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Wonderful readers,

We are proud to present another interview, this time with English teacher, comic book fan and author Tony Varrato. Tony's two books, Fakie (which I've reviewed here) and Outrage have both been nominated for the 2009 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers.

I hope his answers are as fabulously entertaining to you as they were to me.

Interviewingly yours,
Twyla Lee

1. What inspired you to write this book?

I wrote Fakie because I teach English. When you take 150 kids to the library for book reports, you get a lot who go for the shortest book they can find. But Dr. Jekyll and The Old Man and the Sea don’t work for kids who hate to read.

They want a short, fast-paced story, with no dead spot in the middle. There were already short books for kids who like the typical sports: basketball, football, basketball. I looked around the classroom and figured there needed to be a book with skateboarding, paintball, and four-wheelers. Oh yeah, and guys with guns.

2. Who did you intend your audience to be?

I was going for skaters in particular, but also any boys who don’t like to read--which is a weird target audience because writing books for non-readers is like making running shoes for couch potatoes. The trick is to get the audience interested.

3. Who are a few of your favorite authors/books? Why did they stand out to you?

In order that I started reading their stories…

Alistair MacLean—He wrote about spies with pen guns… How cool is that? In the 70’s when I started reading, there weren’t many action/adventure teen books. Around age10, The Hardy Boys weren’t cutting it anymore. So I grabbed Puppet on a Chain.

Robert Ludlum --The Bourne Identity and many other assassin/spy novels with twists and turns. Fast and action-packed.

Dean Koontz --Surprising, alternating horror, supernatural, action, and even spiritual at times. Intensity and Velocity are my favorites. The pacing and surprises are amazing.

Neil Gaiman--His comics, kids books, and novels are always over-the-top imaginative.. Faeries, gods, dolls, and spiders are characters in his stories. I especially like his use of the “stranger in a strange land” character. It sucks the reader in to the main character’s situation.

James Patterson—Fast-paced, action-packed, chapters that are sometimes one page long. The Maximum Ride and Alex Cross series are addictive.

4. Do you have any more books coming out soon? If so, do you mind giving details?

I’m working on several right now. But they are in the early oatmeal-ish stages. I need to crank up the heat a little, and add some cayenne pepper (NEVER eat my cooking), and they’ll be ready. One is slated for 2009, but I haven’t figured out a title yet.

For the first one, I promise you: unfriendly friends, bad bad guys, worse good guys, things that go fast, things that go boom, tricks and lies, and maybe a pen gun. On the back burner a couple other books are simmering nicely: superpowers and angry plants.

5. Zombies or unicorns?

Zombies! I don’t anticipate a mad unicorn attack in the near future. But I have my hand- fitted chainsaw, cricket bat, and Zombie Survival Guide within reach at all times for when the virus spreads. And don’t get me started on my aluminum-foil brain-wave protector beanie that I keep in case of aliens!

6. Look out, here comes the Create-Your-Own-Question-Question.

Hmmm. By far, the hardest question you evil ladies have asked. I was just discussing this one with my kids. If you could come back to life as an animal (in non-zombie form) what would it be? I would be a squirrel (with an acorn gun) so I could play chicken with cars on the interstate, and at the last minute, dodge with cool ninja-Matrix moves.

7.. If you could bring three characters to life for a social event, who would they be and what would the event be?

I’d bring:

Queequeg—the cannibal from Moby Dick

Marlow—from Heart of Darkness

and Frodo—does he really need an introduction?

We’d hop into the minivan (yes, a minivan) and head to Cedar Point, Ohio to catch some roller coasters!!!

Queequeg and the Hobbit are both thrill seekers so we’d have a blast--as long as Frodo leaves those stupid rings home!!! Hanging with a Hobbit and a cannibal would probably mean we wouldn’t have to wait in line. I think everyone would let us ahead of them. Marlow would be there just because he needs to lighten up already!!! Or we would laugh at him when he’s yelling “The Horror! The Horror!” after the triple loop on the Corkscrew.

8. If a fluffy, pink fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life, which book will you pick?

Tough one. I never reread a novel unless I’m teaching it. In which case, I reread it a minimum of 4 times a year.

But since defying the fluffy, pink fairy sounds dangerous, I’m going to choose 1984. It’s a story about government oppression which fascinates me, and I’m sure I can find something new each time I read it.

9. Assassins are after you. They want your “aluminum-foil brain-wave protector beanie” because the zombies are coming…

I heard the low-thwumping of the helicopter rotors a millisecond before the ski-masked assassins swung through my windows.

Instinctively, I dove behind my sofa, which I had the forethought to have upholstered in Kevlar. The bullets thudded off the couch creating a Metallica drum solo. I checked to make sure my beanie was secure and slithered toward the coffee-table escape hatch. I hit the hidden lever and the floor opened below me.

Dr. Lekejeheg had been trying to swipe my aluminum-foil brain-wave protector beanie for months now. The precise coefficients, log rhythms, cosigns, and other math techniques I mistakenly thought were useless in school were vital to create the perfectly crumpled helmet beanie that kept me safe from the mind-controlling rays of the zombie aliens that had invaded Earth. Dr. Lekejeheg teamed up with the zombie aliens in a mad quest for world domination.

Only I with my aluminum beanie could foil his plans.

I hit the bottom of the escape ramp and pushed the large red button. The hidden containers of toothpaste, styrofoam, and canned asparagus combined and the house above exploded in green, immobilizing goo.

I rolled safely out of the house and looked toward the sky. Dr. Lekejeheg shook his fist from the helicopter and flew away.

I knew I hadn’t seen the last of him.

10. Which superhero do you think you’re most like?

Oh, I’m going with my all-time favorite: Batman. –not the one accused of assaulting his mother, of course.

Aside from running around the house in spandex, I am that guy who helps random people when they need super heroic feats like lending jumper cables in the Wal-Mart parking lot or handing a person a pen from my multi-pocketed cargo shorts.. All this without any actual super powers, just determination. I AM Batman.

11. What would your part-time job be?

Extreme kayak tour guide in Costa Rica.

12. What if there were no hypothetical situations?

I would never have to wonder if I would know when to stop mowing if the sky were green.

13. What is your favourite kind of cookie?

Chocolate chip. Hot from the oven. The soft dough and dripping, melted chips slightly burning my hand.

While running from his father’s murderer, Danny and his mother have moved, changed names and personas so often they’ve lost count. This time, as Alex Miller, Danny takes on the persona of a “skater”. With his new skateboard and baggy pants, he finds it easy to fit in and feels his new friends really care about him. He even thinks he trusts them enough to tell them his secret. Alex hopes that he and his mother don’t have to move again, but then his worst fear comes true, his mother is kidnapped (dun...dun...dun).


As Alex himself thinks in the story, I couldn’t stop seeing how this book seems like a movie or TV show. I can definitely see how reluctant readers, especially "skater" boys, would pick-up and finish this short, action-filled book. I liked being aware of the villian's side of the story. I haven't read many books where both sides were told.


I give this book 4 daggers out of 5.

Imagining being chased by assassins,

Twyla Lee

I haven't been reading that many books in the suspense genre lately, a disappointing fact I believe is due to the seemingly endless amount of picture books and middle grade fantasy fiction I still have to review, so this weekend I was determined to finish two that have been on my shelves for quite awhile, one young adult, one adult. Gotta get some more book shelf space cleared off before my little guy arrives!

Fakie, written by Tony Varrato is a very small book in size (at least the ARC I received was), but packs quite the punch. It's filled with action, from the moment the first page is opened and I was sucked in, quickly turning pages throughout the entire novel.

Several years ago, Alex Miller witnessed something he shouldn't have and as a result, a very dangerous man landed behind bars and Alex and his mother had no choice but to enter the Witness Relocation Program. They've moved countless times, and taken on many different identities, determined not to let such an evil man ever catch up with them. Alex's latest home is in Virginia Beach, where he has taken on the persona of a typical teen, slightly obsessed with skateboarding. He makes friends pretty quickly and manages to blend in very well, the ultimate trick to remaining in one place for more time. Unfortunately, the bad guys are close on Alex's trail and will stop at nothing to silence Alex forever.

If you have a reluctant reader in the house, namely a male one, this is a book to definitely put in their hands. It's short, coming in at only 143 pages and is so fast paced, the story just flies by. I think I finished this one in less than an hour! It was very enjoyable and one for the library shelves.

Forsaken, my adult selection in the suspense category is written by James David Jordan and set to be published in October of this year. It follows Taylor Pasbury, a former Secret Service agent, who has started her own security business and is subsequently given a very high profile first client. Simon Mason is a world famous televangelist who has begun receiving numerous threats from Muslim terrorists, needing Taylor to protect him and his family.

When the terrorists make good on one of their threats, Taylor and Simon both realize what is at stake in each of their lives. Both possess more than a few secrets and as fear levels get higher, some of those secrets are bound to come out. Taylor must work harder than she ever imagined to keep Simon and his family alive, not to mention herself.

The beginning of this novel started out great, describing the events that led Taylor to pursue the life she now leads. It was exciting and engaging until about the middle of the book, where I felt it stalled a bit. Taylor's character seemed a bit unbelievable at times, in her actions and dialog, though emotionally she also could come off as very real. Just me being nit-picky probably! Though, with the amount of books I read and review, it's hard not to be nit-picky! Overall, I did enjoy the book and if you are a fan of Christan suspense, you probably will too.

by Renee Kirchner, Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

We’ve all read tall tales before. The legends of Paul Bunyan and John Henry are examples of tall tales. The accomplishments of the hero in the story are larger than life or exaggerated. Read a few tall tales with your students so they can become familiar with the genre. Here are some good ones to start with:

Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg. HarperCollins Publishers, June 1985.

The story of the larger-than-life lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, is familiar to many children. Steven Kellogg writes about all of Paul’s exciting adventures with Babe the Blue Ox. His illustrations bring the book to life.

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne. Random House Children’s Books, September 1991.

Nine folk heroes are introduced in this collection of tall tales by Mary Pope Osborne. Readers will meet Johnny Appleseed, John Henry, Paul Bunyan, and many others. The exaggerated stories of their adventures will delight children.

Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Lady with a Great Big Heart.by Pat Mora. Alfred A. Knopf, October 2005.

Readers will meet, Dona Flor, in this tall tale about a giant woman. She makes giant tortillas for everyone to eat and they can use the leftovers as rafts and she lets children use her giant flowers as trumpets. When a large lion threatens the village, Flora sets off to find it.

Tall tales all have one thing in common - they’re probably as much fun to write, as they are to read. Why don’t you try your hand at writing a tall tale, or at least the beginning of a tall tale? We’ve written the start of the first sentence, now all you have to do is fill in the rest. Whether you write one sentence, a paragraph, or a whole story, make sure that you exaggerate. See how wild your imagination is.

1. Dan Magallan and his horse traveled the country _______________________________.

2. The locomotive sped toward the car that was stalled on the train track. It would take a miracle to save the driver. Suddenly __________________________.

3. A long time ago in a land far, far away there was a knight who was braver than all of the men in the land. He was called the dragon slayer and he _____________________.

4. The giant waves of the hurricane were no match for ____________________________.

5. Big Tex rode a twenty foot rattle snake when he came into town _________________.

6. Giovanni, the pizza maker was legendary in these parts. He used to ______________.

7. Leo the Great could tame any wild beast. He rounded up the wild animals of the jungle and _________________________________________________.

8. Billy Bob had an amazing set of lungs. He could blow all of the sand out of the Sahara Desert. With one breath, he could suck up all of the water in Lake Michigan. These amazing powers came in very handy when ______________________________________.