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| Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover ©2014 | -- |
| Library Binding ©2014 | -- |
| Paperback ©2015 | -- |
Single-parent families. Fiction.
Summer employment. Fiction.
Fathers and sons. Fiction.
Mothers and sons. Fiction.
Family life. Fiction.
Friendship. Fiction.
Schuyler Skeezie Tookis is stuck in Paintbrush Falls for the summer while his three best friends, Bobby, Joe, and Addie, are off on adventures of their own. Life is hard enough working at the Candy Kitchen to help pay the bills, watching his ornery little sisters, and mixing the signals he's getting from popular Becca. Then his dad shows up after a two-year absence with big news, and Skeezie needs his friends. Howe complements the strong first-person voice with tweets, texts, and dialogue transcripts as he tackles themes of bullying, family, and independence. Skeezie's story swells with the same earnest humor and after-school-special sweetness as the other Misfits books. Indeed, this is a fitting final installment in the series. Each of the books has a distinct voice, reflecting the individual protagonist's personality, yet they fit together perfectly, just like the friends themselves. A framing device, as Skeezie relates his story to his soon-to-be born son, 12 years later, includes successful eventualities for the gang.
Horn BookAs an adult, Skeezie reflects on the summer when his absent father returned home seeking reconciliation. As Skeezie tries to hold his fragile family life together, he explores his own emotions toward his parents and sisters, and is surprised by the bonds he feels. A satisfying conclusion to the Misfit books, with glimpses into adulthood for each member of the Gang of Five.
Kirkus ReviewsOver a decade has passed for readers since The Misfits (2001) introduced the Gang of Five, four seventh-grade outsiders who've got one another's backs; for Bobby, Joe, Addie and Skeezie, a year's gone by. It's Skeezie's turn to tell the story. Seventh grade is over. While his friends scatter on family vacations, Skeezie looks after his clingy, younger sisters. His father's never paid child support, his mom works two jobs, and now Skeezie needs one too. He's kept the stress and fighting at home a secret from the gang. Joe, out and proud, and Addie, smart and determined, have intact, supportive families; Bobby and his widowed father live in a trailer park, but they're doing fine, too. Addie's sometime friend Becca has a crush on Skeezie—or does she? Skeezie enjoys the job he's landed at the Candy Kitchen, working with pretty Steffi, who calls him Elvis and has family and boyfriend problems herself. When his dad shows up out of the blue, Skeezie's life changes again, and he's torn between the possibility of a new life and loyalty for the one he knows. Skeezie tells his story from two vantages, interspersing his present-tense account with occasional interjections from his 12-years-older self. If it lacks the spare, lyrical power of Addie on the Inside (2011), Skeezie's story shares the series' strengths. With its companions, it's a powerful affirmation of friendship, compassion and the right to be accepted for who we are. (Fiction. 10-14)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)This thoughtful conclusion to the Misfits series begins with Skeezie as an adult, an expectant father reflecting on his summer between seventh and eighth grade. Skeezie's letters to his young self, aka "Little E," are sprinkled throughout the narrative, providing moments of quiet wisdom. At age 13, as Skeezie's friends take off in different directions to exciting vacation destinations, he stays put with drearier prospects: babysitting his younger sisters while his single mother works two jobs, as well as finding employment of his own to help make ends meet. Skeezie could do worse than landing a part-time job at the Candy Kitchen, his favorite hangout. There, he finds a mentor and confidante in a 19-year-old coworker, Steffi. She helps him sort out his feelings about his father, who makes an unexpected reappearance in Skeezie's life. In return, Skeezie offers advice on her relationship with a boy who wants to marry her and settle down. Once again, Howe shows uncanny understanding of adolescent concerns and vulnerabilities, painting a realistically complicated portrait of a boy's coming of age. Ages 10-14. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Apr.)
School Library JournalGr 5-8 In this final book in the series, Skeezie Tookis looks back 12 years to the summer he was 13, when his mother, struggling to raise him and his two sisters alone, insists he get a job to help out. Skeezie hires on at the Candy Kitchen, favorite hangout of the Gang of Five, forming a special friendship with 19-year-old waitress Steffie, who nicknames him Elvis. Slicking back his hair and wearing his deadbeat dad's black leather motorcycle jacket are Skeezie's way of holding on to him, even as his anger over his father's desertion consumes him. When his dad turns up in Paintbrush Falls, Skeezie must face his ambivalent feelings head on: while his mother and sisters are hoping for a reconciliation, his father's plan is to seek a divorce so he can remarry and take Skeezie with him to his new life in Rochester. With his three best friends away on vacation, Skeezie is on his own as he grapples with his decision to stay or leave. Howe skillfully blends humor and pathos, effectively conveying the protagonist's conflicted feelings, even through his wisecracks, and his characterization is robust and nuanced. Skeezie narrates the story to his soon-to-be-born son, and readers learn at the outset, as they did in the conclusion of The Misfits (S. &; S., 2001 ) , how things turned out for the Gang of Five, but knowing doesn't lessen the impact of this compelling story. A most fitting and satisfying conclusion. Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
ALA Booklist
Horn Book
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Wilson's Junior High Catalog
FORUM: “What I’ll Be Doing on My Summer Vacation”
Skeezie:
If the service gets any slower in here . . .
Addie:
Relax, Skeezie. It’s summer.
Skeezie:
Meaning?
Addie:
Meaning, it’s okay for things to move slower.
Joe:
Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, HellomynameisSteffi is the only waitperson working today.
Skeezie:
“Waitperson”? Really?
Addie:
It’s the nonsexist term.
Skeezie:
Well, this “eat person” is hungry and can’t wait anymore.
Addie:
Skeezie! Please stop snapping your fingers!
Bobby:
Change of subject. Can you believe seventh grade is actually over? Now all we have to do is survive eighth grade.
Joe:
And high school.
Skeezie:
And life. Oh, good, here she is. Hey, Steff.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
Hey yourself, Elvis. You snapped?
Skeezie:
Yeah, I was thinking, should I try these new sweet potato fries you’ve got on the menu?
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
I’m glad you’re doing some deep thinking, Elvis. Why don’t you keep it up and answer that question for yourself?
Skeezie:
In the words of the King, don’t be cruel.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
I’m sure a lot of people other than Elvis Presley have said that, but in the interests of my other customers, I’ll cut the cruelty and say, Yes, Big E, try the sweet potato fries. They are awesome.
Skeezie:
Sold! And Dr Peppers all around!
Bobby:
With a scoop of vanilla ice cream in mine, please.
Joe:
And mine.
Addie:
How is it that you’re the only one working today, Steffi?
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
We lost two employees. Adam’s going to college in the fall and is biking across the country this summer.
Bobby:
Cool!
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
Right? And Tina got a better job at that new frozen yogurt place at the mall. Listen, I’d love to keep chatting, but before other people start snapping their fingers . . .
Skeezie:
Yeah, yeah.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
Be right back.
Addie:
That is so cute. She called you “Big E.”
Joe:
I don’t get it. You don’t have big ears.
Bobby:
Or elbows.
Joe:
Yeah, your elbows seem pretty normal to me. Although I have noticed that your eyeballs pertude.
Addie:
Protrude.
Joe:
Whatever.
Skeezie:
One, my eyeballs do not protrude. Two, it was not cute. And three, can we move on from the subject of HellomynameisSteffi? And four, if I owned this place, the “waitpeople” would not have to wear those dumb hellomynameis badges.
Addie:
Whatever you say, Big E. So today’s topic is—
Bobby:
Addie! School’s over. Can’t we just hang out for once and not talk about Important Stuff?
Addie:
All I was going to say is, today’s topic is “What I’ll Be Doing on my Summer Vacation.” I’ll start. I am going to volunteer at the public library!
Skeezie:
Wait. That sound you just heard was my brain going to sleep.
Addie:
Just because you’ve never read a book in your life.
Skeezie:
That’s not true. I read your copy of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Somebody back in the fourth grade.
Addie:
It’s “Frankweiler”—and that’s where it went! May I have it back, please?
Skeezie:
Um, I’m not quite finished with it. I think I have, like, a hundred pages left.
Addie:
If I weren’t using my hands to write this down, I would throttle you. Oh, and next month I’m going to stay with my grandma for a week, and then in August my parents and I are taking a two-week road trip. New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC!
Joe:
Ooh, will you bring me something from Broadway? T-shirt, snow globe, cute chorus boy . . .
Skeezie:
You are so gay.
Joe:
You are so not and should only be so lucky. So, do you want to hear what I’m doing this summer? Well, Kelsey and me. We’re going to be art counselors at the day camp.
Bobby:
Kelsey didn’t tell me you were doing that with her. You’ll be really good at it.
Joe:
Thanks. And then my family’s going to Montreal for a week, where I will parlezvous français and change my name to Jacques. Oh . . . oh . . . oh! And I forgot. Addie, you don’t have to get me any of that stuff from Broadway, because—drumroll, please—I am going by myself (with a little help from the fabulous Trailways bus system) to visit Aunt Pam in the Big Apple. What about you, Bobby?
Bobby:
Well, since I’m no longer working at Awkworth & Ames . . .
Skeezie:
Department Store of the Living Dead.
Bobby:
Um, yes, it is kind of quiet.
Addie:
I heard it might close. I hate that. I know it’s kind of an anachronism and nobody ever shops there, but it’s just such a part of Paintbrush Falls. I can’t imagine it not being here.
Joe:
A what-ism?
Addie:
Anachronism. That’s something that doesn’t fit the time period it’s in, like it belongs in an earlier time.
Joe:
Oh. Like Skeezie.
Addie:
Precisely.
Skeezie:
Sound of me laughing. Not.
Addie:
Anyway, the point is that sometimes change is hard.
Bobby:
I know what you mean. But I like my new job so much better. I’m working with my dad out at the nursery.
Skeezie:
The one near the Stewart’s where my mom works?
Bobby:
Uh-huh. I’ll be outdoors working with plants and all. Who knows, I might even lose some weight. And it’s really good for my dad and me to have the time together. At the end of July we’re going on a camping trip to Indian Lake for a week. We’ve never had a vacation together, just the two of us. Never. So what are you doing this summer, Skeezie?
Skeezie:
Sleep. Maybe finish that book of Addie’s. Eat ice cream. Sleep.
Addie:
Seriously.
Skeezie:
I’m being serious.
Joe:
Well, it’s nice to know you have ambitions, Skeeze.
Skeezie:
Hey, our food!
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
Here’s your sweet potato fries, Big E.
Addie,
Joe, and
Bobby:
Awwwww.
Skeezie:
You guys. Shut. Up.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
So I was overhearing your conversation. What are you doing this summer, Elvis? Hanging out at the pool, driving the girls crazy?
Skeezie:
Not likely. Yeah, no, I’ve got plans, sort of, I just . . . hey, these sweet potato fries are excellent.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
I’m glad you like them.
Bobby:
You look tired, Steffi. You should take a break.
Hellomy
nameis
Steffi:
No kidding. But as Elvis put it: Not likely. Well, eat up, you guys. And give me a yell—I mean, snap—if you need anything.
Excerpted from Also Known As Elvis by James Howe
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Skeezie Tookis has a life-changing summer in this fourth book of the funny, heartfelt, and beloved Misfits series by Bunnicula author James Howe.
I started wearing my dad’s leather jacket that he left hanging in the closet. I nabbed it right before my mom was going to toss it in the trash. She hated that I wore that jacket, but it’s what I have left of my dad.
Skeezie—also known as Elvis for the black leather jacket that he never takes off—isn’t looking forward to the summer after seventh grade. While his best friends Bobby, Joe, and Addie have exciting adventures, he’s stuck babysitting his sisters and working at the Candy Kitchen. True, he gets to hang out with the awesome Steffi, but he still has to contend with his maybe-crush on hot-and-cold Becca and Kevin Hennessey’s never-ending bullying. When his dad suddenly reappears, it’s another sign that this will be the worst summer ever.