That thing, the one that had destroyed the contents of my hamper in what, thirty minutes flat? It was a bunny.

Yeah, I know. A tiny little fluffy bunny with soft tufty feet and huge Hallmark card eyes. Oh yeah, and a set of nasty-looking razor sharp antlers coming out of its head.

It was a jackalope.

--Chapter 2

This book is written from the point of view of the main character, Jeremy (a kid in junior high). The following people live in his apartment building: Professor Twitchett (a quirky old man who has Jeremy run his errands), Agatha (Jeremy's sort-of friend) and her mom, a flight attendant who is never around, the Garcias (who make cookies on Saturdays), Mrs. Simmons (an old lady who "doesn't have all her socks in the drawer") and Jeremy and his parents. So, when two men in fancy suits show up at the building, Jeremy knows that something isn't right. Turns out Professor Twitchett left his latest secret experiment in Jeremy's care and there are people who are desperate to get that experiment for themselves.

Jeremy & Agatha spend the book trying to figure out what to do with the Jackalope and how to stay hidden from the suit guys. They don't know who to trust and even start to question each other's loyalty. It is a fun adventure with a few suspenseful moments. And there are a few twists that you might not see coming.

I totally enjoyed this book. It isn't very realistic, but come on, it's about a jackalope. You don't really expect a book like that to be grounded in real life. It is a fast-paced fun read that middle grade students will surely enjoy.

Recommended to:
Kids in grades 5-8, both boys and girls should enjoy this book. The action gets a bit intense at times, but nothing too scary. Reluctant readers may find this one a fun, quick read. ( )

Stella's Thoughts:
This book was funny and unique and the concept behind it is fantastic. The concept itself can be a Dreamworks animated movie where I think kids will definitely have a good time watching the story unfold. However, the story failed to reach its potential in many ways. Here are some of the issues I had with the book:

1) Character development. Everything was so rushed. Jeremy, the main character finds a Jackalope in his room; left there by his mad-scientist neighbour, and immediately things begins to roll. Actually, more like Usain-Bolt-lightning-speed. The next thing you know is he is teaming up with his other neighbour, Agatha to find the missing professor. Many things felt left out and the relationships between characters seem to be easily dismissed. Can be get more of an introduction to Bob? Can we know more about Jeremy and Agatha's relationship? They claim to be just acquaintances, then why do they seem to know so much about each other? I often had to read back a page just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

2) Not very believable. To think men in black suits come and visit your house and school looking for you, you'll think there will be some suspense to this novel but the plot just became very unbelievable. Jeremy's parents doesn't seem to question the two men staking outside their apartment, no one at school ratted Jeremy and Agatha out when the two men came to their school and raided their lockers. You will think someone must have seemed them leaving the school...through the front doors. After leaving school, they walked to the zoo. Oh really??? Oh they also sneaked into the zoo's lab and picked the lock. Who are these kids?

3) Why a jackalope? Wouldn't it sound scarier and more intense had the animal been a baby dragon? I think so.

Finally, a praise - Being a science student myself, I did enjoy some of the science aspect to this story but I think it is also this science background that made me doubt so many of the events in this book. It touched on topics that high school students will understand, which was fun for me to read.

This book is like Meet the Robinsons and I think a 9 year old who enjoys science will eat this book right up. Did I mention this book is very funny and I laughed out loud a couple of times? :) ( )