The story: Tamaya and Marshall take a shortcut through the woods to avoid a bully, but he tracks them down and starts beating Marshall up. Strangely, the real trouble doesn't start until Tamaya picks up a handful of unusual mud and crams it into Chad's face to stop him. Later, when her arm starts to swell and blister, she knows it must have been caused by the Fuzzy Mud--and when Chad turns up missing, she knows he must be lost in the woods, possibly blinded, his face a blistered mess too. So do you go looking for the bully who's been harassing everyone, or just leave him to what he deserves? And just what caused the mud to turn fuzzy and evil, anyway?
June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult G: GLBT content G; adult themes (big corporations vs. the environment) PG; overall rating G.
Liz's comments: I liked this one because it takes on environmental concerns and doesn't offer any easy answers. However, since the main character is in 5th grade, it's a better fit for upper ES than for MS. No middle school kid wants to read a story about a 5th grader, sorry--starred reviews notwithstanding--but those who liked "Holes" might be willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt.
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