The Adventures of the Flash Gang: Episode One: Exploding Experiment
The Adventures of the Flash Gang: Episode One: Exploding Experiment
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Independent Pub Group
Just the Series: Adventures of the Flash Gang   

Series and Publisher: Adventures of the Flash Gang   

Annotation: That brief, blinding dazzle? The blue smudge and lingering stink? The Flash Gang has struck again! They are the most notorious thieves in Pittsburgh, food-stealing crooks the police and newspapers say are highly trained and very dangerous. But eleven-year-old Lewis Carter isn't a thief, he's just homeless and hungry. The Flash is a recipe he invented from bits of his missing father's scientific research. He uses it to pinch his dinners. It's been going pretty well, until now. Now his recipe is stolen, and he is in the clutches of some rather nasty people.
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #6758221
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2023
Edition Date: 2023 Release Date: 03/21/23
Pages: 204 p.
ISBN: 1-646-03322-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-646-03322-5
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2022935698
Dimensions: 22 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In Waugh and Downing's middle-grade historical novel set in 1935, a boy with a dangerous secret and an unexpected sidekick flees ruthless enemies.In Depression-era Pittsburgh, 11-year-old Lewis Carter is among the unhoused, hungry masses on the streets. His chemistry professor father left one day in 1934for a mysterious meeting and didn't come back, and Lewis was thrown out by their landlady to fend for himself. He's survived by using his father's secret "Recipe" of substances that create a harmless but blinding flash of light, distracting shop owners long enough for him to purloin food. The thefts are rumored to be the work of criminals dubbed the "Flash Gang" by local newspapers, but hardened criminals, aware of the existence of the Recipe, want to exploit its potential for lethal violence; the villains manage to track Lewis down; needing more information, they kidnap him and imprison him in a house. At this point, the tense plot takes a seemingly farcical turn: Pearl Alice Clavell, a girl wearing a sparkly pink tutu and ballet slippers, appears and rescues Lewis. It turns out that Pearl equates every danger with an episode of the popular weekly radio show "The Adventures of Lola Lavender," whose hero she imitates. The authors, however, movingly balance Pearl's eccentricities with the emerging truth of her plight. Later, the novel provides a startling revelation of who the kidnappers are and how they plan to use Lewis' father's Recipe. Lewis is relatably vulnerable throughout: He's worried about his father's fate and physically limited by asthma attacks that are made worse by "the thick smog of Pittsburgh," which settles in his lungs "like soggy grit." The pair also find allies in a sympathetic reporter and some tough but supportive street kids. The historical underpinnings of the plot-including widespread corruption, local mobsters, and the rise of Hitler sympathizers-are well researched, capturing a crisis-ridden time and place with immediacy. The novel ends with an intriguing teaser for the next book in the series.A tale with plenty of humor and suspense, memorable characters, and a plot that's vividly informed by a challenging time in U.S. history.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In Waugh and Downing's middle-grade historical novel set in 1935, a boy with a dangerous secret and an unexpected sidekick flees ruthless enemies.In Depression-era Pittsburgh, 11-year-old Lewis Carter is among the unhoused, hungry masses on the streets. His chemistry professor father left one day in 1934for a mysterious meeting and didn't come back, and Lewis was thrown out by their landlady to fend for himself. He's survived by using his father's secret "Recipe" of substances that create a harmless but blinding flash of light, distracting shop owners long enough for him to purloin food. The thefts are rumored to be the work of criminals dubbed the "Flash Gang" by local newspapers, but hardened criminals, aware of the existence of the Recipe, want to exploit its potential for lethal violence; the villains manage to track Lewis down; needing more information, they kidnap him and imprison him in a house. At this point, the tense plot takes a seemingly farcical turn: Pearl Alice Clavell, a girl wearing a sparkly pink tutu and ballet slippers, appears and rescues Lewis. It turns out that Pearl equates every danger with an episode of the popular weekly radio show "The Adventures of Lola Lavender," whose hero she imitates. The authors, however, movingly balance Pearl's eccentricities with the emerging truth of her plight. Later, the novel provides a startling revelation of who the kidnappers are and how they plan to use Lewis' father's Recipe. Lewis is relatably vulnerable throughout: He's worried about his father's fate and physically limited by asthma attacks that are made worse by "the thick smog of Pittsburgh," which settles in his lungs "like soggy grit." The pair also find allies in a sympathetic reporter and some tough but supportive street kids. The historical underpinnings of the plot-including widespread corruption, local mobsters, and the rise of Hitler sympathizers-are well researched, capturing a crisis-ridden time and place with immediacy. The novel ends with an intriguing teaser for the next book in the series.A tale with plenty of humor and suspense, memorable characters, and a plot that's vividly informed by a challenging time in U.S. history.

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Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Reading Level: 5.0
Interest Level: 4-7
Lexile: 710L

That brief, blinding dazzle? The blue smudge and lingering stink? The Flash Gang has struck again! They are the most notorious thieves in Pittsburgh, food-stealing crooks the police and newspapers say are highly trained and very dangerous. But eleven-year-old Lewis Carter isn't a thief, he's just homeless and hungry. The Flash is a recipe he invented from bits of his missing father's scientific research. He uses it to pinch his dinners. It's been going pretty well, until now...Now his recipe is stolen, and he is in the clutches of some rather nasty people. Enter tutu-wearing, starry-eyed, and all around extraordinary (she will tell you) Pearl Alice Clavell. She is on a mission to uncover a Nefarious Deed she's convinced involves the Flash Gang. Rescuing Lewis is right up her alley. Truth is, a Nefarious Deed is afoot, one that threatens the entire country. It will take Lewis and Pearl joining forces to save the recipe and themselves against an enemy who will stop at nothing, including kidnapping, and, very possibly, murder.


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