cover image Popular Clone

Popular Clone

M.E. Castle. Egmont USA, $15.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-60684-232-4

For 12-year-old science and math whiz Fisher Bas, a typical day at school means avoiding “The Vikings,” a trio of relentless bullies, and not living up to the ideals of his comic book hero, Vic Daring. His Nobel Prize–winning parents assure him that this phase will pass, but after a particularly humiliating day, Fisher vows never to go to school again. He steals his mother’s “Accelerated Growth Hormone” and creates a clone, Fisher-2, so he can spend his days eating junk food, living vicariously through his clone, and working on inventions that include a “social survival watch” (complete with “conversation topic generator” and “mint spritzer” for bad breath) and a Popcorn Gun, which are diagrammed throughout in sketchy line art. When Fisher-2 instantly becomes popular at school (as well as a troublemaker) and is “clone-napped,” Fisher and his flying pig must save the day. Fisher’s wild imagination and sincerity fuel Castle’s debut novel, first in a planned series. Heavy doses of self-deprecating humor, high-tech wizardry, and goofy middle-school antics add up to an amusing and action-packed adventure. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)