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Having grown up with the cult classic “Hocus Pocus” I was excited to get my hands on the written sequel. Though that excitement was short-lived. I will be upfront and honest with my readers, I was not impressed with this book, not even a tad bit, and that saddens me.

Part 1 of the book is the best part of the book by far, yet I can’t say that it is a good part of the sequel because it isn’t. The sequel of the story is in part two. Part 1 simply retells what we saw in the movies with one change. The added character of Elizabeth Sanderson (the fourth sister). As Emily is lured away from home by Sarah Sanderson’s enchanting song, Elizabeth stops her and warns her to not follow the singing, but Emily Binx continues on her way.

Part 2 includes the same cast of characters and their offspring. Max and Allison married, moved away from Salem and later returned, they had a daughter and named her Poppy. The sequel follows Poppy and her friends Travis and Isabella, along with their bully Kate Taylor (the daughter of Jay Taylor who was the plaid wearing bully from the original Hocus Pocus). Poppy is also close to her Aunt Dani who is coming home soon to celebrate Halloween, though the Dennison family isn’t one for Halloween.

Part two opens up with Poppy in school, specifically history class which is taught by her father, Max Dennison. If you ever saw the original, you’re probably questioning this as I did. I could never picture “Hollywood” as a teacher. He scoffed at school, especially history. Students want their teacher to follow suit and discuss the Sandersons like every teacher of the school did 25 years prior, it is a tradition. However, Max’s family doesn’t speak of the Sandersons. Max and Allison told their daughter and her best friend, Travis, about their encounter and the teens never really took them seriously but got the point that it was to never be brought up. Poppy attempts to save her father from having to retell the history of the sisters (no one aside from Max, Dani, and Allison and a couple of others-we’ll get to that later-remember that Halloween 25 years ago due to some spell work from the witches). Poppy’s efforts were squashed when her crush, Isabella Richards, raises her hand and asks if Elizabeth Sanderson was evil like her sisters.

Later that day Isabella asks Poppy and Travis to join her for lunch (which students are allowed to eat off-campus as long as they are back before the tardy bell to the following period). While in a pizza restaurant Poppy tells Isabella her family’s absurd story about the Sandersons. Katie or “Tattle-tale Taylor” as her classmates call her overhears the crazy story. Katie is the daughter of the high school principal, Jay Taylor. The same Jay Taylor bullied Max and Dani. His pal didn’t stick around Salem, after graduation, he left the state to start fresh. Here’s what I don’t get as a reader, there’s no logical connection here. These two guys were headed for drop out status due to truancy and generally not giving a darn about their schooling. How did they jump as 11th or 12th graders (based on age, not actual status-as an educator my mind tells me surely these boys were not on-level) to suddenly having successful careers and one in education? As an educator this also doesn’t track with me, it would take a lot to convince me that these two suddenly cared to do anything worthwhile with their lives.

Allison and Max are hosting a party for all of the students on Halloween, which confuses Poppy and Travis because of her family’s stance against the holiday. The reader soon learns this is their way of keeping an eye on the kids because the spellbook was never recovered. If you’ve seen the original movie you might remember at the end of the film in the credits that the spell book’s eye opens up. Isabella, of course, comes to the party and she has a spirit board & shockingly the spellbook! When asked by Poppy how she came to have possession of the book Isabella claims it just appeared on her bed earlier that day and she suspects it is because she is a descendant of Elizabeth Sanderson (which is why she wanted to know if her ancestor was evil or not). Again this doesn’t track. The book just randomly appear? The book was never able to move on its own before so how did it appear on her bed? This is never explained and as a reader, I don’t trust Isabella’s version of the story but it is never again addressed and throughout the book, she’s a protagonist.

The kids ditched the party to see the old Sanderson home; just like Max, Allison, and Dani all did before. Now I’m starting to see a pattern and the book begins to feel like the same old story again…you’d think this would be comforting but it isn’t I want a sequel to be new, different and exciting! While using the spirit board to connect with who they think might be Elizabeth beyond the veil Poppy is tricked into reciting a spell from the book. There’s enough time for Poppy’s parents and her Aunt Dani to appear before the spell takes over and they disappear in front of them while the “veil” is ripped open and they are replaced by the original trio of witches. In the ensuing fight with the sisters, Isabella is turned into a Boston Terrier…Thackery Binx as a cat all over again. I suppose it isn’t a Disney story unless there’s some talking animal component. They are then chased into the graveyard where they are greeted by Thackery and Emily Binx. Isabella is also introduced to Elizabeth Sanderson’s apparition. She reveals that the spell doesn’t end at sunup like the previous spell did, instead it becomes permanent. The switching spell sent the Dennisons to Hell in place of the wicked sisters. Using Sarah’s voice and the invention of the cell phone they plan to lure the town to them so that they can use the same spell to bring more witches back from Hell. The only way to defeat them is to destroy the family’s magical stone a “blood moonstone” that had been entrusted to Elizabeth while she was alive. Elizabeth believes that their mother knew the other three were up to no good and didn’t want the stone to fall into the hands of evil.

With some local knowledge, the three friends realize that the stone must be buried somewhere near the lighthouse. The keeper of the lighthouse is Principal Taylor. Taylor upon hearing that the Sandersons have returned refuses to help Poppy, Travis, and Isabella (though he doesn’t realize Isabella is the dog with the other two). When Poppy demands to know why he explains that he remembers the first time the sisters paid Salem a visit postmortem. Jay and “Ice” were left hanging in cages in the Sanderson home after being taunted and threatened. That why Jay’s friend, Ernie/”Ice”, left town. They had been traumatized and Jay stuck around Salem to prevent anything like it from happening again. Yet here we go again with a disconnect. If he wants to prevent it or give aid if it ever happened again then this is his moment, yet he refuses to help any Dennison because Max left him and Ernie in the cages that night after taking his shoes back from them.

While all of this happens the wretched sisters are using Isabella’s cell phone (they found after turning her into a dog and the teens running away) and learn that it can connect them to each child with a similar “box” and they can hear Sara’s voice making it easier to entrance them. Here’s yet another disconnect. There’s no need for this at all. In the original movie and they kept true to it in part one, Sarah’s voice reaches every child rather quickly without the aid of a bullhorn, therefore, she could easily do it again and using the phone only makes the process take longer. As they begin to move about the town looking for the family stone they come across a magic shop Sarah and Winifred keep moving and Mary is distracted and begins to sing her song (a musical number then follows where it is only Mary singing about how she’ll be the one to come out on top not Winifred and the stones follow in dance-like movements behind her). Wait, wait, just wait a sec. What the heck is a musical number doing here? Yes, there was a good one in the original with Winifred singing “I Put a Spell on You” but there was a purpose to that, she did put a spell on the adults at that party, turned them into dancing zombies, even when tired they couldn’t stop dancing. This spell kept them occupied so that the children didn’t have anyone to help them rescue the town. The scene with Mary’s musical number in the book just did not fit and as a reader, I felt like that scene was a waste of time.

Eventually Poppy, Isabella, and Travis discover that Katie hasn’t been “zombified” by Sarah’s song to disobey her father who wanted her to be locked in at home with him and drive them to the lighthouse. The stone is found but it is shatterproof of course because that would be all to easy to just smash it with a shovel, it is magical after all. As the witches are able to cast the spell they summon more and more of their coven from Hell while the teens of Salem are sent to Hell in their place. The sisters’ mother is raised from Hell with this spell and it is revealed (to no one’s surprise) that she never intended the stone be kept away from evil just kept away from Winifred because their mother wanted the power for herself. Isabella discovered that she has powers (what great timing to find out you’ve got natural witch powers, no one expected that to happen! Yes, heavy, dripping sarcasm is intended here. With focus and belief in herself along with the support of her friend and a few misses, Isabella in the final battle with them shatters the stone by sending an electrical-like charge (the only thing she can do) at it.

After everyone is returned to their proper side of the veil, Max apologizes to Jay and Katie and the other three all become cordial with each other. Who doesn’t love a happy ending where everything turns out even better! My eyes rolled so hard when reading these little “heart-felt” scenes. Then there’s the Afterword and there I cannot beg enough, do not make a third book!

Sure we all wanted a sequel, but we wanted a sequel that didn’t follow nearly exactly like the previous story, nor did we want random musicals, not to mention all of the nods to previous Disney stories…we get it! Seriously every costume described on any NPC in the book was some Disney character. Even things the kids would say from time to time were nods to Disney like the character Travis says “Do or do not, there is no try.” Yes the character is a nerd, and yes they can use all of this without paying royalties, but essentially it is shoved in the readers’ face that this is a Disney story, and we do not need to be reminded of that, it takes us away from the story.

Technically speaking the book is mostly sound; it would earn at least a B-, maybe a basic B. As for this being a sequel, however, it is a 1-star rating. Supposedly Disney is set to make a sequel film, so let us hope that the screenwriters improve this story before Disney creates an epic flop.

Hello my fellow book nerds! If you’ve been following my Instagram: @picnicwithabook then you’ve kept up with my pix and snip-its. I’m back on the blog though at my mom’s request. Apparently my mom likes my blogging and asked why I haven’t kept up with it so I’m back! Honestly taking photos and writing captions has been easier (though I don’t do it with consistency). So let’s catch up!

June 2nd, 2019 was my last post about the used bookstore in Denton, TX. On June, 17th I began reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, this book was a Christmas gift last year from my boyfriend, although he gave it to me early. When I am interested in a book I won’t stop till I have a copy in my hands, my bf realized that I was searching for it when he already had it ordered through Amazon and waiting to be wrapped for Christmas. I cooked up some healthy scrambled eggs, roasted cherry tomatoes, buttered English muffins, grapes, and cheese; a miniature feast! I had promised to put my thoughts about the book here and now I can keep that promise.

Norse Mythology is a retelling of classic myths of the Norse Gods and Goddesses. Gaiman became interested in these myths through the Marvel version of Thor (he has gone on to write for the comics at times). Sometimes while reading there’s some disconnect (as in the reader, myself, felt removed from the story…however, that is to be expected with classics and retellings). All in all this was a good read.

On June 24th my wonderful boyfriend supplied me with more reading material! I had taken myself to the mall and treated myself to Starbucks tea, time to write and work on my own novel planning, a cute little chevron patterned Ty Toy fox, and a shiny blue ring. By the time I sat down to write I had already spent myself allotted budget for the outing and I saw this book I was absolutely drawn to. I told my guy about it and decided to buy it on my next paycheck, yet when I saw him next, I didn’t have to because he ordered it as soon as I told him about it! I haven’t begun to read the book yet, but waiting for me to enjoy is Jenny Colgan’s The Bookstore on the Corner.

July 2nd I put the books away to join the Wizards Unite craze! Well, I had already joined but hadn’t done much work on it yet so I packed up my nifflers (I have a Nifflergram too! @poppy.the.niffler) and spent the day driving and and walking around while fighting creatures and defending with spells. I packed up a bunch of snacks, two large bottles of water, and I even brought along my Helga Hufflepuff wand!

July 5th involved a trip to Half Price Books where I picked up a graphic novel by Janet & Alex Evanovich. I met Janet Evanovich through an author’s chat years ago. My mom’s friend was then an editor (now she reviews books) and brought around authors to our online chats every Wednesday evening. Evanovich even helped revise one of my short stories for English class! In the haul I also got Fairest (more comics about princesses though not the Disney versions), The Titan’s Curse in graphic novel version, and The City of Ember. I remember I started reading The City of Ember years ago in middle school but I don’t remember how it ends. During that time I struggled with reading, it wasn’t until college that I was diagnosed as being dyslexic…so I don’t remember, accurately any how, how stories took place.

On July 15th I started putting together a reading list that I later posted on the 19th…although plans for that reading list haven’t come to full fruition. However, on the 15th I also revealed an antique find! I had gone on a day trip back to the Dallas area to visit another friend and her family. Her eldest daughter didn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to interests and suggested taking me to an antique store down the road from their apartment, Iron Wheel Antiques. There we spotted the perfect gem for Picnic with a Book… a vintage picnic basket! Not only the basket though, when you look inside there was a wooden tray separator, wicker plate holders, and an old fashioned can opener!

On the 19th my To Be Read list included finishing Norse Mythology, The Haunting of Hill House, The Impossible Knife of Memory, Stolen, Hungry Woman in Paris, Secrets of the Soul, The Dream Wizard-Journey, Equal Rites, Hocus Pocus the All-New Sequal, The Graveyard Book, Nightmares, Forever…Wrapped, The Screaming Staircase, and finally to get me through December, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I set my bar way too high thinking that I’d have more time to reading as I was preparing for surgery and returning to work…I was sorely wrong. Thus far I have completed Norse Mythology, The Haunting of Hill House, The Impossible Knife of Memory, Stolen, Nightmare,s and I’m working on completing Hocus Pocus the All-New Sequal before I spend my Winter break reading The Way of Kings. On July 26th I started The Haunting of Hill House, yet by August 2nd I had given up on reading it as I was too distracted, the book didn’t hook me into it. I watched the Netflix series and later listened to the audiobook and was finally able to finish it. On July 25th I went through a Lisfranc repair surgery on my left foot (I fell over two years before and although the 4 hairline fractures healed up my foot was never the same…turns out I broke the Lisfranc ligament)! While laid up on the sofa at my boyfriend’s house (I had to stay with him since I was confined to a wheel chair and couldn’t make the stairs to my 3rd floor apartment) he spoiled me, he bought me magazines including Time’s Harry Potter issue, and Life’s issue The World’s Most Haunted Places, National Geographic’s Science of the Supernatural issue.

In August I returned to work for the start of the school year, myself and the other 10th grad English teacher decided we would teach Fahrenheit 451 this year and so I began to reread it to re-familiarize myself with the story, which I adored when I was a 10th grader. At the same time I was still determined to get through my reading list and was also reading The Impossible Knife of Memory. At work when the students returned we had students complete their Summer Reading assignment (answering a set of sort answer essay questions about any fiction or non-fiction book they read during the summer). Many of our student use Wattpad and it is encouraged by the district to use for access to free reading material. I’ve signed up but have yet to read a book from the app.

After completing The Impossible Knife of Memory I read Lucy Christopher’s Stolen. I originally began reading this book years ago at Hastings (Rest in Piece). I didn’t have money to purchase the book, but would go in to read as much of it at a time that I could. I was a broke college student with no job…but my brother was a barista at their cafe, so I had an excuse to go in. After Stolen I began to read Secrets of the Soul by Allen Hartley (my friend’s husband) however, the book is very much a sci-fi…usually not my cup of tea. My reading was interrupted on September 19th due to Tropical Storm Imelda and my school district’s officials deciding to keep the doors open and school in session. We ended up canceling school less than half way through the day and those of us with classrooms that had windows were moved to central, windowless classrooms. We ended up with 4 classes shoved in to a double room where myself and two other teachers kept watch over 40-50 students. Finally at the end of September I had my stitches out and was finally able to walk! I also was able to return to taking my own photos for my Instagram account. I started reading Jason Segel and Kristen Miller’s Nightmares! (I had no idea that this was the same Jason Segel who played Marshall on How I Met Your Mother!!!) This book was so adorable and perfect for middle school students. A lot of my own students are at a lower reading level so I made the suggestion to them if they wanted an interesting Halloween read for October…none took me up on the suggestion.

October 11th sweetie and myself had an lovely little date night at home (aside from a quick trip to Starbucks for a peppermint hot chocolate). It was 60’F outside that evening so we dressed in our cozy PJs and snuggled up on his bench outside and read our books after a bit of stargazing. He has been reading Brandon Sanderson’s Oath Bringer and I continued to read Nightmares! The next few days after this we finished up his cosplay for the Texas Renaissance Festival, he went as Raistlin Majeer from Dragonlance. He also surprised me with a new Funko Pop for my ever growing collection…Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus!

October 17th my coworker and I discovered we were short on copies of Fahrenheit 451, oh no! Not to worry I live next to a Half Price Books and I had $100 left to my name before payday. I lucked out and the store had exactly 10 copies! I also stopped by the dollar store for some snacks to help me power through essays students were turning in late! A short few days after this post my mom became ill and I took off to go see her….it was also the weekend of my move (bf and I now live in the 2 bedroom apartment on the first floor below my old studio apartment), it was also our anniversary and planned trip to the Texas Ren Fest. I, myself, was adjusting to my new medications…over the summer I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and the meds were not too kind to me. We didn’t stay long at fair because I was already exhausted and because we wanted to spend some time with my mom while she was sick to keep her company. After visiting mom (and her asking me about this blog) I went home and started reading Hocus Pocus the All-New Sequel, during this read I was also listening to The Haunting of Hill House on my drives too and from the hospital. I even purchased a Hocus Pocus journal to document my thoughts as I read.

That brings us to the present (December 5th, 2019) speaking of present…we’re preparing for the holidays! There’s no doubt as to what items happens to be in some of our presents under the tree… we’re both book nerds! So much so that we are even exchanging books on Christmas Eve…I’m rather excited! Oh and Bf also bought me Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (book) for our anniversary! Also our Christmas tree is rather nerdy between his Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments and my Harry Potter ones.

My apologies for letting the blog sit on the back burner for a while, the end of the school year snuck up on me! My apartment is nearly complete, but I forgot I still had 2 bookshelves at my parents’ house that I need to retrieve. The problem, I have nowhere to put them! I can move some things around and put my end tables (which are just camp tables) outside and put a chair out there too for an outdoor writing/reading space. However, none of this is why you’ve come to read my blog; you want to know more about the books I read and find.

My best friend used to live near the Dallas-Fort Worth area and knew of some coffeehouses, but most importantly, a three-story bookstore! We haven’t had a proper mini road trip/girls’ day in about two years, so she thought that she’d take me there for a late birthday present. The day was not wasted at all. I wasn’t sure what to expect, mostly older or collectible books mostly. I was wrong their selection is huge (obviously it has to be for the shop’s size). Aside from visiting comic book stores, this is the largest selection of graphic novels I have ever seen! I had to restrain myself on my spending otherwise my total would be well over $100. I was able to walk out of the store having only spent around $50, however, had I remembered to apply my educator’s discount it would have been much cheaper! Instead, since my purchase had already been finalized I had the cashier just apply it to my best friend’s purchase.

My best friend used to live near the Dallas-Fort Worth area and knew of some coffeehouses, but most importantly, a three-story bookstore! We haven’t had a proper mini road trip/girls’ day in about two years, so she thought that she’d take me there for a late birthday present. The day was not wasted at all. I wasn’t sure what to expect, mostly older or collectible books mostly. I was wrong their selection is huge (obviously it has to be for the shop’s size). Aside from visiting comic book stores, this is the largest selection of graphic novels I have ever seen! I had to restrain myself on my spending otherwise my total would be well over $100. I was able to walk out of the store having only spent around $50, however, had I remembered to apply my educator’s discount it would have been much cheaper! Instead, since my purchase had already been finalized I had the cashier just apply it to my best friend’s purchase.

My shopping haul included a Funko Pop of Buckey Barnes (Winter Soldier), a graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451, two volumes from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, another Neil Gaiman graphic novel, and a comic for my boyfriend’s birthday (of which I won’t mention the title here as today is his birthday and he hasn’t gotten it yet).

My best friend went home with a couple of true crime novels she had read when she was younger, a book of Robert Frost poems, and the Illustrated Guide to Physics (I’m jealous I didn’t have that when I taught physics)! We also enjoyed some delicious coffee and Italian cream soda at the Jupiter Coffeehouse across the street.

It will be a bit before I can get around to reading these comics though. I’ve bought so many books in the last couple of months; I am severely behind on my reading list. Currently, I’ve started Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and will post more about that next time!

My best friend used to live near the Dallas-Fort Worth area and knew of some coffeehouses, but most importantly, a three-story bookstore! We haven’t had a proper mini road trip/girls’ day in about two years, so she thought that she’d take me there for a late birthday present. The day was not wasted at all. I wasn’t sure what to expect, mostly older or collectible books mostly. I was wrong their selection is huge (obviously it has to be for the shop’s size). Aside from visiting comic book stores, this is the largest selection of graphic novels I have ever seen! I had to restrain myself on my spending otherwise my total would be well over $100. I was able to walk out of the store having only spent around $50, however, had I remembered to apply my educator’s discount it would have been much cheaper! Instead, since my purchase had already been finalized I had the cashier just apply it to my best friend’s purchase.

My shopping haul included a Funko Pop of Buckey Barnes (Winter Soilder), a graphic novel version of Farenheit 451, two volumes from the League of Extrodinary Gentlemen, another Neil Gaiman graphic novel, and a comic for my boyfriend’s birthday (of which I wont mention the title here as today is his birthday and he hasn’t gotten it yet).

My best friend went home with a couple of true crime novels she had read when she was younger, a book of Robert Frost poems, and the Illustrated Guide to Physics (I’m jealous I didn’t have that when I taught physics)! We also enjoyed some delicious coffee and Italian cream soda at the Jupiter Coffeehouse across the street.

It will be a bit before I can get around to reading these comics though. I’ve bought so many books in the last couple of months; I am severely behind on my reading list. Currently I’ve started Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and will post more about that next time!

This morning (4 days prior to this posting) getting ready for work I knew I needed to bring a book with me to class after finishing Tesla’s Attic, however, I couldn’t decide between Riordan’s “The Red Pyramid” in graphic novel form and Stroud’s “The Screaming Stair Case”. I brought both with me as I rushed out the door; ultimately I decided to read The Red Pyramid (partially on a bias that the main characters’ last name is my own, Kane). I also am a strong advocate for the use of graphic novels in the classroom. Personally, I use a copy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare as a way to help my students who have missed a segment of class to catch up in a hurry; they’re also great for readers who struggle to visualize the scenes the writer has created. Actually, it is even great for those of us with dyslexia because there are no long paragraphs to move about the page and the font type can even help to prevent letters from flipping on us as frequently, not exactly a perfect solution as it doesn’t help everyone but it does help some of us.

I read in class today the first 55 pages (well into chapter one and on my way to chapter two soon). By the time I un-paused this draft (just now) I’ve reached chapter four! This story has completely captured my attention, so much so that even though I took a break and visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science this weekend, I kept thinking about The Red Pyramid as we explored the Egypt Exhibit. One thing I learned on the trip was Spell 22 from the Book of the Dead. This spell was what the Egyptians believed would allow the dead to talk to Anubis when his heart was weighed against a feather, the Open Mouth spell.

So far in the story, the two Kane siblings have been reunited for their bi-yearly family visitation. Dr. Kane won custody of his son but his daughter was awarded to her maternal grandparents, later on, we learn this is due to the Per-Ankh a house of magicians that believe the two host gods within their bodies and bringing them together was deemed too risky to have that much power in one place. Their mother, a magician as well as their father, died when attempting to call upon a god years before. Dr. Kane believes that he can reverse what happened to their mother, however, he releases Set, a god determined to take over the world.

All too often I have had students feel that because they picked a book up for a reading assignment and find they don’t like it that they still have to keep reading it. I spoke with my reading class the other day about this concern because I went to read a second book, “Things I’ll Never Say” edited by Ann Angel, and the first short story was an engaging realistic fiction piece. I was not prepared for the jump from realistic fiction to entirely fictionalized with angels, demons, and vampires that had regained their souls. I don’t dislike the genre of fantasy however so many factors all at once do not flow easily for my reader mind and there was a lot of back and forth from past to present that it was hard to keep up. I didn’t finish the second story because I disliked all of the jumpings around and trying to sort out which character is what kind of creature. I asked my students how many of them have found a book they just couldn’t stand but read it anyhow because they didn’t feel like they could switch books. Almost every hand in the class went up. I encouraged them to change books if they found they did not like what they were reading after all this 45-minute block is about exploring reading for enjoyment, not assigned reading of one book for every teen. As long as the due date of a book report isn’t quickly approaching take notice of your students that are struggling perhaps it isn’t that they don’t want to read at all, maybe they just don’t like that particular book. If you are a student and know that you still have time to read a full book before the due date, advocate for yourself and switch books!

Caitlin’s recorder doesn’t record what is said, but the inner thoughts that aren’t spoken in the same breath and Petula had discovered that these recordings can ruin the cheerleader who has caught Nick’s attention. Petula, unknown to the others, plays a recording of Nick, Caitlin, and Theo. Nick and Caitlin have a heart to heart after school as she’s feeling like her life is over. She tells Nick that he can’t possibly understand what it feels like to have his life “shred to bits” to which he responds with telling her about the fire and his mom’s death; he confides in her that he believes he is responsible for the fire, but he doesn’t explain why.

With Petula’s persistent mannerism and her insatiable crush on Nick that has gone unnoticed by anyone (aside from the school lunch lady), the two discover that the famous inventor, Nikola Tesla had resided for some time in Colorado Springs and had a relationship with none other than Nick’s Great-aunt Greta. This only partially explains why the items in Greta’s attic (now Nick’s room) were marked with the initials N. T. Nick confronts her about the camera bought at the garage sale and she says “sometimes a camera is just a camera.” She hides the fact that the camera doesn’t take a picture of what you intend but an event that has happened in that spot before. When she attempted to photograph the family dog the image that developed was of her mother sneaking money from her father’s wallet; Petula figures she can use the camera’s ability to blackmail others. On his way home from his outing with Petula, he is met by the sight of Vince at his front door. Vince heard of a strange happening in town and tracked a police report to an apartment complex that had snow falling in the hallways! Vince retrieves the item from the complex without anyone knowing. As he climbed the ladder to his attic room Nick realizes his laundry which is normally all over his floor has been neatly piled in the center of the room, although strange he brushes it off as his dad or Danny helping to clean up. What he fails to notice is that his desk and bed have been moved three inches towards the center of the room.

That weekend Nick is pulled (figuratively) in two directions. Caitlin has invited him to help her with an art project (one she made up on the spot just to have an excuse to be around him). Mitch has invited him to a Murló Family day, which in reality is a visitation with his father who has left the family. Without knowing the backstory Nick sees that Mitch could really use a friend at this time and so he cancels on Caitlin.

Wow I read another four chapters from the book today, they go quickly but that’s because I’m so into the story! Shusterman and Elfman really pick up the pace in these chapters.

Nick begins school as the awkward new kid just trying to go undetected but Mitch announces his presence at school like a bullhorn, ruining his plans to stay off everyone’s radar. Suddenly customers from the garage sale are making complaints about the items they bought from him. His elderly neighbor demanded a refund on the toaster she had purchased. Nick reluctantly gave her the $5 she paid back (although she demanded $20). Danny convinces him to make some toast with the old machine but rather than crisping up the bread, the cordless toaster with the letters NT zaps him across the room and incinerates what would have been breakfast. Nick decides to investigate the items his classmates had purchased. Mitch’s Speak -n- Say doesn’t give animal sounds or elementary vocab words, instead, it gives warnings or advice for the near future. When Nick pulls the string it tells him to check his pocket before it is too late, rather than checking his pockets he scoffs and heads to class where he then gets in trouble when his cell phone rings (having forgotten to put it on silent). Caitlin has decided she wants nothing to do with the strange kid anymore and tells him she has trashed her recorder when he confronts her. In reality, she hasn’t even busted it up for her art project, she was getting ready to when she decided to test it out and discovered it doesn’t just record her voice but the thoughts she doesn’t say aloud. Mitch helps Nick track down the ever brooding Vince who had paid for a wet-cell battery. Vince’s pet goldfish died the day he bought the item but couldn’t face flushing him down the toilet. Vince demonstrates the wet-cell battery’s strange ability which reanimates his deceased goldfish. Vince, a collector of bugs and other creepy crawlies, lets Nick test it out on a dead tarantula who comes to life as well, as long as the wet-cell battery is in contact with them. All of these items are engraved with the letters NT which, we can assume from the title of the book, might stand for Nikola Tesla.

In these four chapters, the reader also learns that Mr. Slate was once a baseball player and the eccentric Speak-n-Say tells the boys that Mr. Slate should play baseball again. It is worth noting here that their father, since leaving the league, has only been able to work odd jobs, never having a stable career. He has been job hunting with no luck since moving.

Another curious occurrence during these chapters is the school’s discovery that there seems to be no record of Nick, Danny, or Mr. Slate. There are no permanent records on the boys from their Florida schools.