech girl that every cultural commentator has been looking for. She knows her science, is comfortable with computing and engineering, offers a lot of witty commentary on science nerd culture, and totally holds her own as the manic action unfolds.
As her sidekick, Ginger has Billy, the super genius guy on whom she crushes, and who has no idea that he is her boyfriend. That sounds cute or icky, but it's actually a pretty funny and rather charming twist on those old-fashioned romantic conventions about a girl setting her sights on a guy. This isn't a huge part of the book, but it adds a sweet bit of variety and humor to the narrative. More important are the secondary characters. You can't have an exotic and quirky town without exotic and quirky characters, and this book is loaded with mad scientists, nutty professors, sweetly befuddled scientists, villainous conspirators and a wide range of attractively odd sorts. Sort of like having lunch at the Engineering Quad cafeteria.
Interestingly, Ginger's parents, and many other helpful adults, are described and treated affectionately. They, in turn, can be rational, resourceful and patient. For example, every now and then Ginger calls her paranoid, ex-CIA Uncle Ashton for advice, and those conversations are a hoot. Or another example, Ginger's conversations with her mother are insightful and even touching, and reflect their mutual regard and conflict. The author never goes for the cheap, easy sarcastic out, but tries to do new and fresh things with such relationships. And of course Redge, the dog with a collar that broadcasts his thoughts, adds more gentle humor.
While there is an overarching plot of sorts, that mainly serves to string together a number of episodes and sub-plots so that this feels a little bit like an anthology with recurring characters. That's a pretty clever strategy for a middle grade book, because there are natural breaks and the plotting doesn't get too convoluted or tedious. This almost-episodic what-will-happen-next? approach suits the material and the narrator very well.
So, if you've been wondering where all of the funny high tech girl heroine action books for middle graders have gone, here's a really good one. (Two other things: 1) an engaging brief addendum addresses what in the book is real science, what's fiction, and what's in-between; 2) don't be mislead, the book's cover is younger, cuter, and simpler than is the book itself.)
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
August 17, 2015
Ginger Crump lives in the small town of Flinkwater, Iowa, where most people including her parents work for ACPOD, a technology company specializing in robots. When a majority of the people in town start falling into a mysterious, computer-induced comas, Ginger and her friend Billy decide to investigate. Although they quickly find a cure, the town is shut down by Homeland Security agents. Ginger and Billy happen across more strange occurrences, entangling themselves further with the DHS agents.This is a fast-paced, technological adventure full of witty dialogue and quirky characters. Ginger is smart and funny and willing to put herself on the line to save her family and friends. At the end of the book there is a fun list of which technologies are real and which are imagined for the book. Highly recommended for grades 4-8.
ARC provided by publisher
ARC provided by publisher
October 6, 2015
Speculative fiction for younger readers has recently been frought with quasi-dystopian overflow from the adult and older YA sections.
"The Flinkwater Factor" was a pleasant surprise from the library and showed the lighthearted approach to emerging technology that has been missing for a while.
It's written for tweens (grades 4-6), but I would still recommend it to younger students and some older students. Hautman hits the sweet spot of easy to read, but not condescending in tone.
"The Flinkwater Factor" was a pleasant surprise from the library and showed the lighthearted approach to emerging technology that has been missing for a while.
It's written for tweens (grades 4-6), but I would still recommend it to younger students and some older students. Hautman hits the sweet spot of easy to read, but not condescending in tone.
March 26, 2016
Silly and funny junior high sci fi caper with dust bots (which I'd love to have in my home) a sasquatch, and a talking dog. Chapters about kissing and "hotness" of an adult make this one most appropriate for middle school.
November 29, 2017
A serendipitous birthday pick - I'm actually giving this 3.5 stars, since I'm somewhere between "I liked it" and "I really liked it." My husband and I (okay, just I) found an independent mystery bookstore while out for my birthday dinner - 9 minutes before it closed. So I asked the owner for a top recommendation for me to browse for our school library. She showed me this - by a local author, who has also won a National Book Award (for Godless) and an Edgar Award (for Mr. Was) - and it was signed. So Happy Birthday to me! :-)
This was fun - good, clean, tongue-in-cheek, sort-of-science-fiction (but not so much as to be boring) fun. It's a beginner YA novel, with a bit of wit and sarcasm, a few sprinklings of early teen angst (sprinkled with humor) and a decent mixing of what Hautman would call "sciency fiction." Just judge this one by it's cover (particularly the back cover). It's funny.
This was fun - good, clean, tongue-in-cheek, sort-of-science-fiction (but not so much as to be boring) fun. It's a beginner YA novel, with a bit of wit and sarcasm, a few sprinklings of early teen angst (sprinkled with humor) and a decent mixing of what Hautman would call "sciency fiction." Just judge this one by it's cover (particularly the back cover). It's funny.
November 22, 2017
C. children's fiction, grade 6, science fiction, mythical town, series (Flinkwater #1) Good story line.... but why do some authors feel like in order to make it appealing to youngsters that they need to include lowbrow references and slang?
February 3, 2022
Ginger and her future husband live a town very similar to SyFy's Eureka. Bonks, zaps, zombies, sasquatches, talking dogs, and poo flinging monkeys are all in a days work for these kids but is there something more sinister tying these events all together?
January 20, 2018
Grant and I read this together, and we both enjoyed it. A fun, slightly "futuristic" story with quirky characters.
February 19, 2017
This was a funny, smart book with great central characters. Set in a town that reminded me of the tv show Eureka, the story features a strange malady that, despite all the geniuses around, takes young Ginger Crump and her sidekick Billy (her one day husband, according to Ginger) to solve. The book actually presents several mysteries that the duo untangle in clever and hilarious ways. There are plenty of gadgets and lots of futuristic inventions that the team make use of and encounter around town. Part of the humor comes from the battle of wits between Ginger and the Homeland Security team, chiefly agent Phelps. This is a book for every kid that wanted to prove themselves smarter than a bullying adult and/or rebel in ways that they were too clever to get caught at--in other words, everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am happy to see that it has a sequel. I hope it becomes a series because I want to see what other mischief and mysteries Ginger and Billy can tackle again.
April 29, 2018
I love this series(i read this one after the second book, but WHATEVER!!! :D). The book is about two teens and it is from the perspective of a girl called Ginger Crump. She and a boy called Billy George are trying to fight the bonking happening around town. They also find out a ton of other stuff after higher security is provided around Flinkwater(the town). I dont want to say more cause it is probably gonna be more fun to get surprised with the events in the book than me naming a few too many.
February 21, 2017
Meh. Read it for my tween book club and am interested to hear what the target audience thinks. The characters felt a little too stereotyped, but there were some fun sci-fi robotics things and a pretty good twist at the end.
2017 Reading Challenge: A book with an eccentric character
2017 Reading Challenge: A book with an eccentric character
April 21, 2016
This is an enjoyable middle-grade novel, centered around a thirteen-year-old girl named Ginger, who lives in Iowa. But forget everything you think you know about life in Iowa, because Ginger lives in Flinkwater, Iowa, which is the center of all robot production in the world. Not only that, but things have started to weird. REALLY weird. Over the course of the book, Ginger has to deal with a possible sasquatch, talking dogs, people being mysteriously "bonked," and the fact that she's never been kissed. That's okay, though, because Ginger always has a plan, and the smarts to make her plans become a reality. Or at least something close to it.
Ginger's snark and grit really made this a fun read for me. It's definitely aimed at middle-grade readers, but I enjoyed the humor, characters, and all the fun pop culture references. It's set in the near future, so there's a lot for "older" readers to appreciate as characters discuss ancient things like dial-up phones. An additional bit of fun is added by the scientific/engineering/technology angle that examines the morality and applications of future (but not too far in the future!) tech.
As a forty-three year old male, I found it a quick, fun, read. As a sixth-grade English teacher, I recommend it to readers who enjoy quirky, plucky protagonists and engaging, exciting books!
Ginger's snark and grit really made this a fun read for me. It's definitely aimed at middle-grade readers, but I enjoyed the humor, characters, and all the fun pop culture references. It's set in the near future, so there's a lot for "older" readers to appreciate as characters discuss ancient things like dial-up phones. An additional bit of fun is added by the scientific/engineering/technology angle that examines the morality and applications of future (but not too far in the future!) tech.
As a forty-three year old male, I found it a quick, fun, read. As a sixth-grade English teacher, I recommend it to readers who enjoy quirky, plucky protagonists and engaging, exciting books!
October 1, 2015
My only real problem with this book is that the mystery of the tablets and the bonked people had so much potential, but it's solved in only one of the sections. It's sorta important in the other sections, but I'm still disappointed it wasn't a bigger deal. All the different technology where very good, but with Rumbas being mentioned as when Agent Ffelps was a kid, does that mean this book is set in the near future, like when I'm an adult? I really like the cover, and Ginger's family's secret room. I definitely also want to get a secret room in my future house. :)
October 31, 2015
The cover of this book implies that this is some kiddie cartoon novel, but it's actually a very smart science-fiction action-packed story that takes places in the near future about an Apple-esque tech company creating artificial intelligence. I really enjoyed it, which I guess is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Middle and high school students would love this, and I enjoyed the end notes about which scientific discoveries in the book are real now, and which ones haven't been invented yet.
April 2, 2016
Pretty sure "madcap" is the best word for this fast-paced, funny, somewhat chaotic book brimming with techno-jargon. The plot started to lose me as it went on and grew more convoluted, but I did greatly appreciate a character's request for "Earl Grey, hot." I'd suggest it to readers in grades 4-7 who like their books on the wacky side.
September 20, 2016
5th-7th grades. Campy lite sci-fi, with female protagonist. Funny, quirky story with talking dogs, zombies, Sasquatch, and lots of gadgets and technology. Fast-paced, mostly plot but main character has an authentic voice. The tone and campiness is similar to What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World & Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
May 12, 2016
This was a cute book I think middle readers would enjoy. It's split into five "episodes" that are loosely connected. The town is called Flinkwater in Iowa. There is a shout out to Omaha, NE. This book has a lot of potty humor which is fine...but great for middle readers.
May 2, 2015
fun!
June 11, 2015
A fun story about several super smart and geeky people getting together and doing smart, geeky things! Love all the "sciency" things!
October 23, 2015
Fun and campy, its the return of science fiction that will not be confused with fantasy nor be considered dystopia!
February 9, 2016
So much fun. Snarky, great strong female characters. Kinda crazy in a good way.
February 15, 2016
Fun, sciency, techie novel with a smart and plucky female heroine.
April 4, 2016
Meh. I should have liked this techy kinda company conspiracy book, but it felt thrown together.
December 14, 2016
Mildly amusing, but nowhere as clever or funny as it thinks it is.
November 15, 2016
Funny, adventurous sciency story. Good characterisation and plotting. An enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews