Return to Augie Hobble

by Lane Smith

Overview

Augie Hobble lives in a fairy tale—or at least Fairy Tale Place, the down-on-its-luck amusement park managed by his father. Yet his life is turning into a nightmare: he's failed creative arts and has to take summer school, the girl he has a crush on won't acknowledge him, and Hogg Wills and the school bullies won't leave him alone. Worse, a succession of mysterious, possibly paranormal, events have him convinced that he's turning into a werewolf. At least Augie has his notebook and his best friend Britt to confide in—until the unthinkable happens and Augie's life is turned upside down, and those mysterious, possibly paranormal, events take on a different meaning.

Return to Augie Hobble by Lane Smith is a charming tale about a boy stumbling through life and the supernatural. Hilarious, tender, wise, the book is packed with haunting illustrations throughout that all make for one, unforgettable middle-grade adventure.

"The incomparable Lane Smith stomps triumphantly into the middle school playground with his first novel." —The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250090539
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	03/28/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lane Smith is a four-time recipient of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book award and a two-time Caldecott Honor recipient, most recently for Grandpa Green. He is the author and illustrator of Abe Lincoln's Dream and It's a Book, which has been translated into more than twenty languages, among many other books.

Editorial Reviews

"The incomparable Lane Smith stomps triumphantly into the middle school playground with his first novel." —The New York Times Book Review

"Smith huffs and puffs and blows the roof off his first novel. . . . Bravo!" —Booklist, starred review

"Great fun, with hardly a trope or theme left unspun." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Two-time Caldecott Honoree Smith, in his first novel, does an impeccable job of introducing heartbreak while keeping the mood light." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This unusual, ultimately exultant story is tinged with the supernatural and heartbreaking at its core." —The Wall Street Journal

"Like the late comic master Terry Pratchett, Smith knows how to make profound points lightly as he holds a funhouse mirror to the larger world." —The Washington Post

"Had me cracking up from the first smokin' scene." —Newbery Medalist Jack Gantos

"You'll cheer for this novel." —Newbery Honor author Gary Schmidt

From the Publisher

The incomparable Lane Smith…stomps triumphantly into the middle-school playground with his first novel, Return to Augie Hobble. The nonchalant first-person narrative drives along with short sentences, short paragraphs, silliness both of language and situation—and Smith's antic, anarchic illustrations…I won't spoil the plot—it's too good—but I'll say that intimations of werewolf possession are all the more arresting when told in tones of schoolboy snark.

The New York Times Book Review - Gregory Maguire

★ 03/16/2015
What is happening to Augie Hobble? Despite obvious artistic talent (he liberally illustrates this summer-of-transformation story with his own drawings), he has flunked creative arts class and must redo his final project. He’s also obligated to work spearing garbage at Fairy Tale Place, a run-down amusement park managed by his father. Plans to while away the summer with his best friend evaporate and a rendezvous with Cinderella, a park character played by a fellow middle schooler, results in a possible werewolf attack. At this point, Augie’s comic but conventional story takes unexpected turns. Pets go missing. Eerie entries appear in Augie’s journal. Hair sprouts in odd places. Is this puberty or something more sinister? A major tragedy occurs for which Augie feels responsible, but two-time Caldecott Honoree Smith, in his first novel, does an impeccable job of introducing heartbreak while keeping the mood light. Augie is a good-hearted kid whose wry humor makes him a companionable narrator. Readers may feel as disoriented as Augie when Smith shifts from recognizable ground to add an otherworldly dimension, but it works because Augie deserves an ending that makes him whole again. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (May)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2015
Gr 4–6—Smith's first novel begins with a scattered and zany atmosphere. That's entirely appropriate, given its setting at a struggling New Mexico amusement park. It may, however, present as much of a problem in attracting and retaining readers as Fairy Tale Place has in luring in customers. Augie's failed his Creative Arts class at the aptly named Gerald R. Ford Middle School and must complete a project over the summer. His story is interspersed with his cartoon ideas for the assignment, which make it clear that Augie lacks decisiveness more than creativity. These pieces, along with frequent insertions of Smith's illustrations, break up the text in ways which will appeal to kids who enjoy art-heavy, journal-form novels. About a quarter of the way through, intersections of the folkloric and the paranormal combine to give a more coherent direction to the narrative, despite our view through the scrim of implausibility. Werewolves, UFOs, and communications from the world beyond are prominently featured, but it's the fate of Augie's best friend and Augie's struggle to cope with responsibility for it that deepen the book and make it more touching than it initially seems. VERDICT Readers who persevere through the broad comedy will find a story with heart within.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2015-01-20
The award-bedizened illustrator offers up his first novel.Mildly offbeat setting aside, it all starts on recognizable ground. Son of the manager of a seedy theme park dubbed Fairy Tale Place, Augie faces both bullying from local thug Hogg Wills and summer school because he's failed Creative Arts ("Who fails Creative Arts?"). Also, dazzling classmate Juliana has joined the park's colorful cast of costumed "hosts" as Cinderella, and along with allergy-prone best buddy Britt, he discovers that building a treehouse—in a tree, at least—is harder than it seems. Readers set by this opening for a moderately amusing summer idyll are in for a series of unsettling shocks as Smith then proceeds to vigorously knock expectations askew. He chucks in sudden death, a rash of missing pets, initially garbled but increasingly coherent and revealing messages from the great beyond, clairvoyant visions, robbery, lycanthropy and even mysterious government agents. It takes Smith to keep what could become a hot mess percolating happily along toward a just conclusion. Portraits, collages, hand-drawn comics and other illustrations done in a range of styles add characteristically postmodern notes to this roller-coaster ride. Great fun, with hardly a trope or theme left unspun. (Fantasy. 10-13)

Kirkus Review