Facing the end of the world in a bathing suit?! What a surprising and amusing idea.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway has concocted his most genius plan ever to avoid chores... especially the dreaded L-A-U-N-D-R-Y. If he can wear all the clothes he owns, he'll only have to do the laundry once during his school break.
On the day of the highly anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie's monstrous pile of dirty laundry is found by his mom. And Eddie's day has just taken a turn for the worst. Now he's stuck at home by himself, missing the bash, and doing his whole pile of laundry. But mid-cycle, the power goes out!
With his first load of laundry wet and the rest of his stuff still filthy, he sets out to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in his glow-in-the-dark swim trunks, flip-flops, and a beach towel. He soon meets up with other neighborhood kids: newcomer Xavier (who was mid-haircut and has half his head shaved), Eddie's former friend Sonia (who has spent her entire break trying to beat a video game and was mid-battle with the final boss), and siblings Trey and Sage (who are dealing with major sibling drama).
As they group up to cover more ground and find out what happened, they realize that their families aren't coming back anytime soon. And as night falls, the crew realizes that they aren't just the only people left in the neighborhood, they might be the only people left... anywhere.
REVIEW
Facing the disappearance of his entire neighborhood was not what Eddie expected when he woke up the morning of the Beach Bash. He expected to spend time hanging with his friends at the beach with a slushy trying to gain the attention of his crush. But a brilliant plan gone bad leaves him stuck at home doing laundry (the worst chore ever according to Eddie--his diatribe on the subject is rather amusing but he does have some interesting points). When the power goes out, Eddie is left on his own. The appearance of his friend, Xavier with half a haircut, they look around the neighborhood trying to figure out what's happening. They join forces with sports hero Trey and his sister, Sage, and Eddie's best friend, Sonia. After pulling Sonia from her video game funk, the kids go scrounging for supplies through nearby homes. Eventually, the kids realize that something has gone very, very wrong, and that maybe that their families aren't coming back.
Eddie's voice is what makes this book stand out. The narrative technique the author uses had Eddie actually 'talking' to the reader, both telling his story and answering questions the reader has supposed asked. It makes for a rather light-hearted tone to a story that could have ended up being terrifying. Eddie and his friends end up being rather capable of taking care of themselves, at least in the short term. In the long term, it remains to be seen. As the first book in a series, there is clearly much more story to be told. I enjoyed the way the kids interacted with each other. There was plenty of disagreeing, teasing, and helping going on within the group. I definitely plan to read future volumes because I am very curious about what's going on and there are no answers provided in this book which sets up future volumes. An entertaining story full of heart, humor, and lots and lots of questions. A great book for readers who enjoy unusual narrative voices with a lot of snark.
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