In this latest Adam Canfield title, teen journalist Adam and his ultra-organized coeditor, Jennifer, try to revive the Slash, their school newspaper, which has fallen on hard times since it exposed the town's most powerful family. The editorial staff has plenty of potential stories: the state testing program, the buying of the school's elections, a bike-stealing ring, and even the best chocolate milk in town. Their problem is that they have no money to pay the printer at is, until they find the crazy Ameche brothers. A budding romance and questions about journalistic ethics add to the intrigue in this satisfying series installment.

With the school paper shut down, Adam and his co-editor Jennifer scramble to find alternate funding to keep it alive. Meanwhile, they investigate a crooked student-body election, suspicious test scores, a stolen bike, and a cold-case mystery concerning an abandoned baby. While the detailed investigative journalism lends realism to the narrative, the interweaving plot lines slow down the action.

Gr 6-9 This third story about the middle school investigative reporter and his coeditor, Jennifer, is a topical, timely, and totally entertaining read. With the Harris Elementary/Middle School paper, the Slash , recently banned as a school-sponsored publication thanks to a powerful local family, the pair look for other ways to keep it afloat. To this end, they enlist the support of the Ameche brothers, two precocious, streetsmart, and wisecracking entrepreneurs who sell enough ads to launch a privately funded print run and to build an accompanying Web site. Unfortunately, just as the coeditors and their staff begin unearthing juicy scandalsa state testing scam, a class presidential candidate trading votes for free music downloads, and a local bicycle-robbery ringit becomes plain that the Ameche brothers, while great salesmen, need to be brought up to speed in terms of understanding "the wall" that separates commerce from ethical journalism. Ultimately, it is Ma Ameche, a prizewinning tomato grower and flea-market portrait artistand one of a small but significant cast of sympathetic adult figureswho both helps instruct her errant sons and tries to keep the Slash viable. The novel is packed with memorable characters, breezy laughs, a bit of romance, and heart-tugging quandaries that deftly point up the real-life matters that have turned genuine, honest journalism into an endangered species. Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI

Adam Canfield, coeditor of his school's newspaper, the Slash, has a big problem. The school board has shut down the newspaper for investigating the town's most influential family, and Adam and the staff must find a way to publish the exposÚ themselves. Adam and coeditor Jennifer approach the Ameche brothers for help but find the young businessmen lacking in journalistic ethics. While trying to raise money, Adam and Jennifer pursue some hot leads: the school election is being bought in exchange for free iPod downloads and the latest state test scores may be too good to be true. Adam must also decode the strange signals he is receiving from Jennifer and supervise the Slash's outspoken third-grade reporter, Phoebe. Winerip's characters are quirky, funny, and undeniably likeable, particularly Shadow, a special education student who takes his job as "official fact-checker and proofreader" very seriously. The author's humorous style will appeal to middle grade readers searching for an entertaining read. At the same time, Winerip's writing will encourage readers to think about topics relevant to their own lives such as ethical behavior, the importance and elusiveness of truth, and the educational system. In addition, Winerip should be commended for creating a novel where the adults are depicted as being approachable resources. A little "something smoochy" between coeditors Adam and Jennifer adds the crowning touch to this winning effort. This book can be read independently of the first two Adam Canfield novels.ùDavid Goodale.