Desmond Pucket and the Cloverfield Junior High Carnival of Horrors

I always make the distinction between graphic novels and stories with drawings; since this had a lot of talking in it, too much for speech bubbles, it’s thankfully the latter.
It’s the start of a new school year and the main character, who loves monsters and lives to scare people, not only gets the cushy class schedule, he gets to do his “What I did over the summer” creative writing project as a graphic novel. And he’s in tight with the girl he likes, if in the friend zone so far; life is good. . . until the twist! (Otherwise it would be a really short book.)
The reader has to be on the lookout to get all the nuances here, some written, others drawn. The library is “like Google exploded!” and the librarian with the fist pump when the kid shouts, “I found it!” is pure gold. There are friends and enemies, at least to start, thought it takes a lot of personality changes and heel-about-face to make the story work out in the end. I found the plot resolution a little weak, but at least I was able to read it without that most hideous of earworms running through my head. . . until I thought about it just now. Dammit!
After the story there’s a “make your own monsters” section. And snot. (Not actual snot, how to make it. Almost as bad.)
Smarter than most.

Very awesome! I didn't read the first in the series, but that didn't hurt the context.

Oh my god! Is Desmond ever going to not scare his school. Of course not, it’s Desmond Puckett master of horrors.

In this new book Desmond sets out to bring shrieks and screams that are sure to entertain readers all of all ages.

Rating 5 out of 5 Read@Book

This book is the third in the Desmond Pucket series. It is a cross between an illustrated story and a graphic novel. Desmond tells the story and adds his own drawings and comments throughout. In this story, Mr. Needles has returned and is now Principal Needles. The first thing he does is cancel the School Carnival of Horrors and get Keith Schminsky released from Military School to keep Desmond in line. When Desmond, Ricky and Becky create a ghost of Mr. Needles hero to get him to reinstate the carnival, they are surprised it works so well. With the carnival back on, Keith and Desmond are now in a contest to see who can create the best "ride" for the carnival. The loser has to give up scaring for the rest of junior high and high school. When Desmond's monsters get stolen he does not know what he is going to do. Keith, of course, is the culprit, but when he stole the monsters he also finds out what Desmond has done. He threatens to tell Mr. Needles what he has done unless he agrees to create a lame ride. Desmond does not want to give up but it seems he has not choice. Tina, Keith's sister, has an idea. Again the illustrations are black and white cartoons which the kids will love, with notes and facts to add to the story. A fun book that kids (ages 8 to 12)will love. There are more recipes and directions to the reader for some of Desmond's tricks at the end of the book. The children will love that. I am sure that this book will be enjoyed by the kids as much as the adults who may read it with them.

A quick mini review since I'm on vacation. I don't usually jump into a series on the third book but this looked like a lot of fun and I hadn't heard of it before this. It's a hybrid cross between a chapter book and graphic novel. Written in chapters, illustrated with comic strips and whole graphic novel sections. Early on there is a graphic section that explains what has happened in the series so far so I had no trouble jumping in at this point. I really enjoyed the book. Desmond likes scaring people and he has a collection of monster props procured from the last book.The book is all monster/scary themed but it's not paranormal at all, just realistic (though far-fetched) day in the life of a grade 7 student. Fun characters, fun situations, silly without any toilet humour I think this is a cut-above the usual fair and I'll probably go back and read the first two before the next book comes out.

Written by Ben, age 10:

The Desmond Pucket books have been one of my favorite things I have found on Net Galley. I was really excited that they had book #3.

In this book, Desmond is very excited for his school Carnival of Horrors, especially with all his scary new things. But the new principal wants to cancel the carnival and Desmond and his friends have to figure out how to save it. They also have to create a very scary ride for a bet to see who has to give up scaring people! Will Desmond and his friends win?

I really liked this book, especially after reading the first two. It is a very good series for kids who like funny books and graphic type novels. I also like how the end of the book has ideas for thing you can make at home.