Olivia Kidney and The Exit Academy [Hardcover]

Ellen Potter (Author), Peter Reynolds (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

What is it with Olivia Kidney and ghosts? No matter where she goes, they follow. Even when she moves into a brownstone in New York City, there is no escape from the weirdness that is Olivia Kidney's life. Her new living room is entirely submerged under water, and Olivia has to navigate in a boat past bobbing furniture and snapping turtles just to get to her bedroom. Complete strangers show up in the middle of the night to practice bumping into walls! And then, of course, there are the ghosts. This house holds secrets-Olivia can feel it. Why, she wonders, was she invited to live here? Come enter the amazing world of Olivia Kidney. At once moving and laugh-out-loud funny, it will forever capture your imagination. Ellen Potter is the freshest thing to happen to young fiction since Lemony Snicket.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a sequel to Ellen Potter's delightful Olivia Kidney, 12-year-old Olivia and her handyman father George report for duty ("a live-in situation") at 917 West 84th Street in New York City, a curious brownstone with a flooded first floor -- a lagoon complete with boats, floating furniture, and snapping turtles. The handsome young owner, Ansel Plover, seems quite charming, but a neighbor warns Olivia that the man is "mad, bad, and dangerous." Her worst fears are confirmed when a redheaded man she sees yelling at Ansel one night dies a mysterious death in Central Park. Worse still, her father is almost poisoned by a pie. Is their new landlord a killer? The perpetual new kid on the block, Olivia doesn't have many friends to console her, but she does have a special way of communicating with her dead brother Christopher. Can he somehow, even from the spirit world, help her unravel the mystery on 84th Street? Peter H. Reynold's cartoonish black-and-white illustrations contribute a modern sensibility to this engaging, deliciously imaginative novel where, as Olivia learns, it's best not to jump to conclusions. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Feisty Olivia Kidney is back again in another zany, surreal, and ultimately satisfying adventure. After her well-meaning but inept father is fired from yet another handyman job, he is offered a position as a live-in superintendent at a mysterious brownstone on West 84th Street. The novel believably fuses realism and fantasy; while life appears to be somewhat normal outside of the building, inside, the first floor is a lagoon that must be maneuvered via boat, and the handsome owner, Ansel Plover, welcomes puzzling late-night guests. Olivia discovers that these visitors are all about to die and come in a dreamlike state to the "Exit Academy" to rehearse their deaths. This may all sound rather macabre, but Potter imbues the story with large doses of humor, so even the practice death scenes have a vaudeville air about them. Plot strands abound as Olivia befriends neighbors who attend a ridiculous finishing school, meets a champion skateboarder in Central Park, and encounters two colorful characters–Madame Brenda and the Princepessa–from Olivia Kidney (Philomel, 2003). The writing crackles with energy, and, beneath the bizarre happenings, themes emerge that are connected to Olivia's personal growth and acceptance of her brother's death. The author adroitly draws all of the subplots together in a complex and inventive climax that will keep readers guessing till the last page.–Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399241620
• ISBN-13: 978-0399241628
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Like my character, Olivia Kidney, I grew up in a high-rise apartment building in New York City's Upper West Side. I think I always wanted to be a writer, even as a young kid. After graduating from college, I began writing short stories and a novel (for grownups), while working many odd (sometimes very odd) jobs. I worked as a dog groomer, a construction worker, and a waitress. Having lots of different jobs is a terrific advantage for a writer. Because of them, I know all kinds of weird things, like how to remove bubble gum from dog fur (peanut butter). In fact, it was while I was addressing envelopes during a boring stint as a receptionist that a name caught my eye: Olivia Kidney. What a great name, I thought! I jotted it down in my journal. Years later, while thumbing through my old journals, I spotted the name and decided it was perfect for the twelve-year-old heroine of my first children's book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sequel, July 12, 2005

By 

George Sapio (Spencer, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olivia Kidney and The Exit Academy (Hardcover)

Ms. Potter has done it again. Exit Academy is a wonderful sequel to a first-rate tale of a young girl growing up in New York City. Right from the start you are whisked off into the realm of the supernatural, where things are most definitely not what they seem (a good lesson for all of us to bear in mind). Exit Academy is hilarious, scary and flows beautifully. Ms. Potter has an excellent command of characterization, too; her characters are fascinating and distinct, and like the first novel, we want to see more of them. (She does in fact bring back a character from the first book, and expands its history.) Ms. Potter has a writing style that is unique, entrancing, and does not shy away from real-world truth. I highly recommend this to children and adults alike.
So when's the movie coming out?

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just because I illustrated this book...., October 15, 2005

By 

Peter H. Reynolds "Author & Illustrator" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olivia Kidney and The Exit Academy (Hardcover)

I fell in love with Olivia Kidney the first chapter I read of the first book. I was lucky enough to be the one asked to illustrate Ellen's fantastic world she has created. I agree with other reviewers that the story can be appreciated by adults as well. It is haunting and moving. I often describe this series as "Alice in Wonderland set in NYC, with a hint of Stephen King with a dash of Touched by an Angel." Weird and wonderful.
There IS in fact a movie in the works... stay tuned on Ellen Potter's website. A third book is also in the works - I am glad! Meanwhile I am busy on the Judy Moody series, as well as sequels to my books The Dot and Ish. My site has info on all my projects as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind masterpiece. A totally different and unique read., August 31, 2005

By 

Tsila Sofer Elguez "Tsila Sofer Elguez" (Haifa, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olivia Kidney and The Exit Academy (Hardcover)

This is such a good book, I feel it would be a waste to aim it at children only; neither do I think that children will understand all the many nuances, the richness and fullness of Ellen Potter's mixture of reality hardships, life and death issues, imagination and philosophical ideas. Off course, this is why this is such a good children book - because it has so many layers and can be experienced differently at every age.
"Olivia Kidney" was such a surprise, both wonderful and painful at the same time. This book is the second in what (hopefully) becomes a series and is no less interesting or elevating then the first. In fact I do believe that Ellen Potter outdid herself and reached new heights... I sound a little pompous but besides truly loving the book I feel the author also bravely dealt with a difficult issue.
The main story is about Olivia and her father, moving, once again, to a new place. Olivia is used to this routine but she never expected to arrive to such an amazing house and to meet such strange people. Olivia and her father arrive at the house of Ansel Pover and his assistant, the lovely Nora, but this is only the cover to several side stories entangled into a wide tale with some very coherent messages. Great characters (some of whom we met in the previous book) join Olivia in her journey to understand...
In the first book Olivia reaches some sort of acceptance with the death of her beloved brother Christopher through a very painful process involving contact with the other world. In this second book Ellen Potter chose a very direct approach to the issue of death itself. Death is a major issue here and it is not hushed aside but dealt with from many angels.
From the adult side, all the ideas about death and the ways to prepare for death sound very right and wanted and it is only too bad we cannot adopt them into our lives. The book proceeds in a manner that makes you think about it in a different way every step of the way. A good example would be the show Olivia watches, about the bear attacking the woman which was perceived by me as an ironical and comical tale about the relationship of an unfit couple. The ending was understood as a sort of awful "punishment" the wife receives for dragging her husband to the woods; then the story moves on and we now know this was only a death rehearsal and our whole perception changes.
I found this book to be very comforting and lovely in the sense that it looks death directly in the eye and makes it less intimidating. Ellen Potter has created all the technical devices to help you struggle: the animal, the repetitions, the preparations. I loved the idea of a death script that needs to be rehearsed

We can only hope that Ellen Potter knows more then us and some of what she tells about is true.