EDGAR AWARD WINNER FOR BEST MYSTERY
BANK STREET BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
SILVER BIRCH AWARD WINNER
"Complex and satisfying. Written from Daniel's point of view, this
perceptive first-person narrative is sometimes painful, sometimes
amusing, and always rewarding." --Booklist (starred review)
From the author of Incredible Space Raiders from Space! comes a
brand-new coming-of-age story about a boy whose life revolves around
hiding his obsessive compulsive disorder--until he gets a mysterious
note that changes everything.
Daniel is the back-up punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really
means he's the water boy. He spends football practice perfectly
arranging water cups--and hoping no one notices. Actually, he spends
most of his time hoping no one notices his strange habits--he calls them
Zaps: avoiding writing the number four, for example, or flipping a light
switch on and off dozens of times over. He hopes no one notices that
he's crazy, especially his best friend Max, and Raya, the prettiest girl
in school. His life gets weirder when another girl at school, who is
unkindly nicknamed Psycho Sara, notices him for the first time. She
doesn't just notice him: she seems to peer through him.
Then Daniel gets a note: "I need your help," it says, signed, Fellow
Star child--whatever that means. And suddenly Daniel, a total no one at
school, is swept up in a mystery that might change everything for him.
With great voice and grand adventure, this book is about feeling
different and finding those who understand.
