Zach Meyers has escaped the notice of the neighborhood bully, Chas Winters, for eleven years but that changes when he and his best friends, Junior and Lauren start sixth grade at the middle school.Chas targets Zach and pressures and bullies him to take part in dishonest and harmful ‘pranks’. Zach has enough though when he finds that the girl he was going to ask to the Valentine’s Day dance was coerced into going with Chas.
Zach has had enough intimidation and humiliation. He has to free himself from Chas’s reign of terror, but how? Then he hears a rumor that Chas and his cohorts are going to be served the frogs stolen from the science lab as a lunch entrée. If the rumor concerned anyone else he’d have to let them know but doesn’t Chas deserve what he gets?
Find out how Zach solves his dilemma and handles freeing himself from the constant threats and bullying from Chas and maintains his dignity and honor while doing so.
Lee Mandel has shown us just a glimpse into the stressful lives of ‘tweens’ and demonstrated how important it is for them to maintain their self-esteem just as it is for adults. This is not only a well told story for middle-grade readers but a lesson for all of us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lee Mandel is one of the fiction editors of the North Atlantic Review, a literary magazine, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. My shot story, "Pork vs. Van Pelt" appeared in the 2008-2009 issue. She is also the moderator of two writer's workshops through the local library, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Additional publishing credits include two articles for New York Newsday, and a non-fiction piece, "I'm Sad, Too," which was featured in the "Voices of Autism" Anthology (LaChance Publishing, June 2008). Her fiction has appeared in other magazines and E-zines such as A Long Story Short, Fandangle, Furry Tales & Turtle Shells, Stories For Children, Story Station, and Whimzy. "Scortch And The Paper Dragon," will appear in the autumn 2010 edition of the Children's Anthology, and "Grandpa's Chompers" recently appeared in an issue of Stories That Lift.
Frog Burgers is Ms. Mandel’s debut novel and the first in a series of books about Zach and his friends. Find out more about Frog Burgers, available on Amazon.com, at http://frogburgers.net/
Review by Lynnette Phillips
Sounds like a great book--I'm going to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra - it was a great read!
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