Customer Reviews

Science Fair

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My boys and I enjoyed this book. It was fun and humorous for all of us. However, just like many kids' books, shows, and movies aimed at this age group, it demonstrated a huge disrespect for adults. For example, Toby, the lead character, lied and stole from his parents, didn't adhere to his parents' discipline, thought of his parents as weird, and gave every teacher a not-so-nice nickname. I can take this in a story if by the end there are some redemptive qualities revealed but there were none here. My one child has a great sense of right and wrong and can hear such a story and not have problems. My other child, however, already seems to think he knows more than any adult and this book only fed that thought of his. Consequently, despite the fun, we had to have a discussion at the end of it. So just know what you are getting into.

I previously enjoyed the first two novels of the Peter and the Starcatchers series that Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry wrote, but I found Science Fair to be hilarious.

Science Fair is set in a middle school in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. Toby, the main character, is enrolled in the school's gifted program, along with other gifted students and others whose rich, powerful parents have bought their way in. The rich parents are obsessed with their kids' success to the point that they do the work for their kids. For example, one mother was said to have worked hard for all of her son's grades, starting with the professionally bound animal report he turned in in first grade.

Each year, the school conducts a science fair with a large corporate-sponsored prize. One of the rich kids always wins, because they purchase complicated projects from a strange store in the mall. However, there is a problem - Grdankl the Strong, the leader of the rogue nation of Krpshtskan, has enlisted an operative to rig the science fair so that the rich kids' projects can be utilized for a terrorist plot. Toby finds out about this, and he and his friends have to fix things.

The plot and the details of Science Fair are absurd and over the top, but that is why I enjoyed it so much. Barry describes Krpshtskan in a way similar to the fictional Kazakhstan in Borat, with details like the national holiday for the tournament of the fighting death hamsters and Grdankl's slogan of "Vote for Grdankl or die." Another episode I found amusing was when two of Grdankl's operatives who were sent unwillingly to the U.S. to straighten out problems became addicted to the Home Shopping Network.

Science Fair is a book that definitely would appeal to kids, with its mix of humor and action. In fact, I loaned it to one of my sixth graders after I finished and he read the entire book in a single day. It would also appeal to adults who can enjoy a book that doesn't take itself seriously.

I'm a 29 year old woman but this book had me in stitches beginning to end. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson are a great team. This book is funnier than the Peter and the Starcatcher series (though I recommend those as well. Peter and the Starcatchers: The Starcatchers Series Books 1-3: Paperback Box Set (20the Starcatchers Series Books))

I found this book to have a well placed plot and easy to follow characters. (Except for the surprise ending!) The comedy of errors was much along the lines of his "Big Trouble", with one farcical situation after another, but also acceptable for a younger audience.

Barry and Pearson have hooked me on their writing team and I will continue to look for more of their great "juvenile" works.

At Hubble Middle School (somewhere near Washington, D.C.), students wait with much anticipation for the annual science fair. Founded by billionaire inventor and Hubble alumnus Lance Swingle, the Hubble Science Fair is seen as a chance for students to use their scientific knowledge, have fun, and hopefully win the grand prize.

Unfortunately, as many students, teachers and parents know, the Fair is far from a friendly competition, and the only winners are the ME (Manor Estates) kids --- known more for being spoiled rotten than for being science geniuses. This year, the prize is bigger than ever: $5,000. For the ME kids, it's pocket change; but for students like Toby Harbinger, that kind of money could mean a world of difference --- especially when they have a crazed Star Wars fan after them.

In a rebellious moment, Toby decided he absolutely needed a new gaming computer, and the only way he knew how to get the funds for it was by selling some of his parents' Star Wars "junk" online. Forget that the BlasTech DL-44 may have been signed by Han Solo himself --- a rumor Toby doesn't really believe --- or that his parents might find out. But when an angry fan named D. Arthur Vaderian and his burly associate, the Wookiee, demand their money back, Toby realizes he must win the school science fair to set things right.

However, being a favorite target of the ME kids doesn't help Toby's plan, and in a rash moment of retaliation (involving a disgusting tofu enchilada and a rather embarrassed ME kid), Toby ends up in detention. That's when he figures out the truth behind the ME kids' science fair reign. Unfortunately, getting the proof that they're cheating, much less being believed, isn't going to be easy.

When Toby and his best friends, Tamara Reilley and Micah Porter, go to the Science Nook, they are given advice by the weird owner and science genius Sternabite. As Tamara and Micah figure out their project ideas, Toby tries to determine what the ME kids are up to. After battling a robotic owl with eggplant, Toby retrieves evidence of the conspiracy. However, when he tells the Hornet (Principal Plott-Garnett) and Mr. Neckstrom, Toby gets suspended!

In the midst of his academic crusade, Toby ends up in more trouble than he ever would have imagined and discovers that there's a much bigger plan at play. Will Toby be able to summon the Force, or will darkness reign?

Meanwhile, Grdankl the Strong, the president of Krpshtskan ("a poor mountainous nation with few vowels and a population of four million including goats"), looks forward to defeating the United States of America. With his associates Drmst (his fourth Vice President) and Vrsk (a computer administrator) waiting to meet Prmkt (a secret agent), nothing can stop his grand plan from happening. Except maybe the lure of the home shopping channel.

More than just a thrilling mystery-adventure, SCIENCE FAIR is a funny, over-the-top satire featuring social and global commentary, along with several pop culture references (both well and lesser known --- such as a rollerblading doll and a pizza franchise that were popular for all the wrong reasons in the 1990s), that young people will find humorous, groan-worthy, and even a little insightful. After finishing the book, readers won't think of anything the same way again.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle

Science Fair was a great book that did in fact make me sit at the edge of my seat. I'm not much of a Star Wars fan but this book was awesome.
I did like it, but I read Dave Barry's and Ridley Pearson's other series:
Peter and the Starcatchers
Peter and the Shadow Thieves
Peter and the Secert of Rundoon
And liked the series I just told you it A LOT better. If you are a Peter Pan fan (ha that rhymes)then you will love the other series I just mentioned. So I would give this book 5 stars but if I were rating the other series I would give it 10 stars, so I would recrommend the other series (Peter and the Starcatchers)

My daughter read this book and said it was one of the best books she ever read! It is a really great book and we highly recommend it. Also, the video was awesome too and very much reflected what is in the book.

My 8-year-old son loved this book. He reads a lot, but I've never heard such a glowing review, especially of a fiction book.

Dave Barry's book "Science Fair" is a must read for those in Middle School.
This book is funny,it captures the attention of the reader,it involves a science fair project,(in which children in middle school are involved) and besides all of this, is a mystery novel. Even the child who is "allergic" to reading, will want to finish this book !

My family (2 Adults, one Daughter and One Son) enjoyed this book on a driving trip. It had elements that kept all of us entertained. It may have helped that we had a son about the age of the main character, and had family members that could have been the source material for a couple of the characters. Fun story with a story line that keeps the reader engaged.

My 10 year old and I are reading this book every night as a story to read out loud each night before bed. We are about 100 pages in and we like the story so far. Just wanted to point out that the book is a bit long. If we manage to finish it, at 400 pages I think this will be the longest story that my son has ever gone through with me.