Whales on Stilts

Whales on Stilts M.T. Anderson Date: April 2005   —   $9.75   —   Book product page Rating:

Anderson, the author of National Book Award finalist, Feed, once again relies heavily on irony in this thoroughly entertaining satire of stereotypical superheroes and low-brow fiction series. Using the perfect mix of plot and narration, he introduces a trio of teenage protagonists (Lily, Katie, and Jasper) and quickly dispatches them to save humanity—from a mind-controlled army of whales on stilts. Courageous acts and heroic deeds are nothing new for Katie Mulligan—heroine of the Horror Hollow books, or Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut—star of the eponymously named adventure series, but Lily Gefelty is a self-described quiet, boring girl who doesn’t have that special OOMPH needed for leading lady status (“For example when a writer, a good writer, wants to describe his main character, he wants to be able to say something like, ‘She looked in the mirror at her pretty brunette hair and her thin five-foot-one-inch frame’”). Forever content to be relegated a sidekick, Lily is suddenly thrust into the role of champion when she discovers that her father’s boss, Larry, is really a half-human, half-whale hybrid whose immediate plans include world domination. Initially reluctant to mastermind the counteroffensive against the gruesome cetacean brethren, Lily’s confidence builds as her over-achieving friends urge her on: “It’s only when people realize that the story can be about them that they can start to change things.”  With subtle allusions to other crime-fighting icons and storybook sleuths, the action unfolds quickly and moves at a brisk pace from beginning to end. Twisting words in clever and wacky combinations, Anderson fills the pages with his own version of daredevil jargon: Marvelous Non-Osmotic Hypo-Allergenic Oxysphere, Bullet Mobile, Oculo-Incendiary Prohulsifiers and Megegolisms, and riotously funny riffs on chase scenes, proper techniques for fighting goons, and evildoer rants. Kids of all ages will love this big fish-tale of friendship and foes.                       Ages 9 and up

And watch for a review of the next exciting title in the series--The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen

tags: whalesonstilts  mtanderson  

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