![]() Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. They resolve to find Benji’s dad-a famous comic-book artist-and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. 9-12)Īn aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects. And just try to get kids not to make their own lists or attempt their own novels. (Fiction. In the end, Houdini realizes that writing has changed him and altered his perspective on people and life. Johnson expertly handles real male middle school friendships, issues and angst and doesn’t avoid some tough contemporary realities: Domestic troubles, the prospect of Dad losing his job and the pain arising from his older brother going missing in Iraq are handled realistically but sensitively. By turns poignant and downright hilarious, Houdini’s story/novel is delivered in a voice that’s wonderfully authentic. He also relies on adventures with his two best buds a misunderstood Vietnam vet and his pit bull and the neighborhood bully. ![]() After an author’s visit to his classroom, John creates a novel, formed from the very novel kids are reading, and devises a series of lists to guide him. ![]() What this 13-year-old-alas, no relation to the dude of Pocahontas fame-has is a fascination with the master escape artist. When your name is John Smith, you need to have something going for you. ![]() A middle-schooler writes a kids’ novel an author writes an engaging, amiable read-and, presto, a tale about a boy nicknamed Houdini turns out magical. ![]()
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