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Case File 13: Zombie Kid
For readers who like thrills with their laughs, Case File 13 is a satisfying new series that blends irreverent humor, page-turning adventure, a mysterious narrator, and the kind of authentic characters that will leave young readers convinced this story is about their own best friends.
Case File 13: Zombie Kid follows three monster-obsessed friends who must solve fiendishly funny mysteries in their creepy hometown. Nick, Carter, and Angelo are obsessed with all things monster. And every Halloween they get to show off their monster-knowledge with elaborate homemade costumes. But this year, a surprise trip to the house of an aunt who may have been a voodoo queen throws a major wrench into the boys’ Halloween plans and lands Nick with a cursed amulet that turns him into a real, live (well, undead) zombie.
To Nick and his friends, this is . . . awesome! At first. Then the whole zombie thing starts to get a little out of hand (literally), and the boys have to go on a chilling adventure to reverse the curse. One that involves a talking cat, a skeleton who likes candy corn, and even the dreaded Zombie King himself.
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Case File 13: Making the Team
With thrills, chills, and laughs on every page, plus a boy-girl rivalry that will leave you in stitches, this is one frighteningly funny book you don’t want to miss.
In this second book in a middle grade series that’s “sure to please young readers looking for a thrill” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), three monster-obsessed friends must take on a mad scientist who is literally stitching together a Frankenstein-esque football team.
Nick, Carter, and Angelo are back to monster business as usual. They’re even filming a monster movie for a school project on Building a Brighter Tomorrow. (There’s a connection there somewhere, they swear.) But when a new private school arrives in town boasting a football team that’s inhumanly good, the boys start to suspect they may have a real monster mystery on their hands. And what’s worse, they may need help from their girl rivals, Angie, Tiffany, and Dana, to get to the bottom of it.
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Case File 13: Evil Twins
With thrills, chills, and laughs on every page, this gruesomely funny book will leave you seeing double!
In this third book in the acclaimed middle grade series that is “sure to please young readers looking for a thrill” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), three monster-obsessed friends accidentally unleash an army of evil twins onto their hometown.
Nick, Carter, and Angelo have defeated the Zombie King, taken down a mad scientist, and, toughest of all, even learned to cooperate with their monster-loving girl rivals. But when the three friends head on a camping trip with Nick’s parents, a fateful hike in the woods leads the boys to a creature that can change its shape at will and even mimic the boys’ voices. Carter sneaks the little guy into his backpack and takes him home, and so the trouble begins. And in this frighteningly funny adventure, trouble always comes in twos. . . .
With the same “mix of creepy chills and laugh-out-loud humor” that made bestselling author James Dashner call Zombie Kid “the perfect book,” this third book in the Case File 13 series will leave you rolling in your tomb.
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Case File 13:
Curse of the Mummy's Uncle
With thrills, chills, and laughs on every page, this fourth book in the tween series “sure to please young readers looking for a thrill” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) follows three monster-obsessed best friends on a trip to a haunted Mexican pyramid.
The Three Monsterteers—Nick, Carter, and Angelo—have defeated the Zombie King, taken down a mad scientist, and even squared off with their own evil twins. But all that pales in comparison to the trio’s latest monster mystery, which begins with a family trip to Mexico to explore some forgotten Mayan pyramids alongside a group of archaeologists.
When the boys arrive at the archaeological site, they learn of a previous expedition that vanished into these very pyramids fifty years ago. Angelo is convinced that aliens must have been involved, but Nick starts to suspect that the disappearance had more to do with an ancient Mayan curse—one that may still hang over the ruins today. Using their knowledge of real Mayan mythology, the three friends must unravel the secret history of the curse—before someone very close to Nick ends up trapped in the underworld forever.
With the same “mix of creepy chills and laugh-out-loud humor” that made bestselling author James Dashner call Zombie Kid “the perfect book,” this fourth book in the Case File 13 series will leave you rolling in your tomb.
Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage
What Others Are Saying
Kirkus Starred Review
Striking the perfect balance between rib-tickling humor and bone-chilling adventure, the first novel in Savage’s new middle-grade series is sure to please young readers looking for a thrill.
Nick, Carter and Angelo, otherwise known by their fellow sixth-graders as the “Three Monsterteers,” are obsessed with the supernatural and all things Halloween. Nick is crushed when he learns that he will miss trick-or-treating with his buddies because he has to travel to New Orleans for his great-aunt’s funeral. But when it turns out that she was a voodoo queen, the trip to Louisiana quite literally changes Nick’s life. Back home in California, Carter and Angelo notice there’s something different about their friend, and all the signs lead them to one conclusion: Nick’s been turned into a zombie. It’s pretty cool to have a zombie as a best friend, but when Nick starts losing body parts and develops a hankering for brains, the three boys set out on a desperate mission to change Nick back before it’s too late. With clever commentary from a mysterious narrator at the start of each chapter, a trio of funny and enormously likable boy protagonists and plenty of creepy encounters to up the ante, Savage hits all the right notes.
It’s hard to imagine that readers (particularly boys) won’t enjoy every minute of hair-raising fun.(Funny horror. 9-14)
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-Nick Carter’s obsession with monsters proves advantageous after a chilling trip to Baton Rouge. When he returns from his aunt’s funeral, he and best buddies Carter and Angelo realize that his new amulet has altered him. Initially, the power to hold his breath indefinitely and feel no pain seems awesome. However, the craving for human brains paired with losing a finger causes the boys to grasp that Nick is a zombie. They must find a way to break the zombie curse, which includes befriending a talking cat, listening to a deceased soul, and outsmarting the Zombie King. Savage’s action-driven plot and short chapters are sure to keep readers intrigued. The authentic tween language is humorous and includes clues, allowing readers to make inferences, continually guessing what might happen next. Many readers will welcome the interesting folklore surrounding zombies and voodoo, echoing pop-culture appeal. Savage’s character development is strong and the story, a blend of mystery, realistic fiction, action, and humor, will appeal to a wide variety of readers. They will love entering Nick’s world.-Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UTα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
This series starter from the author of the Farworld fantasies should appeal to monster fans with strong stomachs. Sixth-grader Nick and his two best friends are preparing for Halloween, their favorite night of the year, only to find out that Nick has to miss trick-or-treating in order to attend his mysterious great-aunt’s funeral in Louisiana. While exploring the bayou at night, he blacks out and somehow gets turned into a zombie—in this telling, a gradual process. As Nick undergoes strange changes (he craves raw meat, for example, and his skin gets cold) and starts smelling bad, his clueless parents advise him to take showers. It is his friends who diagnose (“Awesome!” they all yell at once) and eventually cure him. Savage keeps up a lively and light tone as the boys deal, surprisingly calmly, with additional challenges, including a large bully, nosy girls, and an evil zombie king. They stick together through thick and thin and the truly gross, as when Nick’s pinkie falls off into the mashed potatoes. Doesn’t that say it all? Grades 4-7. –Nolan, Abby
