THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES

Brainteasers and tricky puzzles are all part of the Gollywhopper Games, a promotional sweepstakes leading to untold wealth and fame for the lucky and smart contestants. While there are multiple ways to enter, Gil, the son of a disgraced former employee, is counting on being quick to the line outside the stadium that will allow 4,500 kids into the games. Quite quickly, the contestants are whittled down to two teams. Gil’s study of the company, plus a sunny personality that allows him to create alliances for support, helps him and then his team compete, only to discover that the team members are pitted against each other to decide the ultimate winner. Fun in the style of Eric Berlin’s The Puzzling World of Winston Breen (2007), readers can count on amazing special effects à la Roald Dahl’s Charlie books, and a straight arrow hero who has the extra motivation of being an outcast due to his father’s supposed sins. Plain good fun for puzzle addicts, with plenty of action and the suspense only a ticking timer can offer. (Fiction. 8-12)