I Put a Spell On You review roundup

Ms. Yingling Reads"It is the rare author whose books I will purchase without reading, but Adam Selzer tops the list. There is something pitch-perfect about his characters and his humor that invariably has me laughing until tears stream down my face. His newest is no exception..."



ITS"One of the funniest boks I have read in a long time....This is a truly great read-aloud book for grades 3-6.


Mrs. Hill's Book Blog "Another unique and hilarious tale from Adam Seler....highly recommended!



FROM THE BULLETIN OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
"Selzer manages to make his comedy both grade school wacky and entertainingly satiric....the characters are suprisingly well developed...With the middle-school accessibility of Andrew Clements, the freewheeling humor of Gordon Korman, and a witty charm all its own, this will appeal to any youngster who appreciates a bit of adult-overthrowing mayhem, regardless of their ability to splel. click for full review.



FROM THE HORN BOOK:
When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie
Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she
transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence.
The chapters, told from rotating perspectives, are presented mainly as
testimony gathered from the students, each of whom is distinct and breaks
stereotype (such as the boy who will eat anything for a dollar, but only in
hopes of discovering new taste combinations that will further his future
career as a chef). New arrival Mutual Scrivener, attending school for the
first time to participate in the spelling bee, retains a sweet naiveté as he
tries to decode the mysterious behavior of his fellow classmates, and his
outsider perspective provides humor but also some interesting insights. The
wit in this school story is directed almost entirely against the grownups in
a scathingly funny indictment of a shady principal and insanely competitive
parents. Sly references to a famous case of misused authority may lead
readers to look up the Watergate scandal, but even if they never catch on to
some of the jokes, they will still laugh out loud as the students band
together to fight corruption and triumph in their own ways. s.d.l.






FROM THE HAPPY NAPPY BOOKSELLER:

"I absolutely loved I Put a Spell On You. I lost a few hours sleep finishing this novel...but it was totally worth it."
Full review

FROM KIRKUS

Alternating voices relate this farcical mystery. The spelling bee is coming
up at Gordon Liddy Community School, and everyone has lost perspective.
Former school tattletale Chrissie Woodward is the only one in her grade not
to sign up for the bee. The parents are behaving far worse than the
participants, and it is clear to Chrissie that the principal is trying to
sabotage certain students in order to fix the results. Selzer tells the story
through Chrissie's detective reports as well as the written notes that
several kids give her. Because she has been such a goody two-shoes as school
monitor, she has access to interoffice memos, which also become part of the
narrative. Each chapter starts with a spelling word, followed by its
definition and ironic use in a sentence. Suspension of disbelief is
definitely in order here, but reluctant readers may enjoy the pranks and
belching jokes, as well as the general portrayal of adults as
overachievement-obsessed lunatics. Dedicated to Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
and Mark Felt, Chrissie's fellows in investigative reporting. (Fiction. 8-12)