My life as a stuntboy /

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Derek Fallon gets the opportunity of a lifetime--to be a stunt boy in a major movie featuring a pretty teen starlet. After accepting the job he learns that he is the star's stunt double and must wear a wig! His friends are never going to let him live this down. If that weren't his only problem, his parents are threatening to give away his pet monkey, and his best friend just posted an embarrassing video of him on Youtube. Can life get any worse? Still the irrepressible Derek takes it all in stride and even manages to save the day.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

My Life as a Stuntboy By Janet Tashjian, Jake Tashjian Henry Holt & Company ISBN: 9780805089042 My Life as a Stuntboy Help! THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS always the worst day of the year. It's like some crazy surgeon throws you on an operating table and removes a major organ from your chest called summer. He doesn't realize how much a kid needs that organ, as much as a liver or a spleen. I feel almost bruised being back at school, and I haven't even made itto class yet. Maybe if I go to the nurse, she'll take pity on me and hook me up to an emergency life support system. But before I can make any last wishes, my friend Matt punches me in the arm and jolts me back from my daytime nightmare. "This year definitely won't be as bad as the others." Matt realizes the price tag is hanging from the sleeve of his shirt so he yanks it off as we talk. When we found out we would have Mr. Maroni this year, Matt and I were almost excited about school. "It'll be great to finally have a guy teacher--I've never had one." I imagine a school filled with male teachers, couches, potato chips, and flat-screen TVs. Matt shakes me from my reverieby making a buzzing noise like they use on game shows to get rid of a losing contestant. "They just announced that Mr. Maroni's father died two days ago, and Mr. Maroni is moving to Cincinnati to take care of his mother." "WHAT?" The first day of school is bad enough without getting hit with a massive curveball while you're still at your locker. "Want to know who we have instead?" Matt asks. I can't even begin to guess who'll be the master of my universe this year. "Ms. McCuddles." It's not that I dislike Ms. McCoddle--she's nice, young, and has super-blond hair--but Matt and I had her way back in kindergarten,and even though we're totally grown up now, she still thinks of us as kids. It was fine when we were five and she told us to call her Ms. McCuddles and hugged us when we fell during recess, but now we're almost embarrassed when we see her in the hall. I try to analyze our new situation. "Option one--Ms. McCoddle is easy on us since she's used to dealing with little kids, and we won't have to plug in our brains all year." Matt offers a different opinion. "Option two--she tries to make up for being a kindergarten teacher by being super hard on us." "The one year we're supposed to get a guy teacher--figures something would happen to mess it up." Our worst fears are realized when Ms. McCoddle walks by. "Derek! Matt! Did you hear the good news?" We look down at our sneakers and nod. "I'm setting up the mats and juice boxes now. Want to help?" Matt and I stare at her like she's just asked us to run over the principal with our skateboards. Ms. McCoddle laughs so hard, she snorts. "I'm kidding! We're starting right in on the Civil War. Get ready for some fierce discussion." We watch her walk down the hall with a feeling of dread. "Option two is officially in effect," Matt says. I barely hear him because I'm halfway down the hall, looking for the janitor, hoping he'll agree to knock me on the head with a mallet to put me out of my misery. Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Text copyright © 2011 by Janet Tashjian Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Jake Tashjian Excerpted from My Life as a Stuntboy by Janet Tashjian, Jake Tashjian All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher. Excerpted from My Life as a Stuntboy by Janet Tashjian, Jake Tashjian All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old Derek Fallon, from My Life as a Book (Holt, 2010), returns to face another school year and the dreaded task of reading. However, there are some bright spots in his days, including Frank, his capuchin monkey; his best friend, Matt; and the sport of parkour, which uses climbing, jumping, and running to get around obstacles. The boys' friendship is tested when Derek's parkour skills attract the interest of a Hollywood stuntman. Derek is ecstatic when he gets hired to be a "stuntboy," but shocked when he discovers that he's the double for a popular teen actress-and a pretty one, too. After his monkey is stolen, he needs all his friends and parkour skills to help with the rescue. Likely intended for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams, 2007) crowd, this book won't disappoint Greg Heffley's fans, even if Tashjian's humor is milder than Kinney's sharp wit. The details about parkour and a behind-the-scenes peek at filmmaking add interesting information. Stick-figure illustrations cleverly show Derek's practice of drawing his vocabulary words, e.g., the sketch for "analyze" has a stick figure boy scratching his head while staring at a blackboard. They add depth when depicting words readers may find unfamiliar, such as "heinous" and "reverie." However, a great number of them ("gymnasium," "nerdy") need no explanation and are simply humorous. A fast-moving plot and relatable protagonist make this stand-alone sequel a good choice for boys who, like Derek, would rather reach for a TV remote or game controller than a book.-M. Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

This solid sequel to My Life as a Book (2010) reintroduces 12-year-old Derek Fallon, who finds reading difficult and getting into trouble easy. In a snappy, first-person narrative, Derek explains how his world changes after a stunt coordinator finds him at a skateboard park and asks him to work on a movie in which preteen idol Tanya Billings stars! But Derek doesn't anticipate his best friend and fellow skateboarder, Matt, will be jealous of the gig, and Derek is shocked and hurt when Matt teams up with some other boysagainst Derek. This is a great package for kids, especially those like Derek who don't think they like to read. For instance, it shows that even if reading's not your thing, you may have talents elsewhere. And it also shows, through the fast-paced story (complete with amusing stick-figure drawings that illustrate difficult words), that reading might be your thing after all. The draw of the story is matched by Tashjian's keen observations of how kids really feel and how they interact with the world.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist

Horn Book Review

In this sequel to My Life as a Book, Derek still doesn't feel any love for school or reading, but he's having a blast with his athleticism. Noticed by a Hollywood stuntman while skateboarding, Derek's hired as a body double for the latest teen sensation (a girl, no less!). This fast-moving story, with Derek's copious doodles in the margins, is a fine diversionary read. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Book Review

In this satisfying stand-alone companion toMy Life as a Book(2010), 12-year-old Derek Fallon thinks landing a job as stuntboy for megastar Tanya Billings must be as good as it gets.After all, the infamously reluctant reader had finally found his niche! The plot, however, thickens: "This morning I was on a movie set doing stunts, talking to a movie star. By the end of the day, my best friend's making fun of me, I have a homework tutor, and my mother's going to cut open my adopted monkey to retrieve my horse. How do these things happen?" As Derek's well-meaning parents tirelessly engage in what sound like rehearsed "teacher moments," their son realistically vacillates between self-doubt and boyish bravadoall in a dry, funny first-person voice. Derek's Yoda-like parkour/stunt coach Tony also has many life lessons for the stuntboy, such as "Parkour is about making your way around obstacles." The family's foster capuchin monkey Frank provides a hairy subplot, as does Derek's nagging worry about losing his best friend Matt, suddenly jealous about Derek's newfound fame. The generous margins are filled with Derek's often quite clever stick-figure cartoons illustrating vocabulary words such as "flabbergasted" and "camouflage"all rendered by the author's teenage son.Another fun, emotionally resonant read for the Wimpy Kid set and beyond.(Fiction. 9-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Janet Tashjian is the author of acclaimed books for young adults, including The Gospel According to Larry , Vote for Larry , Fault Line , Multiple Choice and My Life as a Book . Disney adapted Tru Confessions into a television movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. Tashjian studied at the University of Rhode Island and Emerson College. She lives in California with her family.