FINAL CUT

Getting back at bullies gets a little out of hand.

Before he moves away, Mason has plans for making one more great movie, starring his best friend, Maya. But when Denise and Cole, two of the biggest bullies in the whole middle school, start interfering with the shoot and making fun of them, Mason decides to take matters into his own hands. With some clever editing, he transforms his footage of the bullies into a funny—and also humiliating—video clip that quickly makes the rounds at school. It doesn’t take long for Denise and Cole to figure out who is responsible and come after Mason, beginning a chase through town with several mishaps along the way. Mason will have to keep his wits about him in order to outsmart—and outrun—Denise, Cole, and the rest of their gang. Luckily, he has the magic of cinema on his side. Lighthearted fun will keep the pages turning as Mason sticks it to the bullies. Things take a turn when he confronts the realization that the bullies may not be as one-dimensional as they seem. Maya is Vietnamese Canadian; other characters are not explicitly described, though Mason is depicted as Asian in the cover art.

A readable and relatable work for reluctant readers, with a small dose of wish fulfillment.