Ferraiolo's debut novel cleverly sets a noir mystery in the treacherous hallways of middle school, as Matt Stevens relates how he gets sucked into his school's organization that specializes in forged hall passes and hits with water guns. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

The seventh-grader version of a Raymond Chandler PI, Matt Stevens coolly navigates the mean streets (okay, the mean hallways) of Franklin Middle School in a first novel with an ingenious premise: junior high noir. Matt's classmate, the once-bullied Vinny Biggio, commands a whole "organization," complete with hit men, in this case boys and girls who use loaded squirt guns, stealth attacks and their peers' predictable responses (choruses of "Jimmy peed his pants!") to ensure their targets' permanent and total ostracism. The plot has to do with the spectacular takedown of one Nicole Finnegan, aka Nikki Fingers, the school's most feared "trigger-girl," that is, until her recent retirement from Vinny's operation. Just who ordered the hit on Nikki, and why? Twists and curve balls keep readers guessing; extended jokes like one about a petty thief's desperate need for cash ("On the surface, Peter was a happy-go-lucky model student, but underneath, he had a dirty little secret: He was a Pixy Stixer") will keep them laughing. With crisp prose and surprisingly poignant moments, Ferraiolo's debut entertains on many levels. Ages 10-14. (Sept.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 6-8-Matt Stevens is a seventh-grade Sam Spade who attends a middle school with an organized crime ring run by Vinny Biggs and his goons. Biggs traffics in forgeries, stolen exams, and candy, and has his competition regularly put in the "Outs" with humiliating water-pistol stains to the pants. A kid in the Outs is outcast for life-so when Nikki Fingers, Biggs's most-feared former hit woman, is taken down by an unseen assailant, Matt is hired by both her sister, Jenny, and Biggs himself to find the culprit. The result is a punchy, clue- and twist-filled plot that falls somewhere between Bruce Hale's "Chet Gecko" (Harcourt) and Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War (Knopf, 1974). Ferraiolo cleverly adapts hard-boiled whodunit roles to a slightly cartoonish middle school arena (Joey "the Hyena" is framed for the crime; Katie Kondo is the vigilant hall monitor chief; Jimmy Mac heads the school paper; Sal Becker runs a root-beer version of a dive bar in his toolshed). Matt's strained relationship with Kevin, a former best friend who's now working for Biggs, brings depth to his character, as do his crushes on both Jenny and Kevin's sister. An intriguing personal mystery involving Matt's father, who disappeared years earlier, remains unsolved by the end of the book, and Matt's mother has secrets yet to tell. Well paced, funny, and suspenseful, with some real commentary on bullying and mob mentality, this book will have fans eagerly awaiting the next installment in this faux noir detective series.-Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Matt Stevens is a tough, smart private eye. He's also in seventh grade, and his class hires him to deal with the school boss, Vinny Biggs, by teaming up with Nikki Fingers, the school assassin, whose well-placed shots to the front of the trousers with her squirt gun has socially destroyed many a student. While Matt is talking to Nikki, she is taken out by a squirt gun that was shot by an unknown assailant. Matt sets out to find who blasted Nikki and meets some junior high femme fatales and a few devious little creeps along the way. The novel's length works against it; the parody starts to drag. In addition, the somewhat realistic relationship between Matt and his single-parent mom doesn't mesh well with the story's otherwise farcical tone. Still, this debut novel delivers plenty of laughs, especially in the opening chapters, and fans of private-eye spoofs will enjoy this entertaining read.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2008 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.