Bo and Mzzz Mad » (~)

Since his autobiography, The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life, was published in 1996, Sid Fleischman has been stealing the spotlight with his exuberant brand of nonfiction. Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World is Fleischman's fourth true tale, following the widely acclaimed The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West and the best-selling Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini.

Fleischman's books have been made into films, performed as plays, and translated into nineteen languages. The author was awarded the Newbery Medal for The Whipping Boy. His most recent novel is The Dream Stealer.

Orphaned Bo Gamage has nowhere to go. So he ends up in the old Queen of Sheba Hotel in a ghost town in the middle of the desert. It's dry and bare and — worst of all — the only other kid there is his awful cousin Madeleine, who calls herself Mzzz Mad.

Soon, they're caught up in a battle for a missing map, the mystery of the tattooed head, and the search for the old Pegleg Smith gold mine. Then Bo and Mzzz Mad find themselves in deadly danger and handcuffed — together!

Publishers Weekly

Take one orphaned boy, send him to relatives with whom his family has been feuding for generations, add a long-lost gold mine and a pair of no-good, low-down dirty rascals and voil the stage is set for a classic Fleischman (Bandit's Moon) tale. In his contemporary western, 12-year-old Bo Gamage's arrival in Queen of Sheba, Calif. "the jumping-off place to nowhere" is less than auspicious. Bo and his smart-mouthed cousin Madeleine Martinka (she goes by Mzzz Mad) take an instant dislike to each other, and grumpy Paw Paw, Mad's ex-cowboy movie star grandpa, is equally unwelcoming. Only Aunt Juna, an artist who inveigles Bo into a scheme to rekindle Paw Paw's interest in life with a fake treasure map, shows him any kindness. A couple on a crime spree throw a monkey wrench into Bo's plans to move on, however, and he soon finds himself handcuffed to Mzzz Mad and in fairly desperate straits. Fleischman, who can spin a yarn like nobody's business, is in top form here, delivering a thumping good page-turner spiced with humor, snappy descriptions ("The front door stood wide open, as if the building were gasping for air"; Mzzz Mad says Paw Paw feels "older'n greasewood") and a lickety-split plot. Readers can just sit back, relax and watch a master at work. Ages 8-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.