Zeke Bartholomew, Superspy (review and giveaway)

Zeke Bartholomew: Superspy!

By: Jason Pinter

Reading level: Ages 9 and up

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; 

Original edition (November 1, 2011)

Language: English

From the back of the book: It all started on a day like any other.


The sun rose. I had waffles for breakfast. I caught my dad SCRATCHING HIS BUTT. It
was a rerun of pretty much every day of my life. But late that night, EVERYTHING CHANGED…


One minute I’m digging through my neighbor's garbage looking for clues (long story), and the next minute I'm KIDNAPPED BY GOONS and MISTAKEN FOR A SPY.


You might think everything I'm about to tell you is a big lie. But I promise you that THIS IS ALL TRUE. This is how the fate of the world fell into the hands of an UNIMPORTANT DORKY KID FROM NOWHERESVILLE.

From the PR Firm:   NOTE FROM CPA MOM - this was so funny, I had to include the email in it's entirely for you - it really gives you a feel for the tone of the book!

Greetings! Zeke Bartholomew here, ahem, I should say, Zeke Bartholomew, Superspy. I wanted to give you lucky readers the chance to review my (totally awesome) new book. This guy named Jason Pinter (who’s actually kind of a big deal already) approached me a while back and asked if he could write my story. My story is actually also kind of a big deal. So I said yes. I mean, the guy’s a bestselling author of adult thrillers! Clearly he knows what he’s doing. His books have been published in over a dozen languages and sold hundreds of thousands of copies around the world. He’s a columnist for the Huffington Post Books section, and Mashable.com named him one of the top 100 authors to follow on Twitter. If anyone is going to write the Zeke Bartholomew story, it’s him. And here it is! Zeke Bartholomew: Superspy. Great title, right? (I thought of it myself.) This book is the story of how my life changed forever. How I went from being Super Nerd to Superspy (sorry, I had to use that line). Before this happened I was just your average bottom feeder— geektastic and totally below the social radar. I dreamed of being a spy, all cool and suave like James Bond, and one day I got my wish. Well, sort of. First, I had to get kidnapped, hunted by a lava-powered giant, keep up with this crazy butt-kicking girl who goes by the codename “Sparrow” and oh yeah, save the kids of the world from being turned into brainwashed zombie minions by the hottest tween pop band ever (no, not Justin Bieber, but don’t think I didn’t check.) This book is the first in a series—how cool is that? Jason wanted to write about more of my adventures (which are still happening, every day) and Sourcebooks wanted to publish them (thanks guys!) so the Superspying doesn’t end here! (sorry, had to use it) I’m back in Spring 2012! So yeah, um, I guess that’s it. Please, please, please read my book, and please review it!


Zeke Bartholomew: Superspy!


This is Jason Pinter’s debut middle grade novel and he’s super excited—it would be really great if it was as big a success as his other books have been. The fate of my series rests in your hands! (sorry, had to use it)


Sincerely,
Zeke Bartholomew: Superspy (sorry)

My take:  As you, my loyal readers know, I'm a big fan of Young Adult Fiction.  I always have been, ever since I, well, since I WAS a Young Adult.  I might have grown up but I still love to read the same stories I read in middle and high school.  Good writing transcends the ages anyway - to pigeonhole a story to one age group does it injustice I think, IMHO.  Anyway. let me tell you about Zeke Bartholomew, Superspy.  This book, if you will excuse the pun, is SUPER fun.  To start with, the description on the back ("I caught my dad SCRATCHING HIS BUTT.") made my 9 year old boy laugh out loud (me too!). I quickly dived into the story and was immediately hooked.  With current (on the sly) references to other great books and authors (like the awesome Percy Jackson series, Harry Potter and the indelible James Bond), any reader can relate to Zeke Bartholomew and his adventures (and tell me the truth - doesn't that villain on the cover look JUST a bit like the one in Austin Powers? Hmmmm, LOL).  It was really fun to ride along with the self described "medium everything" as he discovered his inner spy.  I don't want to give anything away here, but suffice to say, this is a series I will be keeping up with.  And as soon as my son finishes the book he is reading, he's starting this one next!


About the Author: Jason Pinter is the author of five novels with 1.5 million copies in print in many languages, most of which he cannot read. As a child, he was only slightly less qualified to be a spy than Zeke Bartholomew. You can find him living in New York City buried under a pile of books. This is his first juvenile fiction book.

The giveaway: Win your very own copy of  Zeke Bartholomew, Superspy!

To win: Leave me a comment telling me the name of another of Jason Pinter's books! Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 8 extra entries for a total of 9 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

• Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
• Share this giveaway on any of your Social Networking sites (like Twitter and/or Facebook) and come back here with a link to your post/tweet (you can have up to two entries - be sure to leave 2 comments) Be sure to include "@CPAMom" with your tweet.
• Follow me on Twitter (leave a comment with your twitter id) (you can use the yellow button on the top right sidebar)
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see top right sidebar)
• Add my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
• Fan or Fav me on Technorati (or use the purple box link on the top right sidebar)
• Follow me on Blogger using Google Friend Connect (see right sidebar)

This post was written for Sourcebooks, Inc. who provided the books for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary book. My opinion is my own.

P.S.:  Be sure to check out my new fan page for Did You See That? on Facebook!


(Facebook rules do not allow giveaway entries for "Liking" Facebook pages)