Summary: Twelve-year-old Gil Goodson competes against thousands of other children at extraordinary puzzles, stunts, and more in hopes of a fresh start for his family, which has been ostracized since his father was falsely accused of embezzling from Golly Toy and Game Company. 308 p., Greenwillow Books.
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Eva Perry Mock-Newbery Club 
It had a nice real life theme that I really liked and had a very original writing style. I also liked the twist at the end.
The ending twist wsa really surprising! A great read if you like puzzles and riddles!
I also enjoyed this book. However, thought it was kind of predictable in places. But the fantastic writing and super plot make up for this. This book will probably be on my top Six.
This book is great! I agree that you could easily figure out what was generally going to happen in the book, but exactly how it might happen left a feeling of suspense. The twist at the end was a major plus. This would not be in my top three, but it is high on my list.
this was a pretty good book but the ending i found to be rather easy to geuss
This was an interesting story and I enjoyed it alot, but I just don’t think that it’s a Newbery winner. There is no character developement, it was not particularly descriptive, and the writing style isn’t far out of the ordinary. I liked it because I like puzzles. So, great read, but not a Newbery winner.
I thought the book was a bit predictable in some places too, although it may not be a newberry winner it will definetly be popular, especially to those who enjoy good riddles. I expected something in the end but it was still a great read probably in my top five.
this book was the common boy has hope and then no hope and so on and so forth. as Ezra says it was predictable the hero usually wins. now books where the hero doesn’t win is the surprising ones
OMG, I loved this book!!! I have to wake up at 5:30 to get ready for school and i woke up at 4:30 to finish this book! I don’t think it could be a Newbery winner because the writing wasn’t distinguished enough, but the story was great and i love books with puzzles that you can figure out. Near the end of the book, i was totally surprised, but then it ended in a pretty predictable way. This will absolutely be popular and everyone will love it, but i don’t think it will win
This is a fun read, especially for kids who like puzzles, but I don’t think it is quite Newbery.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. If you want something that’s just pure fun and in the vein of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, then this is for you. I just don’t think it qualifies for Newbery. I think Newbery books should make you think, and this really didn’t. Not that a Newbery book can’t be fun to read, but I think it needs to have more staying power. So all in all, this is a great fun read that you’ll want to read in one sitting, but not a Newbery winner.
During our First Top 3 Vote of this year, the following comments were made about this book:
“It is very fun, had great characters, and the plot is awesome with an unexpected twist.”
“A great adventure story that displays creativity on every page. The amount of limitless imagination kept me interested.”
“Combination of strong plot line and good descriptive writing kept the story moving…”
“Sort of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but with a good twist.”
“I think the different writing style had a huge impact. It has many twists in the plot. The descriptions in this book were spectacular and I almost caved into the feeling that Thorn was really not cheating.”
“Kept me interested. Love the descriptions.”
My first thought about this book was, ‘This is a Newbery winner’ but as I think back and remember the other books I’ve read, I start to think of it as just another fun read. It was pretty unique, but a little too fast-paced. If this book had been expanded and had more description and plot, it may have been a winner.