Grade 9-10-Alex Sherwood and his friends, Winston Chang and Manny Crandall, attend McLuhan High School and are members of "The Losers' Club." Alex has cerebral palsy. He catches the eye of Julie Spenser, a girl who dresses in black because she can't find anything darker to wear. Jerry Whitman, the school tyrant who extorts money from his fellow students, is interested in Julie and challenges Alex to a showdown. If the Losers' Club wins the "Festival of Lights" competition, Jerry will shut down his extortion ring. If Jerry wins, the Losers' Club will disband. Alex eventually triumphs, winning both the competition and the girl. Lekich's debut novel is lacking in plot and character development. The story meanders aimlessly for the first 100 pages before reaching its predictable conclusion. One never comes to care about or empathize with the characters because Alex and his friends are two-dimensional. The dialogue is believable and flows smoothly, but the humor is somewhat stilted and forced. The author shows some promise, but doesn't quite deliver.
Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
[Stone's] charm and creativity, hallmarks of his [television] show, come across in print as well... Stunningly illustrated.
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