Monday, June 17, 2013

Lenny Cyrus School Virus by Joe Schreiber –OPTIONAL

Schreiber, Joe Lenny Cyrus School Virus 288 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2013. $12.26. Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

Lenny is a genius, just like his parents. The problem? He isn’t socially  smart. He decides, against his best friends Harlan’s much better judgment, to move ahead with a wild plan to get the girl. Lenny shrinks himself to a microscopic level and invades Zooey’s body –his intent it to travel to her brain and talk her into liking him. But messing with the human body isn’t very safe, Lenny hasn’t planned very well, and Zooey –well she is just a mess once microscopic Lenny starts changing her biology.

I think the main problem for me with this book is demographics. Readers old enough to relate to the big-time crush obsession thing might find the talking  goofy viruses and hormones kind of juvenile –while readers old enough to find interest in that slapdash would be horrified by the crush –especially when Lenny goes into the ovaries! I thought the book was overly long for the simplicity of the plot, and I quickly tired of the switching viewpoints –which felt like filler at times. The cover artwork is eye catching!

MS -OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

No comments: