โ Scribed by Chris Rylander
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Sixth-graders Mac and Vince have been running an advice and assistance service for fellow grade-school students since they were in kindergarten. Mac is a problem solver, Vince is a whiz at keeping track of the money and favors they earn, and both boys are avid Chicago Cubs fans. Their office is located in an underused school bathroom, hence this first novels title. The business takes a beatingand then so does the boys friendshipwhen an older kid applies muscle to the threats he has made to grade-schoolers who owe gambling debts. Rylander has created a cast of memorable and varied characters, replete with emotional as well as social lives. Mac narrates the convoluted tale with the arch flatness of a 1940s satire of the noir detective genre, so swallowing even the more preposterous coincidences is easy for the sake of the storys fun. An excellent boy book that would do well in a father-son book discussion. Grades 4-7. --Francisca Goldsmith
"Here is an original - a story that really gets how guys are pals.... Do yourself a favor. Read it. Now."_ - Jon Scieszka (__NYT Best-Selling author_)
"The Fourth Stall makes good use of non sequitur humor and a healthy dose of schoolyard violence to draw in even the most apprehensive young reader... a robust story rich in action, adventure, humor, and friendship."__
--VOYA
"Rylander has created a cast of memorable and varied characters, replete with emotional as well as social lives...An excellent boy book that would do well in a father-son book discussion._"_
--Booklist
"Boys and girls alike will be biting theirnails, laughing out loud and begging for thenext installment. Fans of Jeff Kinney, Gordon Kormon andJon Scieszka will find a new hero inRylander." --Sioux Falls Argus Leader
"Sometimes middle-school readers just wanna have fun. And Rylander, thankfully, steers well clear of made-for-TV life lessons."__ --The Cleveland Plain Dealer
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