Story Time [Hardcover]

Their careers at Whittaker Magnet begin with an orientation from the domineering, treacherous Cornelia Whittaker Austin and sightings of a madwoman with a chainsaw in an upstairs window. Things only get stranger from there, involving secret passages, a librarian who only speaks in nursery rhymes, weapons of mass destruction and priceless books that house demons.

Fans of Edward Bloor's quirky settings, self-sufficient characters and strange-but-nearly-possible conspiracies will find this story enjoyable and thought provoking. Without beating the reader over the head with messages about standardized testing, literacy, intelligence, wealth and ignorance, Bloor manages to make the reader consider all of these topics and how they pertain to schools today.

So whether you're one of those people who can get a perfect score on the SAT with both eyes closed or if you chew number-two pencils to bits at the very thought of filling in all those circles, STORY TIME will make you think. And smile. And think some more.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

Well, it is horrifying. The body count approaches Columbine-like proportions shortly after the two protagonists enroll in a new magnet school. But, although the author tries, there is almost zero black humor in this book. And if it's a satire, it's largely unsuccessful due to a couple of unbelievable premises, cardboard villains (way too many - they become interchangeable), and just too little time spent fleshing out the two protagonists - although they do come off as likeable and sympathetic. Their families were established as zany/eccentric, and there were almost no "down time" moments in which the reader could take a breath of fresh air. It was high drama from beginning to end.

Frankly, I was offended that this book seems not to be marketed under "horror", but is being reviewed as if it's some kind of quality young adult novel, not the schlock it actually is. The deaths were numerous, grisly and made the lack of serious scrutiny to the school until the end impossible to buy. You'd think parents would be going to the police and the press, yanking their kids out right and left if there was even one very public and grisly death in front of them in their school. But not here. No real parent would care enough about high test scores to jeopardize their child's life - their literal life, not the figurative one.

Also, the author seemed to be mixing his decades with talk of "mixers" - one character was in college, only to have another demonstrate a very current knowledge of sexual harassment, calling it by its rightful name. Was this book supposed to be set in the present, past or future - or did the author just not care enough to make this clear to the reader?

Oh, there were lots of questions raised - the sign of a good author, but also a bad one. Why did Kate's mom suddenly snap out of her madness? Why couldn't the author come up with a better way to force Kate to attend the magnet school? No one is going to buy that she (apparently an American citizen) is denied a free public education in the United States now or any time in the near future. What is going to happen to the second demon after it wreaks havoc on the last villain?

Again, it would really have helped to make it clear where and when this book was set.

And did they really - literally - have to go skipping off into the sunset on the last page?