genre: sci-fi/fantasysummary: Nick moves into a creepy old house the family inherited from their great-aunt. The move is supposed to be a step toward a new start. Nick's old house was burned to the ground in a fire that killed his mother. Now Nick, his brother, and his father, an ex-major league baseball player are picking up the pieces and moving on. Nick claims the attic of the old house as his new bedroom, but it's full of junk. He decides to sell it all off by having a garage sale. He sets up the sale in his garage and uses a light the he found in the attic. At first people seem really, strangely enthusiastic about the sale offering him more than his asking price on a number of things...but after he turns of the light they loose interest. Nick is suspicious and soon begins to realize that a number of the garage sale/attic items have strange uses and are not what they seem: old batteries that bring things back to life, a tape recorder that records what the speaking is thinking instead of what they are saying, a baseball glove that attracts meteors. Nick isn't the only one who notices these devices a secret society called the Accelerati are after these unique inventions. Nick needs to collect the sold garage sale items, keep away from the Accelerati, and save the world all while dealing with a crush on Caitlin (the artsy girl) and a stalker, Petula.notes: for kids who like: Percy Jackson, Kingdom Keepers,age group: 10+ my review: loved the characterization, the writing was funny and candid and the plot was exciting. it was funny and i would definitely recommend it to adventure junkies or reluctant boys who want something "not boring" really can't complain i just wish i hadn't seen the Disney/Hyperion label because it clouds my judgement.young readers probably won't pick up or care but it feels like it was written to add to the disney consumer empire rather than out of genuine love of adventure Being hit in the head with a Victorian-style toaster turns out to be the least of Nick's problems. Having lost his mother in a house fire that reduced his family home to ashes, his father and brother move to Colorado Springs, CO to move into a home left to them by his great aunt. Negotiating a new middle school and finding friends seem harder than cleaning the attic and getting rid of some really weird junk at a yard sale. But the junk is weirder than weird and each of the items has a "talent" not related to what the item should do. Finding out that the scientist Tesla is involved in their inventions only adds to the mystery. A fun read and the first in a series. I know, yet another series. I did enjoy the way the first one ended, wrapping up the existing story, but leaving the great puzzle still in pieces with some parts missing.
Do You like book De Mysterieuze Zolder (2013)?
Will buy. not my favorite, but kids will probably like
—archana
Excellent middle school mystery/science novel!
—prettygalrox
abandoned. Might try again some other time
—tpopple
