Grooves: A Kind of Mystery

Grooves: A Kind of Mystery by Kevin Brockmeier Katherine Tegen Books, Imprint of HarperCollins, 2006, 199 pp., $16.89 Mystery/Detective ISBN: 978-0-06-073692-7

Kevin Brockmeier has brilliantly incorporated the adventure all adolescents desire with his critique of "The Man." Dwayne Ruggles is a seventh grader who, after taking a science experiment to a new level, discovers a secret plea for help in some blue jeans and potato chips. This leads Dwayne and his friends on a mission to discover the truth about a headstrong businessman named Howard Thigpen.

Grooves allows the young reader to identify with the main characters and become apart of the fantastic adventure that lies within its pages. The protagonists are not extraordinary kids, and that is what makes this novel so attractive. The adolescent reader can relate to the characters in a semi-realistic world.

This well-written novel can reawaken the reader's interest in science, economy, and ethics, promote humanitarianism and at the same time be a lot of fun. The teacher can use it as a tool in his or her class or the student can use it as an exemplary pleasure read.

Christopher Sullivan

Marquette, MI

Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Summer 2006
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