Agent Q, or the Smell of Danger!

Gr 4—6—In this installment (Beach Lane Bks., 2010) of M. T. Anderson's pulp adventure stories involving Lily Gefelty, Katie Mulligan, and Boy Technonaut Jasper Dash, the intrepid trio is trying to escape the rogue state of Delaware and get back to the United States. Helping them are some of the spiritual and compulsively truthful monks from Vbngoom. A teenage monk has just taken his Vow of Sarcasm and provides an hysterical running commentary on the many events that take place. Katie has a crush on one monk in particular, Drgnan Pghlik (there is a shortage of vowels in Delaware, don't ask). There are many spies looking for the group, so the monks asked mysterious hero Agent Q for help. But is obnoxious and conceited secret agent Taylor Quizmo the one who has been sent to help the children escape the evil Autarch? Full of puns, melodrama, and humor, this plot-driven book will appeal to fans of the series. The story is a trifle confusing for those unfamiliar with the previous books, so listeners should be encouraged to start with the first one, Whales on Stilts (Listening Library, 2006). Marc Cashman does a grand job of emoting with overwhelming zeal.—B. Allison Gray, Goleta Public Library, Santa Barbara, CA