Life as a preteen is tough. But at Franklin Middle School, where Vincent “Vinny Biggs” Biggio rules the underground world of stolen exams, forged hall passes and contraband candy, it is downright dangerous. You’re either with Biggs or in the “Outs.”
It is here where private eye Matt Stevens, Amesbury author Jack D. Ferraiolo’s quick and clever middle-school sleuth and narrator, is about to tackle his toughest case yet. Just when she was trying to leave behind her life of crime for the sake of her younger sister, former Vinny Biggs triggerman, Nicole “Nikki Fingers” Finnegan, is taken out by an unseen assassin. A powerful and humiliating pump from a squirt-gun, aimed below the belt, lands Nikki in the Outs, setting her up for life as a middle-school outcast.
Matt, who is hired by both Biggs and Nikki’s little sister, Jenny, to uncover the culprit, has a long list of suspects to put through the ringer – including his former best friend, Kevin Carling, Biggs’ scorned right-hand man. Stevens, a loner who seeks justice above everything else – even the affections of his longtime crush – has his work cut out for him in The Big Splash (2008, Amulet Books, 277 pgs). And the outcome is a smart and pithy hardboiled crime fiction story for the middle school set, filled with twists, turns and parodies that will make even the most serious of adults chuckle, especially those of us who remember just how harsh those preteen years could be.
Adult fans of classic private-eye stories, a la Raymond Chandler, will enjoy introducing The Big Splash to the middle-schoolers in their lives and might even find themselves turning the pages to read the quick-witted language and comical parodies spread throughout the book. For example, Franklin student Peter Kuhn supports his addiction to Pixy juice – drinking soda through Pixy Stix – by selling photography equipment stolen from unsuspecting students to the local camera store.
“By the middle of last year, Peter was hitting the juice six times a day, every day. That kind of habit takes a lot of dough – more than an average kid can get ahold of on a regular basis,” writes Ferraiolo.
Ferraiolo not only demonstrates his sharp writing style, but also his understanding that middle school is, in general, a cruel and unrelenting place for kids – an awareness that, no doubt, his readers will appreciate. And parents will be pleased to know that beneath the story’s comical and satisfyingly melodramatic surface lies the message that if you resist surrendering in the face of a bully and do what’s right, you will always come out on top.
Big Splash - a novel by Jack D. Ferraiolo
Amulet Books, 2008 - 277 pages
Jack D. Ferraiolo, creator of and writer for the PBS television series, WordGirl, is currently working on a sequel to The Big Splash.
Book Review – Big Splash
It is here where private eye Matt Stevens, Amesbury author Jack D. Ferraiolo’s quick and clever middle-school sleuth and narrator, is about to tackle his toughest case yet. Just when she was trying to leave behind her life of crime for the sake of her younger sister, former Vinny Biggs triggerman, Nicole “Nikki Fingers” Finnegan, is taken out by an unseen assassin. A powerful and humiliating pump from a squirt-gun, aimed below the belt, lands Nikki in the Outs, setting her up for life as a middle-school outcast.
Matt, who is hired by both Biggs and Nikki’s little sister, Jenny, to uncover the culprit, has a long list of suspects to put through the ringer – including his former best friend, Kevin Carling, Biggs’ scorned right-hand man. Stevens, a loner who seeks justice above everything else – even the affections of his longtime crush – has his work cut out for him in The Big Splash (2008, Amulet Books, 277 pgs). And the outcome is a smart and pithy hardboiled crime fiction story for the middle school set, filled with twists, turns and parodies that will make even the most serious of adults chuckle, especially those of us who remember just how harsh those preteen years could be.
Adult fans of classic private-eye stories, a la Raymond Chandler, will enjoy introducing The Big Splash to the middle-schoolers in their lives and might even find themselves turning the pages to read the quick-witted language and comical parodies spread throughout the book. For example, Franklin student Peter Kuhn supports his addiction to Pixy juice – drinking soda through Pixy Stix – by selling photography equipment stolen from unsuspecting students to the local camera store.
“By the middle of last year, Peter was hitting the juice six times a day, every day. That kind of habit takes a lot of dough – more than an average kid can get ahold of on a regular basis,” writes Ferraiolo.
Ferraiolo not only demonstrates his sharp writing style, but also his understanding that middle school is, in general, a cruel and unrelenting place for kids – an awareness that, no doubt, his readers will appreciate. And parents will be pleased to know that beneath the story’s comical and satisfyingly melodramatic surface lies the message that if you resist surrendering in the face of a bully and do what’s right, you will always come out on top.
Big Splash - a novel by Jack D. Ferraiolo
Amulet Books, 2008 - 277 pages
Jack D. Ferraiolo, creator of and writer for the PBS television series, WordGirl, is currently working on a sequel to The Big Splash.