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Fuzzy Mud

Book Synopsis

A funny, sinister and thought-provoking comic thriller from the multimillion-copy selling author of Holes. If you go down to the woods today… Well, every child knows NOT to, don’t they? Tamaya is on a scholarship to the prestigious Woodridge Academy and every day she and seventh-grader Marshall walk to school together. They never go through the woods. When they arrive at school they stop talking to each other – because Marshall can’t be seen to be friends with a little kid like Tamaya. Especially not with Chad around. Chad the bully, who makes Marshall’s life utterly miserable. But today, hoping to avoid Chad, Marshall and Tamaya decide to go through the woods… And what is waiting there for them is strange, sinister and entirely unexpected. The town is about to be turned upside down by the mysterious Fuzzy Mud…

Our Review Panel says...

Marshall and Tamaya walk to school together every day, but Marshall always leaves Tamaya at the gate, because if he’s seen with a younger kid that will only give more fuel to his bully. Chad makes Marshall’s life miserable and Marshall thinks he’s powerless to stop it. Then one day, Marshall and Tamaya take a shortcut through the woods and Chad follows. But there’s a reason they usually avoid the woods – they’re infested with a biohazard, fuzzy mud! When Tamaya and Chad both get contaminated, it’s up to Marshall to save them both. I love Louis Sachar’s writing and his is one of the most realistic depictions of bullying I’ve read for this age group.