The thing that made me most want to pick this up was not the name check of Lovecraft in the school name, but instead the author's pen name. Invoking the Gilmans (as in those folks from Innsmouth, or those who dreams in the dormer room of the witch house) is a much subtler nod and shows that there's some significant attention to detail. In addition, the protagonist is named Robert Arthur as a nod to the guy who edited Hitchcock Presents anthologies and wrote The Three Investigators. The story is engaging, but as I am no longer in middle school and haven't been for a while, I'm not sure how gripping the story is. However, if you're trying to get your youngster to check out Dunwich, Mass, then this could be the vehicle to ease them into a world with cyclopean architecture and non-euclidean angles. This is the first book in a new series, Tales from Lovecraft Middle School, by Charles Gilman. The first thing you will notice when looking at these books is the really cool cover. Technically called "lenticular printing", this book features a portrait of science professor Garfield Goyle, both in his human form and inhuman form. This should give you a really good idea of what the book is about - things at Lovecraft Middle School aren't what they seem.Robert was all set to go to middle school with his friends when his neighborhood district was reassigned and he has to go to Lovecraft. Despite being a brand-new, state-of-the-art school with a swimming pool, digital chalkboards, and lockers with digital locks. However, even something as routine as getting a new locker is not so ordinary at Robert's new middle school. And the more he suspects the weirder things get.This book will definitely appeal to fans of Goosebumps and other RL Stine books. It does tackle the subject of bullying, but the way the situation is resolved is unrealistic and overly simplified. However, it is a decent little story about a weird school, being brave, and standing by your friends. (J F Gilman)
Do You like book El Profesor Gárgola (2013)?
Super quick read. I like it enough to probably read another one or two in the series.
—alimanos
I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK! *full review to come*
—Karmik97
Creepy fun for the kids and adults alike!
—Banana83
