If you were one of those I, um, faked out with an email alert that this post went up days ago only to have it later disappear on you–sorry! I’ve had a persistent sinus and ear infection, and wasn’t entirely cognizant of my choices. Thankfully I’m feeling much better now! <3

I discovered The Boy Who Knew Too Much on one of my random prowls through the library, and decided after reading it that it would make a great October pick! It’s set in the fall, but what really makes it perfect is the shabby old house that is home to Munchem Academy, and the essential role the graveyard plays.

However, I nearly missed out on this rollicking book because I was immediately put off by the presence of yet another vocal narrator. In fact, I was tempted to stop reading right that minute while I did some research and tried to find out why nearly every book I’ve read lately had a narrator that speaks directly to the reader. However, I didn’t, and the reason was that however much I tried to stop reading, I wasn’t able to! The story simply sucked me in, and while the narrator does make his presence known, it’s very unobtrusive. He never addresses the reader as ‘Dear Reader’ or anything of that sort, he only shows up once in awhile, and he’s always funny. So, fairly forgivable. In fact, I might not have even mentioned it if it weren’t for all the many books with strong narrators who’ve preceded this one.

You might wonder, what kept me reading despite my initial instinct to close the book? In a word–Mattie. The main character is the younger son in the Larimore family, and also the ‘good’ son. His older brother, Carter, is the one who gets into trouble. Carter even goes to a reform school where he’ll supposedly be taught to change his ways. Mattie is his mother’s dear boy, always gives his father the answers Dad wants, and generally does his best to politely please everyone he meets. Until he steals a subway train.

Even Mattie isn’t quite clear on why he did it, though a desire to impress Carter or at least get his brother to use his–Mattie’s–real name would be high on the list. Mostly it was a crime of opportunity, and while many passengers were inconvenienced, no one got hurt. But his father is convinced Mattie’s breach will make bad pr for his company, so off to Munchem Academy Mattie goes.

Carter quickly ditches Mattie, who dreads once again being a new kid and is determined to prove how much he doesn’t belong there. However, it seems like the school isn’t really that focused on helping the students change. In fact, the longer Mattie stays, the more it seems like being nice or even doing the right thing might label him a bad student at Munchem. All the rules he’s learned about how to be a good kid–smile and tell adults what they want to hear, take notes, get good grades, eat a healthy diet–may not be enough to save him from the disgusting, run down school and its bullies. Mattie wants desperately to go home, where his mother waits with the reruns of the tv show she starred in, and the family’s manservent–Mattie’s other friend–will be ready to hang out. But on the other hand, for the first time in his life he’s made friends with kids his own age, and he’s starting to realize that there may be more to doing the right thing than he first thought.

As he and his friends, siblings Eliot and Caroline, begin to dig into the school’s secrets they uncover a plot to force bad kids to be good–permanently. What follows is a true romp, with each of the friends called on to put their skills to good use, and Carter taking a hand, as well. Whether it’s dastardly deeds in the basement, or hidden doors and secret passages they need to navigate, the kids have their work cut out for them and all the while the clocks ticks down till the book rushes to its finish. I found it an excellent blend of character growth and adventure, and suspect this one will have high reader appeal!

Now let’s see what Apricot-kitty has to say:

“I liked the girl, Caroline. Her affection for that rat may have been misplaced, and I can’t say that I care particularly if frogs get freed, but her heart was in the right place. She was good at noticing and knew how to think on her feet, too. Rather like a cat.”

Both the Spencers (Caroline and Eliot) were highly likable, and I suspect part of their charm was that they weren’t too perfect. A writer could learn a lot from studying them, plus Mattie, Carter, and a handful of the other kids, in order to understand how to make characters believably bad but still highly sympathetic and relatable. It was masterfully done!

What books are you reading this month? Got anything spooky lined up? Tell me in the comments, and be sure to stop by Greg Pattridge’s blog for the full Marvelous Middle Grade Monday roundup of reviews, spotlights, interviews and giveaways!

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