Fuzzy Mud

Gr 3-5--Newbery Award-winning author Sachar takes on science and the government in this engaging eco-cautionary tale. Middle schoolers Tamaya, Marshall, and Chad meet in the woods near their school, but it's not to party. Tamaya follows Marshall into the woods because she thinks they're taking a shortcut home. Marshall hopes the detour will help them avoid a beating from bully Chad, who finds the pair anyway. Tamaya stops the boys' fight by throwing some strange-looking mud in Chad's face and inadvertently unleashes an environmental disaster lurking in the woods. The mud is composed of ergonyms, a microscopic life form never seen on Earth before, created by a nearby research facility to produce a safe, inexpensive biofuel. The bad news? Contact with the mud is dangerous for most other life forms already on Earth, starting with Tamaya and Chad. Sachar confidently juxtaposes three time lines, one of which takes place several months after the initial events, revealing some of the devastation to come, which serves to increase readers' apprehension about the characters' fate. Another time line recaps Senate hearings into the biofuel's risks and benefits. Sachar is at his best in these chapters, wryly skewing government power and questioning science's ability to control life and save us from ourselves. A witness at the hearings delivers the author's warning: "Unless we do something to control world population, nothing will help us." Clever petri dish design elements and multiplication equations sprinkled throughout the text help readers grasp the simple math that challenges science's claims of control. VERDICT Featuring a plot that moves as fast as the ergonyms replicate, this issue-driven novel will captivate readers while giving them plenty to think about.--Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Sachar blends elements of mystery, suspense, and school-day life into a taut environmental cautionary tale about the insatiable hunger for energy sources and the cost of not doing the right thing. Marshall's routines at Woodridge Academy--including his daily walk to and from school with his anxious neighbor Tamaya--are upended by the arrival of blowhard bully Chad. A quiet seventh-grader, Marshall becomes a target for Chad, who challenges him to an after-school fight. Rather than suffer a beating, he and Tamaya take a shortcut through the off-limits woods and come across what Tamaya dubs "fuzzy mud," a strange substance they don't realize harbors great danger for them and the town at large. Amid chapters following the children's exploits, Sachar includes transcripts of secret Senate hearings with the scientists who engineered the microorganisms that generate fuzzy mud. In a tense sequence of events, readers learn more about Marshall, Tamaya, Chad, and the peril they face. A dramatic conclusion celebrates the positive ripples of friendship and honesty, and will leave readers with much food for thought. Ages 10-up. Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group. (Aug.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Georgia Children's Award and the Buckeye Children's Teen Book Award (Ohio)

"Grounded in well-rounded central characters, this compelling novel holds as much suspense as fuel for discussion."—Booklist, Starred

"Fast-paced. An exciting story of school life, and bullies that becomes a quick meditation on the promise and dangers of modern science."—Kirkus Reviews

"This engaging eco-cautionary tale... will captivate readers while giving them plenty to think about."—School Library Journal

." . . vintage Sachar for the way it brings big ideas to everyday drama."—The Horn Book

"Sachar blends elements of mystery, suspense, and school-day life into a taut environmental cautionary tale."—Publishers Weekly

"An engrossing plot . . .a most entertaining ride . . . .Readers will devour this delightful book just as they did with HOLES. A unique story that keeps readers on their toes."—VOYA

"Sachar is a master at compact and unintimidating plotting; the school story unfolds with swift authenticity in its own right and then becomes tautly suspenseful."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

." . .lively narrative . . . snappy dialogue and plenty of action."—Shelf Awareness