Scurvy Goonda

✍ Scribed by McCoy, Chris

• Book ID: 109172033
• Publisher: Random House of Canada
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 409 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780375893544

✦ Synopsis

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—In the first of a two-part series, 14-year-old Ted has had the same imaginary friend (or "ab-com," short for abstract companion) since the age of seven, and it's ruining his life. Everyone thinks he's nuts because he always seems to be talking to himself, plus Scurvy Goonda, a disreputable, bacon-loving pirate, is messy and destructive. However, when Scurvy disappears, along with every other ab-com on Earth, Ted follows his trail of rotten bacon to a strange land called Middlemost, where ab-coms are created to the specifications of children's wishes and dreams. There, Ted gets mixed up with a rebel group of ab-coms that are seeking to overthrow the dictator Persephone Skeleton, who in turn wants to conquer Earth and marry her old crush, Scurvy Goonda. Battles ensue, many ab-coms are annihilated in imaginative and gruesome ways, and Ted finds a long-lost relative and a new girlfriend—and he discovers that his arm sometimes detaches at the elbow and makes his wishes come true. This makes for unusual and creative fantasy, but there are too many loose ends and unanswered questions. Chief among them is the nature of ab-coms; not only is their role as companions to human children rather muddled, but also the author has no problems with killing off these sentient creatures right and left. The failure to create a believable and logical fantasy world dooms this imaginative but frustrating adventure.—_Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library_
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From

What if kids' imaginary friends were, in fact, real beings, made to order on another world, and being organized to revolt against humans for the callous way their friendship is cast aside as children grow older? This is the premise of this zany fantasy adventure starring a 14-year-old misfit turned superhero. When Ted Merritt tries to cast aside pirate Scurvy Goonda, his former constant companion, he finds that the medicated patch he agrees to wear causes the disappearance of imaginary friends around the world. Following Scurvy to Middlemost, he encounters a variety of bizarre characters, learns his arm has magic powers (though he can't make it work reliably), teams up with two beautiful girls, and saves earth from invasion by the angry "abstract companions." The author's experience with role-playing games is evident in both the characterizations and frenetic action, which includes enemies melting into purple sludge and numerous timely rescues. The first book in a two-part series, this easily stands alone and will be enjoyed by middle-school readers experienced with suspensions of disbelief. Kathleen Isaacs Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved