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Revenge of the Star Survivors

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Revenge of the Star Survivors

Paperback(Reprint)

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Paperback(Reprint)
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Overview

Middle school meets the Dark Side in this grimly hilarious survival story of a sci-fi-obsessed eighth grader.

Clark Sherman's situation is desperate.

He's just crash-landed on an inhospitable planet—also known as Festus Middle School—where the natives don't take kindly to newcomers . . . particularly ones who love sci-fi and memorizing episodes of the hit TV show Star Survivors.

Hostile natives include violent bullies, uncaring teachers, and the fiendishly evil Principal Denton, and Clark realizes he'll be lucky enough to survive eighth grade, let alone thrive. But then, three kindred life forms make themselves known . . . and suddenly, Clark finds he not only has the will to survive, but the strength to fight back.

Sharp, painfully funny, and deeply moving, Revenge of the Star Survivors is a story for sci-fi fans— and for anyone who's ever felt alone in this world. Michael Merschel's witty writing, by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, brings Clark's inner strength into the light.

Winner of the Texas Institute of Letters Jean Flynn Award for Best Children's Book

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823440412
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	478,852
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.84(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Michael Merschel is an editor at The Dallas Morning News. He's also written plays, contributed to A Prairie Home Companion and composed an out-of-office reply that appeared in The New York Times and on NPR. Although he was featured on Humans of New York, he lives in Texas with his wife and three kids, who tell him he is not all that funny, usually.

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Editorial Reviews

"In this zany, clever story, an inveterate fanboy must blend into his new harsh surroundings, otherwise known as Festus Middle School, after a midyear move takes him out of his comfortable old life. Geeks, nerds, sci fi buffs, and likely any social outsider will find an amusing and/or poignant point of reference here, as Clark looks through a sci-fi lens at his normal life in his new school."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"the real heart of the story is in its complex characters, tongue-in cheek tone, and emotional honesty."—Publishers Weekly

"the overall result is a fun twist on the theme of kids who take on the power structure and prevail. A promising first novel"—Booklist

"readers will find themselves rooting for Clark, Les, and Ricki."—Kirkus Reviews

"Quick pacing and wry wit give this title appeal beyond the sci-fi universe."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/06/2017
In this entertaining and empathic debut, an intrepid hero searches for intelligent life in the most dangerous place of all: middle school. Eighth grader Clark Sherman is forced to transfer to Festus Middle School after the year has started, thanks to his father’s new job. Faced with a hostile environment filled with bullies and unfriendly adults, Clark frames his daily misadventures as a fraught space mission, à la a captain’s log: “While walking from science to social studies today, I had to pass through a hallway that is a nesting ground for some of Planet Festus’s most vicious native inhabitants.” After finding unexpected allies in two other outcasts, the paranoid Les and acerbic Ricki, Clark and his new friends discover that there’s something shady about their authoritarian principal and the bullies he’s protecting. Debut author Merschel uses Clark’s SF passions—from everything from Star Wars to his favorite (fictional) show, Star Survivors—as a smart metaphor for coping with change, but the real heart of the story is in its complex characters, tongue-in-cheek tone, and emotional honesty. Ages 10–14. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2017
Gr 5–7—Clark has crash-landed on a hostile alien world. In other words, the eighth grader has transferred to a new school halfway through the year. With no friends, no transcript (he's assigned to remedial classes), and a reluctance to ask for adult help, Clark relies on his favorite TV show, Star Survivors, for spiritual and social guidance. Quotes from his favorite character, Captain Maxim, open every chapter—or, rather, every Expedition Log—of this epistolary novel. Unfortunately for Clark, he's targeted by two bullies: baseball prodigy Ty and Principal Denton. Clark does manage to find kindred spirits—Les, a tech nerd, and social misfit Ricki—but their "keep out of sight" coping strategy leaves Clark vulnerable at school. His physical and mental torment at the hands of Ty and Denton is extreme enough for some readers to wish Clark would ask for help (caring adults are present), but many will likely relate to the boy's desire to handle problems on his own. This character strength makes Clark's surprising decision in the novel's climax ring true. Minor quibbles: Denton's motives regarding Ty strain credulity, and recurring mockery of Clark's name feels out of place in the contemporary setting. However, these issues do not diminish debut novelist Merschel's skill in creating characters who are simultaneously recognizable and original. VERDICT Quick pacing and wry wit give this title appeal beyond the sci-fi universe. Recommended for most middle school collections.—Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

School Library Journal

2017-02-14
Clark Sherman's life is sent into upheaval after his dad's promotion leads to a cross-country move he doesn't want to make.Rightfully so, as the moment the white boy arrives on his first day at Festus Middle School in early 2005, he encounters the first dose of bullying—which only gets worse. To make matters worse, the school counselor places him in eighth-grade remedial classes instead of advanced classes due to a foul-up in his computerized records. (For some reason, his parents aren't included in that conversation.) Ostracized from Day 1, Clark's one solace is his obsession with the TV show Star Survivors and all things Star Wars, which provide the sci-fi lens that he uses to navigate his daily life and that inform his quirkily stylized narration. Fate takes a hand when he meets white Les and Asian-American Ricki, both Star Survivors fans and both also targets of the rampant bullying at Festus, and the three new friends put their heads together to find a way to escape the daily terror. Merschel gamely attempts to address endemic bullying that's facilitated by school administrations to protect favored students (in this case, athletes). The weak spot of this story lies in the very beginning, when the author unconvincingly removes Clark's parents from active involvement, a plot-driven move that won't ring true. Touching despite contrivances, and readers will find themselves rooting for Clark, Les, and Ricki. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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