The Bad Apple

April 9, 2012
In this auspicious first entry in the Merits of Mischief series, 12-year-old Seamus Hinkle is sent to the Kilter Academy for Troubled Youth after he accidentally kills his substitute teacher, Miss Parsippany, with an apple. Upon his arrival, however, Seamus discovers that Kilter is actually a school for professional troublemakers: demerits are awarded for bad behavior, gold stars are looked down on, and students use the skills they’ve learned to trick their teachers. Despite his best efforts (and lingering guilt over the death of Miss Parsippany), Seamus appears to be a natural-born troublemaker. Burns (aka author Tricia Rayburn) has hold of a fantastic premise—what’s not to like about a school where pranks and destruction are encouraged and an arsenal of troublemaking devices are available for purchase? It’s easy to get drawn into this fast-paced, funny, and entertaining adventure, filled with sympathetic, eccentric, and mischievously talented characters. At its heart, it’s a story about the importance of individuality and being a good friend, and a last-minute twist will leave readers hungry for the next book. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

May 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old Seamus Hinkle led a fairly ordinary life at a fairly ordinary school until the day he killed his substitute teacher with an apple. The projectile was well intentioned-Seamus was trying to prevent the teacher from getting hurt by intervening in a cafeteria fight-but the result was disastrous. Subsequently, he is shipped off to Kilter Academy for Troubled Youth. Not long after his parents drive away, he learns the truth about Kilter: it's not a reform school, but rather a training academy for future professional Troublemakers; misbehavior is not merely encouraged, it's required. Seamus intends to lie low and try to keep his infamy a secret from his fellow students, but he finds that he excels at being bad, despite his best efforts to behave. He also makes friends at Kilter, and they ask him to join an alliance to scare their history teacher. This first title in a projected series unfolds through Seamus's narration as he navigates the challenges of training to be a Marksman Troublemaker. There's plenty of humor, but the child's conflicted feelings about Kilter and his guilt about the death he caused propel the story as well. Nowhere is his remorse more evident than in the emails he composes to his late substitute teacher. Though some readers may be frustrated by several dangling plot threads, the cliff-hanger ending will have others clamoring for the next title.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

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