The Call of the Bully: A Rodney Rathbone Novel

Gr 4–6—Rodney Rathbone is looking forward to a great summer with his friends. Then his teacher convinces his parents that eight weeks of camp accompanied by Josh, the class bully, would be a major character-building event for everyone. Now, besides missing his girlfriend and feeling betrayed by his parents, Rodney finds himself on a bus to Camp Wy-Mee waiting for the moment when Josh will pounce on him from across the aisle and pummel him once again. But the tables are turning for Josh, with the help of a bus driver who has trouble keeping his vehicle on the road, and soon the class bully is seeing Rodney in a new light. The camp is filled with humorous, yet stereotypical, characters, including camper Todd Vanderdick, who motors around on his Segway, and the wimpy camp director, Mr. Periwinkle, whose wife bullies him and most of the other campers. The cast of characters is unique and when it comes down to saving face in a softball game or saving Camp Wy-Mee, Rodney must join forces with his new friends to save the day. Fast-moving story lines and larger-than-life characters may make reluctant readers sit up and take notice. Imagine movies like The Sandlot and Caddyshack rolled into one literary preteen summer escapade, and kids will be hoping for a quick reunion with the characters of Camp Wy-Mee.—Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH