Story Time

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 16 FEB. 2004

In the sprawling, satirical tradition of his Tangerine and Crusader, Bloor delivers a no-holds-barred, deeply subversive tale about modern education. George and Kate, uncle and niece (although Kate is by two years the elder), are invited to become students at the Whittaker Magnet School, located in an old library building rumored to be haunted. The headmaster proudly expounds on "test-based curriculum," which in practical terms means that standardized test scores are all the school cares about ("The higher the test scores, the more people who want to move into your school district. The more people who move into your school district, the higher the tax revenues," the headmaster's son declaims). Bloor's fans will expect the deliciously dizzying proliferation of story lines, but the mix of genres may be uneasier here than in his previous books. Ghosts or demons begin to emerge from the antiquarian book collection hidden upstairs; the headmaster's wife subjugates Kate and shamelessly favors her own children; and Kate witnesses what appear to be murders and locates the corpses just as the First Lady arrives for a historic visit to the school. There are characters with deep dark secrets, scenes of spectacular destruction (too absurd to be gruesome) and extravagant oddities. Readers may be relieved that Bloor lets the final explosions detonate off the page; the book is great, smart fun but, like a race-car driver making hairpin turns, comes close to losing control. Ages 12-up.