A wacky, pun-riddled story of amusement parkdwelling Augie changes tone rather abruptly when a tragedy befalls Augie's best friend and Augie believes it's his fault. But everything becomes both light and bizarre again when paranormal happenings help Augie handle his bullies. In the picture-book creator's debut novel, Smith's signature illustrations alternate with more rudimentary drawings attributed to Augie.

Starred Review Smith huffs and puffs and blows the roof off his first novel. Augie Hobble is in for a wicked summer painting polka dots on the toad-shaped toadstools at his father's rundown theme park, Fairy Tale Place, while dodging bullies and retaking his failed creative arts class in summer school. There are some bright spots, though, in the form of his best friend Britt and the flirtatious new Cinderella talent at the park. What starts as a quirky summer read quickly morphs into something nearly impossible to explain, and that's not just a reference to Augie's belief that he is turning into a werewolf. Plot elements that include groan-worthy humor; paranormal mysteries; special, special federal agents; a desert chase; and sock-in-the-gut tragedy are interspersed with Augie's illustrated brainstorming journal of wacky projects for summer school. Augie documents his summer with a Polaroid camera that was left in the park's lost and found way back in the 1990s takes "cool pictures that look like Instagram." If this novel were normal, fans would be disappointed. Give it to readers who wish Bridge to Terabithia had been written by Polly Horvath. Bravo, Lane Smith!

Gr 4-6 Smith's first novel begins with a scattered and zany atmosphere. That's entirely appropriate, given its setting at a struggling New Mexico amusement park. It may, however, present as much of a problem in attracting and retaining readers as Fairy Tale Place has in luring in customers. Augie's failed his Creative Arts class at the aptly named Gerald R. Ford Middle School and must complete a project over the summer. His story is interspersed with his cartoon ideas for the assignment, which make it clear that Augie lacks decisiveness more than creativity. These pieces, along with frequent insertions of Smith's illustrations, break up the text in ways which will appeal to kids who enjoy art-heavy, journal-form novels. About a quarter of the way through, intersections of the folkloric and the paranormal combine to give a more coherent direction to the narrative, despite our view through the scrim of implausibility. Werewolves, UFOs, and communications from the world beyond are prominently featured, but it's the fate of Augie's best friend and Augie's struggle to cope with responsibility for it that deepen the book and make it more touching than it initially seems. VERDICT Readers who persevere through the broad comedy will find a story with heart within. Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY