The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

332 pages

"Gil Goodson's future happiness depends on winning the Golly Toy & Game Company's ultimate competition. If Gil wins, his dad has promised that the family can move away from all the gossip, false friends, and bad press that have plagued them ever since The Incident. Inside the toy company's fantastic headquarters, Gill will have to master trivia, solve puzzles, and complete physical stunts--and he'll have to do it better than all of the other kids competing.

Oh, and did we mention that Gil's every step--and every mistake--will be broadcast on national television? Hold on tight, because the ride of his life is about to begin!" -Back Cover

My kids and I have been having reading time every day (sort of) during the summer. We sit out on the deck when weather permits and when it doesn't we read in the basement, eat a treat, and read a few chapters. My oldest daughter read this book and suggested we read it together. It was a success because it interested the other two girls enough to have them asking to read every day. Or maybe they were just interested in the treat. I thought it was just okay. The puzzles and games were all right. We did borrow one of the ideas for Father's Day. My husband had to figure out a puzzle similar to one in the book to learn the location of his present.

My problem with this book was that there were way too many incomplete sentences. I'm not a stranger to using them myself but too many and it gets annoying. For instance, on page 290 you get, "She looked up at him. Laughed. 'I won?' He jumped. High. Came down. Grabbed Carol, spun her around, let her go. 'I won?' Looked over at Lavinia. Lavinia was smiling. Smiling big." It was just too many, too often for me. It distracted from the story, which I didn't think was that well developed to begin with. For this genre of book I would recommend The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull before this one. The characters are more likable and the story is better.

*The ancient computer was not to be revived (thank goodness). I'm still figuring out this new one.